A recent decision by Court of Cassation in Turkey upheld a political ban and prison sentence for the head of the Istanbul branch of the country’s main opposition party, Canan Kaftancıoğlu. Condemning the decision by the court, she said, “Never stop, do not give up, do not get tired. We will breathe together when we establish the rule of law.”
An Istanbul appeals court on Thursday confirmed three charges against Canan Kaftancıoğlu, the head of the Istanbul branch of the main opposition Republican People’s party (CHP), upholding her convictions for insulting a public official, publicly insulting the republic of Turkey, and insulting the president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
She faces a ban on political activity and a prison sentence of four years, 11 months and 20 days. While she could receive a suspended sentence, observers fear that banning the key opposition leader from politics is intended to sideline her before presidential and parliamentary elections.
In response, Kaftancıoğlu tweeted a video telling her supporters: “Never stop, do not give up, do not get tired.” She added: “We will breathe together when we establish the rule of law.”
Kaftancıoğlu has been targeted by the government since she was elected the party’s İstanbul chair in January 2018. An investigation into her social media posts had started days after she assumed office.
The tweets that were the subject of the lawsuit included some she shared during the 2013 Gezi Park protests. In September 2019, she was sentenced to a total of 9 years and 8 months in prison for five separate offenses — propagandizing for a terrorist organization, insulting a public official, insulting the president, openly degrading the state of the Republic of Turkey, and inciting people to animosity and hatred.
The Court overturned the sentences for “terror propaganda” and “incitement” and upheld the others; hence Kaftancıoğlu was handed a prison sentence of 4 years, 11 months and 20 days. The top appeals court also upheld a political ban imposed on Kaftancıoğlu by the local court.
Kaftancıoğlu’s sentence came weeks after the verdict in the Gezi trial, which also caused criticism for being “politically motivated.” In response, CHP Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu addressed the members of his party who gathered in front of the party’s İstanbul office hours after the verdict was pronounced.
Addressing the crowd with Kaftancıoğlu and İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu on his both sides, Kılıçdaroğlu called Erdoğan “a hypocrite” and an “opportunist.”
“But your oppression and insolence are ending now,” he remarked. “Don’t forget this, Erdoğan, the voice of the people embodied by Canan is greater than you. Canan is brave. Canan is ours.”
Kaftancıoğlu, an outspoken, motorbike-riding leftist, is thought to have played a central role in helping the CHP win the Istanbul mayoral race in 2019, granting it control of Turkey’s largest city.
Sources: Guardian, Bianet English