A woman who organised an event in London celebrating the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) told police she “doesn’t care” that the separatist movement was banned by the UK government, before a crowd advanced on the officers, a court heard.
Turkan Ozcan, 60, is one of six people accused of being members of the PKK, after police intercepted a party marking its founding at a community centre in Haringey, North London in November 2023. The four men and two women are accused of membership of the PKK over a period of 23 years.
About 200 people were expected to attend the event, with a fireworks display planned, Ozcan is alleged to have told police.
But when police tried to take down a flag raised in support of the PKK at the event, a large crowd advanced on them chanting “we are the PKK”. Counter-terror police then raided the centre after another anniversary occasion was planned the following year, making the arrests.
Jurors at the Old Bailey on Friday were shown dramatic body camera video of the event.
Opening the case, prosecutor Sean Larkin said the PKK was a separatist group that wants an independent Kurdish state. They have been fighting in an insurgency in Turkey since 1984, but last year the group's leader called on members to lay down their arms.
Mr Larkin told jurors there was nothing wrong with wanting self-determination for Kurdistan or campaigning for it, but that the PKK was proscribed by the Home Secretary in March 2001 because of the means by which it went about pursuing its aims.
Jurors were told of a terrorist attack on a Turkish target, in which five people were killed and 20 wounded. They were also shown videos of a bomb attack, which were recovered during the course of the investigation.
The PKK was founded on November 27, 1978 and some of the alleged offences centred on two anniversary events – “effectively a birthday party to celebrate the creation of the PKK”, Mr Larkin said.
It is alleged Ercan Akbal, 56, and Ozcan arranged one of the meetings at the Kurdish Community Centre in Haringey, north London, on November 26, 2023.
Police arrived at the centre that evening and asked for a PKK flag to be taken down as it supported a terrorist organisation, jurors were told.
“Please stop provoking people. This is a special event. This is a special, private event," Ozcan allegedly told police.
"People are celebrating something, OK. It is the anniversary of the PKK. The Kurdish people supporting the PKK. We don’t care if it’s banned, or proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the government.”
During the evening, two officers became “worried” for a colleague who had remained at the centre, prompting police to go in “in force”, jurors were told.
“As they did so, having secured the colleague, an officer removed a flag and the police retreated," Mr Larkin said.
“We are going to see a crowd advance towards the police chanting ‘we are the PKK, the PKK is us’.”
Police called on the centre again before another planned anniversary event the following year, where they found a banner and photographs of PKK fighters, Mr Larkin told jurors.
A memory stick allegedly linked to Agit Karatas, 24, included a slide show of PKK “martyrs” and a condolence letter to the family of a fighter with reference to those who left Britain to fight and sent on behalf of the “Youth Commune”.
On August 15, 2024 a group went to Snowdon to celebrate the PKK’s first militant attack and a banner they took was also recovered from the centre, Mr Larkin said.
An examination of 28-year-old Macahit Sayak’s bedroom at the centre led to the discovery of a uniform, a PKK flag and PKK baseball cap, jurors heard.
Ozcan, Akbal, along with Sayak, Berfin Kurban, 32, Ali Boyraz, 63, and Karatas, from north London, have denied membership of the PKK between March 1 2011 and November 27 2024.
Akbal, Ozcan and Sayak have denied arranging meetings in support of the banned organisation. Akbal, Boyraz and Karatas have pleaded not guilty to further charges of addressing gatherings at the Kurdish Community Centre.
The trial before Judge Rebecca Trowler KC continues.
