Turkish deputy gets jail time for terrorist propaganda

By Adsiz Gunebakan

GAZIANTEP, Turkey

An opposition Turkish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) deputy was sentenced on Tuesday to two-and-a-half years in prison for spreading PKK terrorist propaganda, judicial sources said.

A Turkish heavy penal court sentenced Mahmut Togrul -- Gaziantep deputy of the party -- to prison for the offense, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

The suspect was not in court but was represented by his lawyers.

The charges spring from Togrul chanting slogans of the PKK terrorist group in the southeastern province of Gaziantep and his speech to a crowd in February 2016.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. EU.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, it has been responsible for the deaths of some 40,000 people, including women and children.

By Adsiz Gunebakan

GAZIANTEP, Turkey

An opposition Turkish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) deputy was sentenced on Tuesday to two-and-a-half years in prison for spreading PKK terrorist propaganda, judicial sources said.

The suspect was not in court but was represented by his lawyers.

The charges spring from Togrul chanting slogans of the PKK terrorist group in the southeastern province of Gaziantep and his speech to a crowd in February 2016.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. EU.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, it has been responsible for the deaths of some 40,000 people, including women and children.