Court hears case against alleged PKK member in Feldkirch

Austria’s Feldkirch Regional Court is hearing the case of a man accused of belonging to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, for 17 years, ORF reported.

Prosecutors allege that the man collected money for the organisation in Vorarlberg and Russia, raising at least 100,000 euros that was passed on to the PKK. He is also accused of recruiting donors, members and fighters.

The indictment further alleges that he used photographs and comments on social media to portray the PKK positively. Membership of a terrorist organisation carries a potential prison sentence of up to 10 years.

The PKK is classified as a terrorist organisation in Austria, Turkey, the European Union and the United States. It had been in conflict with the Turkish state since 1984.

In 2025, the PKK announced that it would dissolve, disarm and end its armed struggle after its leader, Abdullah Öcalan, publicly called for those steps. Öcalan has been imprisoned in Turkey since 1999 for treason.