Prosecutor seeks prison terms for alleged PKK members on trial in Paris

The prosecution has asked for up to six years in prison for some of the 11 alleged members of the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) on trial in Paris, accused of extortion and financing terrorism.

A man holds a Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) at a demonstration at Paris' Place de la Republique, 24 December 2022. © Sarah Meyssonnier/Reuters

In court Wednesday, anti-terrorism prosecutor Xavier Laurent asked for between three years of suspended sentence to six years in prison for the 11 alleged PKK members on trial – most of whom are Kurds from Turkey who have all denied membership in the group, which has long fought Turkey for greater autonomy for the Kurdish minority, and which the European Union, the United States and Turkey have labelled a terrorist organisation.

Laurent did not ask for the deportation or ban from France of any of the defendants, which is common in terrorist-related cases – a sign of the complexity of this trial, as many of the men received asylum in France and the “danger they face in Turkey” has been proven.

However, the prosecutor said he was not convinced by the dissuasive measure of the potential sentences, given the “degree of engagement” of most of the defendants.

Since the start of the trial, the defense has questioned calling the PKK a terrorist organisation, and it has argued that the PKK has no presence in France.  

But investigators believe that France, and some EU neighbours, serves as a staging ground for the group.

Questioning terrorist label

The defense has denounced what it has called France’s “ambiguity” towards the Kurds, who it says are allies when they fight the Islamic State armed group in Syria, but are terrorists when they fight Turkey.

Laurent insisted the trial was not about determining “who is the good guy and who is the bad, it’s about the law”.

He reminded the court that while Turkey may have committed crimes against the Kurdish people, the PKK continues to use means “that are always those of a terrorist organisation”.

The defendants, who are accused of strong-armed recruitment tactics and harassment and extortion in the collection of a form of community tax known as "kampanya" that funds the PKK, denied being members of the PKK, all while expressing their sympathy for the group.

They have denied the accusations of extortion, even in the face of extensive testimony and phone taps of members of the Kurdish diaspora in France.

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The trial continues Thursday with the defense presenting its case.

 (with AFP)