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Conviction upheld for lighter collection

ANKARA, Turkey, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- A Turkish court upheld the conviction of a member of a radical group, saying his cache of cigarette lighters could be used for terrorist purposes.

Turkey's Supreme Court of Appeals approved the seven-year prison sentence the Izmir High Criminal Court gave Arif Pelit in October 2011 after police found 19 lighters in his home, the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet Daily News reported Tuesday.

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Although Pelit, a two-pack-a-day smoker, claimed the lighters were brought home from the coffee house where he works, and the Izmir Police Department and the prosecutor agreed his lighter collection did not represent a criminal threat, the Supreme Court noted Pelit is a "member of the DHKP/C (Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front) terrorist organization" and that the lighters could be used on behalf of the organization, the newspaper said.

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