The trial of two Kurdish activists has begun at the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court in Hamburg. Nihat Asut and Agit U. are accused by the Hamburg Public Prosecutor’s Office under §129a/b of the German Criminal Code (StGB) of having been active as PKK members from 2020 and 2021, respectively, until searches were conducted and Asut was arrested on March 12 of this year. Nihat Asut has been held in the Hamburg remand center since his arrest.
The start of the trial was observed by numerous interested parties. When Nihat Asut was led into the courtroom, most of the spectators stood up and greeted the defendant with applause. Due to admission controls, the courtroom only filled up half an hour after the trial began and was then completely full.
The trial began with the presiding judge of the State Security Senate, Norbert Sakuth, establishing the defendants’ personal details. The two defendants, aged 63 and 64, are Kurds with Turkish citizenship and provided their personal details in their native language, Kurmancî.
Attorney General Schakau then read out the indictment and adjourned the hearing until next Wednesday, September 17, at 9 a.m. The defendants did not wish to make any statements at this time. Further hearings are scheduled for September 19, October 6, 8, 14, and 15, November 5, 6, 17, 19, 27, and 28, and December 2 and 3, 2025. These dates are subject to change.
Protest in front of the courthouse
Ahead of the trial, the Freedom for Nihat Working Group held a rally in solidarity with the defendants in front of the courthouse starting at 8 a.m. In several speeches, including those by the Kurdistan Solidarity Committee Kiel and Defend Kurdistan Bremen, the policy of criminalizing Kurds in Germany was criticized and freedom for all imprisoned Kurdish activists was demanded. In addition, greetings were delivered by Die Linke Kiel, Rote Hilfe Kiel, and the Marxist Left.
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