CHP Istanbul chair sentenced to nearly 10 years in prison

ISTANBUL

A court in Istanbul on Sept. 6 sentenced the Istanbul provincial head of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) to spend in total nine years, eight months and 20 days behind bars for several charges including “spreading terrorist propaganda” and “insulting public officials.”

Canan Kaftancıoğlu pleaded non-guilty during the final hearing of the case at the 37th High Criminal Court.

“The season of ‘us’ has started; he lost. We won, 80 million won. I will not give up my thoughts and words whatever the verdict is. Because the season of ‘us’ has started, he lost, we won,” she said, referring to the mayoral election victory of the CHP over the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Istanbul on June 23.

The court convicted Kaftancıoğlu of “openly insulting the Republic of Turkey state” and “public officials” and gave a sentence of two years and two months for these two crimes. She was also given a jail time of two years and four months for “insulting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.” The court also found her guilty of “inciting people to hatred and enmity” and “spreading propaganda of a terrorist organization.”

Kaftancıoğlu will not be arrested until the verdicts are approved by a court of appeal.

The final hearing was watched by a crowd including Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, parliamentarians, human rights defenders and officials from consulates of several countries.