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June 4, 1999
Web posted at: 12:59 p.m. EDT (1659 GMT)

IMRALI ISLAND, Turkey (CNN) -- The treason trial of Kurd rebel chief Abdullah Ocalan was adjourned Friday after a tumultuous courtroom scene in which an angry protester removed his prosthetic limb and brandished it.

Naim Karapacik, a military veteran of Turkey's 15-year-old battle with rebel Kurds led by Ocalan, shook the false leg in fury at Ocalan's lawyers.

"Where is my human right?" he shouted, leg in hand. Karapacik lost the limb in 1995 after stepping on a mine during an anti-rebel offensive in northern Iraq.

His outburst came after one of Ocalan's lawyers complained that families of rebels killed in the fighting hadn't been asked to attend the trial, even though the relatives and representatives of slain Turkish soldiers were present.

The exchange provoked an uproar, and at one point Judge Turgut Okyay expelled four prosecuting attorneys from the courtroom.

After a brief recess to restore calm, Okyay adjourned the hearing until Tuesday, asking prosecutors to have their closing arguments ready by then.

The trial is expected to end with a death sentence for Ocalan, who is blamed for more than 30,000 deaths since 1984 when guerrillas from his Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) took up the battle for self-rule in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast.

Analysis: Freedom fighters or terrorists? Turkey and Human Rights Modern Turkey: Interactive Timeline Photo Essay Turkey/Kurdish Issues

During his courtroom appearances, Ocalan has been confined within a bulletproof glass enclosure.

He has argued since his trial began Monday that he should be spared the death penalty so he can work to bring peace between Turkey and the PKK.

Ocalan has suggested that his rebel group hold a "peace conference". But the government has rejected talks with the guerrillas.

Turkey has ruled out any concessions to its minority Kurd population in their drive for autonomy, seeing that as a threat that would split the nation.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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