Turkish court acquits child chorus members of Kurdish separatism charges

A court on Thursday acquitted three teenage members of a Kurdish chorus accused of making Kurdish rebel propaganda by singing a rebel song under a rebel flag at a music festival in the United States. Lawyer Baran Pamuk told The Associated Press his clients, aged between 15 and 18, were cleared of the charges after the court in Diyarbakir, southeast Turkey, ruled that the three had "no intention" of spreading propaganda on behalf of the autonomy-seeking rebel group the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK. Six younger members of the chorus, being tried separately by a juvenile court, were also likely to be acquitted during a hearing set for July 3, Pamuk said. Prosecutors have, however, launched an investigation into their choirmaster, Pamuk said. The nine were members of a 15-person choir from the municipality of Diyarbakir, the... [read full story]