Turkey
Protests: verdict against opposition politician in Istanbul
Thousands of protesters fill the Maltepe rally area in Istanbul. Photo: Tolga Ildun/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
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In 2023, the Turkish head of state Erdogan is up for re-election. The supporter of a possible challenger has now been sentenced to prison – among other things for insulting the president.
Thousands of people took to the streets in Istanbul because of a court verdict against well-known opposition politician Canan Kaftancioglu. The protesters showed their solidarity with Kaftancioglu and shouted slogans like “Rights, law, justice”.
Kaftancioglu is the leader of the provincial opposition CHP party in Istanbul and an influential supporter of her party colleague Ekrem Imamoglu – the mayor of Istanbul. Some see him as a possible challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in next year’s presidential election.
Last week, a Turkish court of appeal confirmed Kaftancioglu’s sentence to around five years in prison for, among other things, insulting the president and publicly disparaging the Turkish state.
According to her lawyer, Kaftancioglu is no longer allowed to engage in political activities for five years. The indictment was based on Twitter messages from 2012 to 2017.