Turk court acquits Kurdish mayor in ambulance case

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, Sep 27 (Reuters) A Turkish court acquitted a Kurdish mayor today of charges he had abused his authority by sending an ambulance to transport the body of a Kurdish rebel killed in a clash with troops.

Osman Baydemir, mayor of Diyarbakir, the largest city in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast, faced a jail sentence of up to one year for improper use of public vehicles if found guilty.

Prosecutors said use of the ambulance had incurred losses of 16.8 lira () for the city council in Diyarbakir.

The court dismissed the case against him in its first hearing.

Baydemir is a senior official in the Democratic Society Party (DTP) which favours more autonomy and cultural rights for Turkey's Kurdish minority. He had said his use of the ambulance was legal and represented a ''duty of humanity''.

The dead rebel was one of two killed in a clash with security forces near Diyarbakir on March 25, 2005.

Baydemir faces several other court cases. He is among 56 mayors being tried for opposing Turkey's efforts to close down a Denmark-based television station that Ankara says is a mouthpiece of the Kurdish rebels.

Ankara blames rebels of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) for the deaths of more than 30,000 people since the group launched its armed struggle for an independent ethnic homeland in southeast Turkey in 1984.

Clashes between the PKK and security forces have increased over the past year. Today, a soldier was hurt when he stepped on a mine laid by the rebels, security sources said.

REUTERS AB HT1922