A Turkish court convicted an opposition party branch leader Friday of engaging in terrorist propaganda and insulting Turkish government officials with a series of social media posts, a verdict the opposition immediately alleged was politically motivated.
Canan Kaftancioglu, who heads the Istanbul branch of the secular Republican People’s Party, received a prison sentence of nine years and eight months for insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other accusations, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
Kaftancioglu denied wrongdoing. She plans to appeal and won’t be imprisoned until the outcome of that process.
The politician is a key opposition figure who helped deliver a stunning victory for colleague Ekrem Imamoglu in Istanbul’s mayoral election, dealing a major blow to Erdogan.
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