In Turkey, riot police forces stormed a courthouse in Istanbul on Tuesday after some 20 Kurdish protestors briefly took several judges hostage, Turkey's NTV television station reported.
All protestors were currently in custody and the judges freed, it said, adding that the incident lasted about half an hour.
The group had raided the courthouse in the center of Istanbul, shouting slogans in favor of jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan, NTV said.
Television footage showed police, in helmets and bullet-proof jackets, dragging the protestors out of the building.
In the meantime, Anatolia news agency reported the protest but did not mention hostages.
The protestors were said to be supporters of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which fought a bloody struggle against Turkey for Kurdish-self-rule until September 1999 when it declared a unilateral cease-fire.
The PKK reformed as the Turkish Congress for Democracy and Freedom in Kurdistan (KADEK), which announced last week it was disbanding.
Demonstrators carried a large banner calling for a "democratic solution to the Kurdish problem" and for the closure of the island prison where Ocalan is serving a life term for treason. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
