A French court on Friday, April 14 convicted 11 reported members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party on charges of terror financing for its campaign to seek autonomy for the minority in Turkey’s South-East.
The accused individuals who are all Kurds from Turkey who speak little or no French are suspected of being a part of a network that seeks an alleged revolutionary tax, or “company”, from the Kurdish diaspora.
Four of the accused have already been detained, with two individuals failing to appear before the court.
The defendants have however denied belonging to the PKK, remarking that it had no presence in France.
The sentences have ranged from suspended three-year prison terms to five years behind bars with one year suspended.
