They pleaded not guilty to membership of the proscribed group, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, also known as the PKK, between March 1 2011 and November 27 2024. Akbal, Ozcan and Sayak denied arranging meetings in support of the banned organisation. Akbal, Boyraz and Karatas denied further charges of addressing the alleged gatherings at the Kurdish Community Centre in London. Ozcan, from Edmonton; Sayak, from South Woodford; Kurban, from Haggerston; Boyraz, from Tottenham; Akbal, from Leyton; and Karatas, from Hackney, remain on conditional bail. The PKK – Partiya Karkeren Kurdistani – is a separatist group that wants an independent Kurdish state in south-east Turkey, and has been banned in the UK since 2001.