Court of Cassation upholds Kaftancıoğlu's prison sentence with a political ban

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The Court of Cassation has handed down its judgment about the prison sentence given to Canan Kaftancıoğlu, the İstanbul provincial chair of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP).

The court upheld three of the five sentences given to Kaftancıoğlu because of her social media posts, including some from 10 years ago. The total duration of the upheld sentences is 4 years and 11 months.

In September 2019, the politician was sentenced to a total of 9 years and 8 months in prison on charges of "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."

An appeals court upheld the sentences in June 2020.

The Court of Cassation upheld the sentences of 1 year, 6 months and 20 day for "insulting a public official" and "openly degrading the state of the Republic of Turkey." It also upheld the sentence for "insulting the president" but changed its duration from 2 years and 4 months to 1 year and 9 months.

It overturned the sentence of 1 year and 6 months for "propagandizing for a terrorist organization" and of 2 years and 8 months for "inciting the people to animosity and hatred.

The court also imposed a political ban on Kaftacıoğlu.

"Unlawfulness"

Releasing a video on his Twitter account after the verdict, Kaftancıoğlu said, "We will work wherever we are ... and will breathe a sigh of relief when we establish the rule of law."

"Now I will go to İstanbul and continue working. Never lose your hope," she said.

Meanwhile, in a Twitter post, CHP Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu called on all of his party's deputies to head to the CHP İstanbul office.

Memleketime bahar gelmiş:)
Asla durmak, yılmak, yorulmak yok!
Nerede olursak olalım çalışacak, çalışacak umudu örgütleyerek iktidardaki kötülüğü hep birlikte gönderecek, hukukun üstünlüğünü tesis ettiğimizde hep birlikte nefes alacağız…#AzKaldı pic.twitter.com/cL6VVSPpfm

— Canan Kaftancıoğlu (@Canan_Kaftanci) May 12, 2022

Reactions

Politicians from the CHP and other opposition parties denounced the verdict in Twitter posts.

İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who is also a member of the CHP, said the decision was "political" and he would visit Kaftancıoğlu for support. He also mentioned Kaftancıoğlu's role in the CHP's local election win in İstanbul.

Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş, also a CHP member, wrote that the decision was not based on "universal legal principles" and was political.

İYİ (Good) Party, the allies of the CHP, released a written statement, saying that "this is not an ordinary court verdict."

The same judge

The presiding judge was Akın Gürlek, whose verdicts in political cases have been widely discussed in recent years.

He was the presiding judge of the court that convicted columnists for daily Sözcü for "aiding an illegal organization."

That court sentenced Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) former Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş to 4 years and 8 months in prison and former HDP deputy Sırrı Süreyya Önder to 3 years and 6 months in prison for "propagandizing for a terrorist organization."

It also sentenced Progressive Lawyers' Association (ÇHD) lawyers to 159 years in prison in total.

It sentenced Canan Kaftancıoğlu, the İstanbul chair of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), to 9 years and 8 months in prison because of her social media posts. It declared journalist Can Dündar a "fugitive" and issued an order to confiscate his real estate.

The court headed by Gürlek sentenced former Cumhuriyet reporter Canan Coşkun to 2 years and 3 months in prison for "marking counterterrorism officials as a target."

It sentenced Sebnem Korur-Fincancı, the head of the Turkish Medical Association, to 2 years and 6 months in prison.

Gürlek also gave a decision, defying the verdict of the Constitutional Court in the case concerning journalist Enis Berberoğlu.

After this decision, the Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK), the country's judicial overseeing body, promoted Gürlek to the position of "first class judge," violating its own principle that "judges who do not comply with Constitutional Court rulings cannot be promoted."

The HSK hasn't investigated the complaints against Gürlek. On the contrary, it paved the way for Gürlek's appointment to the Court of Cassation, the top appeals court, and the Constitutional Court, as a "first class judge."

CHP Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has publicly criticized the judge, calling him "the judge of the palace."

(HA/VK)