Spanish specialist on Kurdish issues refutes US terrorism charges

BARCELONA, Spain - A well-known Spanish journalist and historian specialized in Kurdish affairs has refuted charges of involvement in “terrorist activities” by the United States, calling on the Spanish government to rise to his defence.

Manuel Martorell said in a statement to Rudaw Friday that he has been informed by the US Department of State he cannot travel to the United States and his name has been placed on a list of people involved in terrorist activities.

“I have been forced to denounce publicly the grave accusation brought against me by the US Department of State, according to which I take part in terrorist activities, for which reason it has forbidden me to travel to that country in an indefinite manner,”  Martorell said in his email.

Martorell, who previously had worked for the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, now publishes articles related to the Middle East and Kurdish issues in the online Cuartopoder newspaper.

“I don´t have any doubt that this accusation is related to my journalistic activities and solidarity with the Kurdish people,” Martorell said.

“It is true that so many years writing and connecting with Kurdish organizations...and travelling in the Kurdish regions of Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria, I have made friendships inside these organizations,” Martorell acknowledged.

“Some, as the case with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), are considered terrorist organizations by the US and the European Union. But this does not mean that I identify with their political line or their behavior,” he said.

“Because it is not easy to take legal measures against the biggest power in the world, I have requested the help of the (Spanish) Ministry of Foreign Affairs to have the State Department remove from its computer data this classification, and to give me back the right to travel to the US,” Martorell added.

The Kurdistan Region representative office in Madrid has created a petition to collect signatures in support of Martorell.