JINHA

MÊRDÎN – Turkish courts held the first hearing against 19 children in the Mardin province town of Kızıltepefor alleged participation in the October 6-8 protests in solidarity with Kobanê. The children are facing a total of 380 years in prison.

In the protests that broke out when Daesh attacked the city of Kobanê, in which police forces killed dozens in Northern Kurdistan, many children were arrested. Some, charged with "membership in an illegal organization," were kept in prison.

The 19 minors imprisoned for around a month in the wake of the protests have now been charged with 20-year sentences on average, in a case opened in January 2015. Yesterday, the children had their first hearing.

The Human Rights Association (İHD) Mardin Branch says the children are being tried based on the adult punishment system.

"All children need to be tried as children," said the İHD statement. "Trials of children are in conflict with international law. The punitive mindset is this country's greatest obstacle to peace."

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