June 09, 2017•Update: June 09, 2017
SIRNAK, Turkey
A Turkish court on Friday sentenced an opposition lawmaker to more than four years in prison for spreading terrorist propaganda and other offenses.
Ferhat Encu, a lawmaker from the opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), already jailed in the northwestern province of Kocaeli, took part in the sentencing hearing in the southeastern city of Sirnak via videoconferencing.
The court gave Encu four years and seven months in prison on the charges, which he denied.
Encu was detained in November 2016 along with 13 other HDP lawmakers on terrorism-related charges.
The lawmakers began facing prosecution under anti-terrorism legislation after their parliamentary immunity was lifted in March 2016.
Turkey's government accuses the HDP of being linked to the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and the EU.
Reporting by Ekrem Payan; Writing by Fatih Hafiz Mehmet
