Posted on 07/26/2002 3:37:59 PM PDT by knighthawk
BERLIN (AP) — A 27-year-old Turkish woman was charged in Germany Friday with belonging to an outlawed terrorist organization dedicated to toppling Turkey's government, German prosecutors said.
The woman, identified only as Sebil K., is believed to be a leader in Germany of the Revolutionary People's Liberation Front, also known as DHKP-C, which aims to turn Turkey into a Marxist state.
The group has claimed responsibility for the assassinations of generals, policemen and government officials and has targeted U.S. military and diplomatic missions.
DHKP-C was banned as a terrorist organization in Germany in 1998. At the time, prosecutors said they suspected the leaders of the group in Germany ordered members to attack and sometimes kill members of a rival organization and Turks unwilling to contribute money. They also blamed the group for arson attacks against Turkish businesses in Germany, home to some 2 million Turks.
Sebil K. was responsible for such activities as a leader of the organization in the Mannheim region in 1998-99, the Federal Prosecutors Office in Karlsruhe said.
``The defendant had knowledge of, and approved, punitive actions against disobedient members and opponents of the organization,'' the office said in a written statement. ``These punishments went as far as killings and arson attacks against Turkish establishments in Germany.''
Sebil K. was arrested April 2 in the city of Bochum, and federal prosecutors said they filed the charges in a Stuttgart court. No trial date was immediately announced.
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