Mehmet Şerif Gençdal, spokesman of the so-called "peace group" coming from Qandil, was released pending trial upon the appeal of his lawyer. Gençdal had been detained and tried under charges of "spreading propaganda for an illegal organization".

The charges were based on a speech delivered during the Newroz celebrations, the traditional Kurdish celebration to mark the beginning of the New Year and the arrival of spring. Gençdal allegedly constituted a crime with the speech and threatened a person. He was detained on 1 June.

"They are going back"

Fırat News Agency (ANF) reported that it was decided to send all members of the peace groups back to Qandil and Mahmur in northern Iraq except the ones still in detention.

According to the news, the group members who "criticized the pressure and the detentions" left on Monday (19 July).

Habur

A total of 26 refugees from the UN refugee camp in Mahmur and eight former members of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) entered Turkey via the Iraqi border upon imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan's call on 19 October 2009. They followed their personal decisions as an attempt to push forward the jammed political process of finding a solution to the Kurdish question.

A trial was opened against 26 members after their arrival in Turkey, 13 members were detained.

Both groups entered Turkey via the Habur check point in the south-eastern province of Şırnak. They were initially released after their statements had been taken. Hundreds of thousands of people set out to welcome the groups on the way and at their arrival in Diyarbakır. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had criticized the welcome as a staged show. After the reactions in Turkey, the peace group from Europe had decided not to enter the country. (EÜ/VK)