Court of Cassation prosecutor requests approval of Kaftancıoğlu's prison sentence

Photo: Evrim Kepenek / bianet

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The Chief Public Prosecutor's Office of the Court of Cassation has requested the partial approval of the prison sentence given to Republican People's Party (CHP) İstanbul Chair Canan Kaftancıoğlu.

The İstanbul 37th Heavy Penal Court sentenced Kaftancığlu to 9 years, 8 months and 20 days in prison in September 2019. The appeals court upheld the sentence in June 2020.

She stood trial because of her social media posts and received sentences for five different offenses: "openly insulting a public official" (18 months and 20 days), "openly degrading the state of the Republic of Turkey" (20 months), "inciting people into hatred and animosity" (32 months), "propagandizing for an armed terrorist organization" (18 months) and "insulting the president" (28 months).

Sending a letter of notification to the 16th Penal Chamber of the Court of Cassation, the chief prosecutor requested the court to reverse the sentence for "propagandizing for an armed terrorist organization"

The prosecutor also demanded the correction verdict for "insulting the president," stating that Kaftancıoğlu did not commit this offense successively so the sentence given to her was longer than it should be.

For other charges, the prosecutor demanded approval.

If the Court of Cassation accepts all the requests by the prosecutor, Kaftancıoğlu will receive a prison sentence of 8 years and 2 months.

Kaftancıoğlu has long been a target for the government and pro-government media, having been accused of "terrorism" and subjected to sexist attacks by pro-government accounts on social media.

After she expressed support for Boğaziçi University students in their protest against a rector appointment in January, President and Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called her "a militant" of the outlawed Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C). (AS/VK)