German court: MIT assigned Güney for Paris murders 2015-07-02 16:07:31 NEWS DESK (DİHA) - Hamburg Higher Regional Court continues its prosecution of Kurdish politician Mehmet Demir for charges of PKK membership. Court officials showed that the German state prosecutes Kurds without the necessary evidence, but also stated that they acknowledged the claim that Turkish Intelligence Agency (MIT) assigned Ömer Güney to carry out the massacre of Sakine Cansız, Fidan Doğan, Leyla Şaylemez in Paris. Mehmet Demir and his lawyers had made a political defense in the first hearing of the case and invited the German state to change its policies towards Kurds. Demir and his lawyers demanded that human rights violations targeting Kurds be recorded as evidence throughout the 11 hearings that have been held so far. German panel of judges led by Dr. Klaus Rühle rejected the demand of Demir and his lawyers, and the German Federal Prosecution’s only accusation against Mehmet Demir is membership in the PKK. Lawyer Rainer Ahues criticized the court’s rejection of their official demands and protection of the Turkish state. Ahues said that they were trying to inform the courts about the concept of democratic condeferalism developed by PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan. Despite its rejections, the board of judges admits that Turkey oppresses Kurdish parties, violently attacks peaceful protestors, and commits ‘unidentified murders’ and tortures civilians. The court also admitted that Turkey is sending arms to ISIS. Ahues stated that the board of judges does not view Turkey as a state of law, and emphasized the court’s evaluation of the Paris massacre carried out on January 9, 2013. Mehmet Demir’s lawyers had filed a petition to the court on Paris massacre during the 7th hearing on June 17, and requested that German Federal Intelligence Organization BND President Gerhard Schindler and French Attorney General François Molins be invited to the hearings as witnesses. In its rejection, the court stated that three PKK activists including Sakine Cansız were assassinated in France by Ömer Güney who was a MIT spy that had infiltrated into Kurdish circles in Paris prior to the massacre. However, the court decided that all these factors were irrelevant to the trial of Mehmet Demir, and the next hearing will be held on July 16. The trial is expected to end on August 28, and Mehmet Demir has been in prison in Hamburg since his arrest in Bremen last August. Demir is prosecuted for ‘membership in a crime and terror organization’ and prosecutors demand his imprisonment for a total of 10 years. (nt)