Janan Kaftantsioglu, a senior member of the main opposition party, was sentenced today to four years and 11 months in prison, a decision seen as a blow to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s political opponents, 13 months before the next presidential election.
An official of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) confirmed to the French Agency the decision made today by the Supreme Court.
Kaftantsioglou, the party leader for the Istanbul region, was sentenced in the first instance in September 2019 to 10 years in prison on charges of “terrorist propaganda” and “insulting the head of state”. Nine months later, the Court of Appeal upheld her conviction.
The 50-year-old politician was free until her appeal was heard by the court of annulment. It was not immediately clear if he would be taken to jail today, but he is expected to speak later today from the party’s offices in Istanbul. Minutes after the verdict was announced, CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu called on the party’s 135 lawmakers to gather there. According to a photojournalist of the French Agency, members of the party have already started arriving outside the building.
Kaftantsioglou was convicted on Twitter after 2012-17, mainly for the large-scale anti-government demonstrations of the so-called “Gezi movement” and the 2016 coup attempt, which was followed by widespread crackdowns across the country.
From the very beginning, she constantly complains that this is a “political trial” aimed at punishing her for playing a decisive role in the victory of the opposition in the municipal elections in Istanbul in 2019. Kaftantsioglou is considered the “architect” of the victorious election campaign of Ekrem Imamoglu, the CHP candidate who twice defeated Erdogan’s candidate.
The mayor of Istanbul condemned this “political decision” and stated that he stands “on the side of our president”.
“Erdogan is stepping up repression as he loses ground due to growing economic pressure in the country,” Seren Selvin Korkmaz, director general of the IstanPol think tank, which the Turkish president’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) is trying to oust, said on Twitter. take revenge for losing Istanbul. ”
Less than a month ago, a Turkish court sentenced Turkish artisan businessman and philanthropist Osman Kavala to life in prison on charges of plotting to overthrow the government. Seven of his co-accused (lawyers, architects, documentary filmmakers and others) were sentenced to 18 years in prison for supporting him, although they insist they have nothing to do with him.
Source: Capital
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