Advertisement

Danish court frees 10 on terror funding charges

AFP/The Local
AFP/The Local - [email protected]
Danish court frees 10 on terror funding charges
Supporters gathered in central Copenhagen for the trial of ten Kurds accused of financing terror. Photo: Jens Astrup/Scanpix

Ten Kurds who raised money for now-shuttered television channel Roj TV were found not guilty on charges of financing the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which despite currently being supported by Western forces in Syria is considered a terror organisation.

Advertisement

A Danish court on Wednesday freed ten men charged with "terror funding" after raising up to 140 million kroner ($23.8 million) for Kurdish rebels.
 
The money was channelled to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a militant separatist group, through Roj TV, a Denmark-based Kurdish television channel that had its license revoked last year for "glorifying terrorism".
 
"The reason for the acquittal is that the prosecution has not established sufficient evidence that the defendants knew or should have known that a contribution to Roj TV was indirect support to the PKK," the Copenhagen District Court wrote in its ruling.
 
The money was raised from 2009 until 2012, when a Danish court first found Roj TV guilty of promoting terrorism.
 
Turkish security forces have waged a 30-year conflict with the PKK, whose battle for self-rule in the southeast of the country has left 40,000 dead.
 
The ruling risks further straining relations between Ankara and Copenhagen, which earlier this week slammed a decision by Turkish authorities to release from prison a man suspected of trying to murder an outspoken Danish Islam critic, Lars Hedegaard.

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also