A Turkish court on Tuesday agreed to try 193 people accused of having links with Kurdish militants in a high profile case that has seen Ankara's attitude towards freedom of speech criticised internationally. The defendants stand accused of maintaining links with the Union of Kurdistan Communities (KCK) which is allegedly the urban wing of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a group Turkey, the United States and the European Union list as a terrorist organisation.
The PKK has waged an armed campaign for autonomy in the mainly Kurdish southeast that has claimed more than 40,000 lives since 1984. The case is one of several that has seen Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's government's record on freedom of speech come under scrutiny. Some 100 journalists are currently in jail on various charges linked to their writings.
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