Political ban on leading opposition figure, festival ban for the youth

Photo: AA

The Court of Cassation on Thursday upheld the prison sentences given to Canan Kaftancıoğlu, the İstanbul head of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP).

One of the leading left-leaning politicians in the CHP, 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 of Cassation 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.

Intimidation

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."

The mayor also condemned the sentence of Kaftancıoğlu, who is widely credited for helping his 2019 election win by ensuring election security to end the 25-year rule of Erdoğan's AKP and its predecessors in İstanbul.

Several groups in the European Parliament, and its rapporteur for Turkey, also condemned Kaftancıoğlu's sentence.

The next day, he visited SADAT, a military contractor linked to the president, only to not be allowed in the company's buildings, like in his visits to the Turkish Statistical Institute and the Ministry of Education.

Speaking to reporters in front of the company, Kılıçdaroğlu called SADAT "a paramilitary group training terrorists" and said it would threaten election security.

In response, an executive of SADAT told journalist Hadi Özışık that "Had SADAT trained terrorists, Mr. İmamoğlu could not be a neighbor of ours," noting that the mayor's house was very close to the company's headquarters.

Will Kaftancıoğlu be sent behind bars?

Some argued that the punishment given to Kaftancıoğlu was "finely adjusted" in order to ban her from politics while not incarcerating her.

Had the court upheld the sentence for "terror propaganda," Kaftancıoğlu would have to serve several years in prison, but now, she is expected to be released on probation immediately after going to prison in accordance with an order by the prosecutor"s office.

Sezgin Tanrıkulu, a human rights lawyer and a CHP deputy, told daily Cumhuriyet that Kaftancıoğlu should be released on the same day as per the criminal enforcement law, which was amended in 2020 due to the pandemic to allow the supervised release of prisoners three years before completing their sentences.

Lawyer Rezan Epözdemir also said Kaftancıoğlu should be immediately released after the probation period and supervised release period applied to her sentence.

"When we look at the offenses that Kaftancıoğlu is convicted of, she will first benefit from probation: 4 years, 11 months and 20 days [of prison term] will be reduced to 2 years, 5 months and 25 days as per the criminal enforcement law," he told Habertürk. Since the three-year period of supervised release is longer than her sentence, she shouldn"t serve time in prison, he noted.

Governor bans music festival in "student city"

The Governor of Eskişehir on May 9 announced a 15-day public event ban, except for the events to be organized by political parties and celebrations of May 19 Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day.

Without making reference to a specific happening, the governor said the ban was issued to "ensure public order and public security, prevent crime, protect others' rights and freedoms and prevent the spread of violence."

Because of the ban, the Anadolu Fest, what was going to be the largest music festival in the city since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, was canceled. Eskişehir is known as Turkey's largest "student city" with a student population of nearly 100,000.

While musicians, opposition politicians and social media users criticized the ban, accusing the government of interfering with people's lifestyles, some defended the ban against what they called "an immoral event."

Mustafa Destici, an Erdoğan ally and the leader of the Great Union Party (BBP), said, "Not everyone can say it openly, but I'm saying it openly: I don't find it appropriate to exhibit haram [forbidden by Islam] things and behaviors, like beer or wine, under the guise of a music festival."

The government has remained silent against the criticism.

In recent years, spring festivals in many universities have been canceled or turned into "alcohol-free" events.

The midnight music ban that was introduced in April 2020 as part of the coronavirus measures is still in effect even though almost all other measures have been lifted. The Ministry of Interior pushed the start of the ban from 12 a.m. to 1 a.m., "considering the demands from tourists ahead of the summer."

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Law and human rights

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Politics and diplomacy

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Labor and economy

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Environment

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Women&LGBTI+

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Freedom of expression

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