Court of Cassation upholds HDP deputy Gergerlioğlu's prison sentence

Photo: HDP

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The Court of Cassation has approved Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) deputy and human rights advocate Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu's prison sentence for "terrorist propaganda."

Standing trial because of a social media post, Gergerlioğlu was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison by the Kocaeli 2nd Heavy Penal Court in February 2018. He was elected as an MP in June that year.

The case was taken to the 16th Penal Chamber of the Court of Cassation after the İstanbul Regional Court of Justice rejected an appeal by Gergerlioğlu.

"It has been understood that [Gergerlioğlu] used photographs of members of the organization in a post dated August 20, 2016, and it included expressions that justify the organization's methods that include coercion and violence," said the court.

"It has been determined that the act of trying to justify the PKK [Kurdistan Workers' Party], in terms of its context and nature, is intended to increase the political or social influence of the organizations, make its voice heard by masses, creating the opinion among the public that the organization is a power that is impossible to be overcome, increasing the public's sympathy towards the organization and ensure their active support.

"With these issues taken into account, no inaccuracy has been found in the decision to disregard the defendant's defense and punish him." (RT/VK)