Kenan Ayaz, the Kurd on trial for PKK membership in Hamburg, continued his plea by addressing the ‘divide and rule’ strategy of the European hegemonic powers. The judge threatened to exclude the public.
On Tuesday, Kenan Ayaz (officially Ayas) was able to continue his plea in the §129b trial before the Hamburg Higher Regional Court. In a comprehensive analysis of the history of Kurdistan, he explained the causes and circumstances of wars and massacres in the region and the political interests of the European hegemonic powers.
Judge threatens to exclude the public
During the trial, the presiding judge Wende-Spohrs once again threatened to exclude the public. Kenan Ayaz was initially greeted warmly with applause, which the judge attempted to sanction immediately after entering the courtroom by threatening to impose a fine and evict the audience. In the further course of the hearing, a trial counsellor was forced to identify herself in front of the criminal division because she had supposedly responded ‘cheekily’ to a request to do so. There was no punishment, apparently the senate itself recognised how ridiculous the justification was.
Missing letter
As a letter containing almost 20 pages of the plea was apparently lost or not delivered during correspondence with his lawyer, Kenan Ayaz had to omit the missing part for the time being. This part will be made up for at the next hearing. Ayaz described the difficult circumstances under which he has to communicate with his defence. The letters he sent in April with his written plea, which had to be translated, were only delivered in June. Without any understanding of the necessary coordination between the defendant and his defence, the presiding judge initially suggested that Kenan Ayaz should read out the missing pages freely. Ayaz said that he had a headache and could not concentrate because he had not been given enough time to eat during the lunch break. He had held a long planned and announced telephone conversation and it did not seem obvious to the Senate that he needed a longer lunch break to be able to eat something.
Next hearing on 19 August
Kenan Ayaz will continue his closing statement on 19 August 2024 at 9:30 am. The trial will take place on the first floor of the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg at Sievekingplatz 3, either in room 237 or 288. kenanwatch.org provides information in Greek, English and German about the trial and the protests in Cyprus and Germany.