Michael Ivers KC and Alex Rose of the Garden Court Crime Team acted for the defendant, instructed by Alastair Lyon of Birnberg Peirce & Partners.
Following a fourteen-week trial at the Central Criminal Court, Michael Ivers KC and Alex Rose secured an acquittal for the client of being a member of a proscribed [terrorist] organisation, namely ‘Partiya Karkeren Kurdistani’ (the PKK).
The case presented complex challenges, including firmly distinguishing material simply indicative of support for/sympathy with the struggle for a self-governing Kurdistan, together with a recognition of Kurdish ethnicity/culture, from evidence of membership. This involved detailed cross-examination of the expert witness concerning the geopolitical realities.
