Heavy sentence for singing in Kurdish
The National Security Court (DGM) of Istanbul has given between 3-9 years prison sentence to the band Koma Denge Asiti for performing in Kurdish. The band had been charged with "aiding and abetting the PKK".

While Kurds are being prosecuted for petitioning for the right to education in Kurdish or for giving their children Kurdish names, another case have been added to this tragic list of persecution.

The lead singer in the band Koma Denge Asiti, Ibrahim Raci Ozcelik and the 3 other members of the band who have assisted Ozcelik with their instruments, received between 3-9 years in prison for "aiding and abetting the PKK". The decision by the DGM has been sent to the Supreme Court and the final decision should come within few days.

The band had faced charges for performing on the wedding of an HADEP official in the city of Bursa. The undercover police was present at the wedding and attempted to detain the members of the band when the wedding came to an end. This was prevented by the organisers of the wedding. A week after this incident, houses of the members of the band were raided. The singer Ibrahim Raci Ozcelik and the rest of the members were detained. The charges were based on the songs performed by the band during the wedding, such as ’Dayka Kurdistan’, ’Uy Kurdistan Kurdistan’, ’Li Merdine li Bagoke’ and ’Hawar le’.