Turkish appeals court upholds lengthy prison sentence for Kurdish politician

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A Turkish appeals court on Friday upheld a lengthy prison sentence of more than 22 years for a prominent Kurdish politician over alleged links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a pro-Kurdish news outlet reported.

Leyla Guven, a former lawmaker for the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), was stripped of her parliamentary membership in June 2020 and later sentenced to 22 years and three months in jail for allegedly being a member of the PKK and propagating for the group.

She had appealed to the Regional Court of Justice on the grounds that her sentence was unfair, demanding a reversal of the ruling. However, the court rejected her application, upholding the local court’s decision, according to Mezopotamya News Agency.
 
Guven,57,can appeal the ruling by filing an appeal with the Court of Cassation, according to the pro-Kurdish news outlet. 

She launched a 200-day hunger strike in 2018 in a bid to end jailed Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan's isolation by securing him access to his family and lawyers. She is also the co-chair of the Democratic Society Congress (DTK) - an umbrella group which consists of lawyers, civil society organisations, political parties and human rights activists. 

The PKK is an armed group fighting for the increased rights of Kurds in Turkey. It is considered a terrorist organisation by Ankara. Some Turkish officials claim that HDP and its sister groups like DTP have links with the PKK, leading to a crackdown which has put thousands of members and officials behind bars.