Turkey imprisons troops after their release by Kurdish rebels

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Turkish troops taken hostage by Kurdish rebels three weeks ago have been charged with "disobedience that could lead to a major catastrophe," a defense attorney said Sunday. The soldiers returned home last Sunday after their release by the rebels. But they are now in a Turkish prison, facing charges in their homeland. The soldiers' lawyer, Ramazan Korkmaz, who was not allowed to go through the court file but was present at Saturday's hearing, said the soldiers were accused of "not properly fulfilling their national duty," in a clash that left many other soldiers dead or wounded. The soldiers were abducted by rebels of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, on Oct. 21 following an ambush that killed 12 other soldiers. They were taken to a rebel base in the north of neighboring Iraq. The soldiers told the court that they had ran out of ammunition when the rebels took them hostage, Korkmaz said.