The prosecution charged that Mayor Osman Baydemir, one of Turkey's most popular Kurdish politicians, caused financial loss to the municipality in the March 2005 incident.

Three senior aides face the same charges.

The indictment said a municipality-owned ambulance was allowed to take the slain militant's body from Diyarbakir to Gaziantep, 320 kilometers (198 miles) to the west, where the funeral took place, and that the driver was paid travel allowances.

The militant belonged to the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), considered a terrorist group by Turkey, as well as the United States and the European union.

Kurdish politicians in Turkey are often suspected of supporting the PKK, which has fought the Ankara government since 1984 in a conflict that has claimed more than 37,000 lives.

Baydemir is also under investigation for "praising terrorism," and for having hailed the "courage" of young Kurdish rioters in March as he tried to convince them to end deadly urban unrest in Diyarbakir and neighboring towns.