Turkey: 12 years in prison for carrying molotov coctails

A Turkish court has handed down jail sentences of 12 years, six months to two suspects who were arrested for possessing Molotov cocktails on charges of providing weapon for the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), classifying Molotov cocktails as a type of weapon.

A case filed against two suspects, who were accused of possessing 16 fireworks and four Molotov cocktails during protests in support of the PKK and its jailed leader, Abdullah Öcalan, at the Van 4th High Criminal Court last year concluded on Monday with the court sentencing the two suspects to 12 years, six months in prison.

The court stated that the Molotov cocktails and fireworks the suspects prepared were intended for use against security forces, public buildings and private property during pro-PKK protests and thus constitute the crime of “providing weapons for a terrorist organization.”