An impromptu gathering of solidarity for the Kurdish activist Kenan Ayaz took place tonight in Nicosia. Kurds and Cypriots assembled near the German embassy close to the Presidential Palace, in light of the judicial proceedings set to commence tomorrow (3/11) at the Higher Regional Court in Hamburg.
By displaying symbolic banners and chanting slogans like “Kenan Ayaz, one of us” and “Freedom for Kenan,” they conveyed the message that people in Cyprus are closely monitoring the process, and the case of the Kurdish political refugee is far from concluded, even after his extradition last June.
Kenan Ayaz’s trial is part of a broader crackdown on Kurdish activists in Germany, with charges of involvement in a terrorist organisation.
The Kurdistan Workers’ Party, known as the PKK, remains classified as a terrorist organisation by Europol, and has been banned in Germany since 1993.
Present at the trial will be his defence attorney, Eustathios Eustathiou, and George Koukoumas, a Member of Parliament and spokesperson for AKEL.
This mobilisation is part of a larger set of actions, centred around the Observatory for Kenan Ayaz (kenanwatch.org).
A banner was also placed last night on a bridge in a central road of Nicosia, reading “solidarity will win, freedom to Kenan Ayaz”.
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