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TURKEY

Danish court frees 10 on terror funding charges

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.

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
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.

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ISLAM

Erdogan calls French separatism bill ‘guillotine’ of democracy

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday denounced a planned French law designed to counter "Islamist separatism" as a "guillotine" of democracy.

Erdogan calls French separatism bill 'guillotine' of democracy
Erdogan has already denounced the proposed measures as "anti-Muslim". Photo: Adem ALTAN/AFP

The draft legislation has been criticised both inside France and abroad for stigmatising Muslims and giving the state new powers to limit speech and religious groups.

“The adoption of this law, which is openly in contradiction of human rights, freedom of religion and European values, will be a guillotine blow inflicted on French democracy,” said Erdogan in a speech in Ankara.

The current version of the planned law would only serve the cause of extremism, putting NGOs under pressure and “forcing young people to choose between their beliefs and their education”, he added.

READ ALSO: What’s in France’s new law to crack down on Islamist extremism?

“We call on the French authorities, and first of all President (Emmanuel) Macron, to act sensibly,” he continued. “We expect a rapid withdrawal of this bill.”

Erdogan also said he was ready to work with France on security issues and integration, but relations between the two leaders have been strained for some time.

France’s government is in the process of passing new legislation to crack down on what it has termed “Islamist separatism”, which would give the state more power to vet and disband religious groups judged to be threats to the nation.

Erdogan has already denounced the proposed measures as “anti-Muslim”.

READ ALSO: Has Macron succeeded in creating an ‘Islam for France’?

Last October, Erdogan questioned Macron’s “mental health”, accusing him of waging a “campaign of hatred” against Islam, after the French president defended the right of cartoonists to caricature the prophet Mohammed.

The two countries are also at odds on a number of other issues, including Libya, Syria and the eastern Mediterranean.

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