Publisher's Synopsis
"In Turkey, hundreds of people currently face prosecution or are serving long prison sentences under terrorism laws simply for participating in demonstrations or throwing stones at a protest. The vast majority of them are Kurdish and joined protests in the cities of southeast Turkey or in Adana or Mersin in support of opinions the authorities perceive to be similar to those of the outlawed armed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Legal amendments since 2005, along with case law since 2008, have allowed courts in Turkey to convict these demonstrators under the harshest terrorism laws. The courts punish them with membership in the PKK and 'committing crimes on behalf of the organization,' in effect, treating protestors on civil issues as though they are armed militants. In July 2010, the government passed legal amendments to end the prosecution of most children under these laws. While this was a welcome step, it did not address the core prob
