Kurdish politician Ayşe Gökkan sentenced to over 19 years in prison
A court has sentenced Ayşe Gökkan, a Kurdish politician and the former spokesperson for the Free Women’s Movement (TJA), a Kurdish women's rights group, to 19 years and 6 months in prison on charges of "being a member of a terrorist organization."
The Diyarbakır 9th Heavy Penal Court today delivered its verdict during the fifth hearing of Gökkan's retrial. She attended the hearing via videoconference from the Sincan Women’s Closed Prison in Ankara. Her attorneys and representatives from women’s rights groups were present in the courtroom.
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During the hearing, the prosecution requested that Gökkan be convicted of the membership charge but also recommended her release from pretrial detention.
Gökkan delivered her defense in Kurdish, describing the trial as a process directed against her identity. She stated that she was targeted for being a Kurdish woman and was being punished for adhering to the philosophy of "Jin, jiyan, azadî" (Woman, life, freedom). She added that none of her actions constituted a crime and that the case file was built on fabricated police reports.
Arguing that her detention had no legal basis, Gökkan demanded her release.
Kurdish politician Ayşe Gökkan convicted of 'aiding a terror group'
Charges previously overturned
Her attorneys argued that the trial was unfair, noting that the evidence relied entirely on police reports and that requests by the defense were ignored.
The lawyers also reminded the court that the case file had been overturned several times before, stating that any decision other than an acquittal would be overturned again.
The defense pointed to Gökkan’s health problems and the absence of any flight risk, requesting her acquittal and release.
Following a recess, the court announced its verdict, sentencing Gökkan to a total of 19 years and six months in prison based on two separate files under the charge of "being a member of a terrorist organization." The court also ruled for the continuation of her detention.
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About Ayşe Gökkan
Politician and women's right defender. Gökkan started her political career in the Kurdish political movement in the late 1980s and early 1990s when she worked for the People's Labor Party (HEP) and the Democracy Party (DEP) in the southeastern province of Urfa.
Gökkan continued her involvement in politics in the following years and was an active member of the People's Democratic Party (HADEP), the Democratic People's Party (DEHAP), and the Democratic Society Party (DTP). All these political parties were eventually shut down by the Constitutional Court.
In 2002, Gökkan ran for MP in Urfa but was unsuccessful as her party failed to exceed the 10 percent election threshold. In addition to her political activities, Gökkan also worked as a journalist and contributed to various newspapers, including Özgür Gündem, Özgür Politika, Azadiya Welat, and the Özgür Kadının Sesi magazine.
In 2009, she was elected the mayor of the Nusaybin district of Mardin, a southeastern province predominantly populated by Kurds and Arabs, as the candidate of the DTP.
Gökkan was born in Suruç, Urfa, in 1965, and graduated from the journalism department of Cyprus American University in 1998. Throughout her career, she has been a vocal advocate for women's rights, regularly speaking out against gender-based discrimination and violence against women in Turkey.
(EMK/VK)