Turkish court sentenced Kurdish leader to 42 years over 2014 unrest

Turkey court jails Kurdish leader for 42 years over 2014 unrest

ISTANBUL, Turkey — A Turkish court on Thursday sentenced the former head of a pro-Kurdish party to 42 years in prison for his alleged role in deadly 2014 protests that erupted as Islamic State group jihadists overran the Syrian town of Kobane. In jail since 2016, Selahattin Demirtas, 51, a two-time election rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was convicted of dozens of crimes including undermining state unity and the country’s integrity. Th…

In Turkey, left-wing Kurdish politicians Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ have been sentenced to excessively long prison terms.

Opposition leader jailed for 42 years in Türkiye

Selahattin Demirtas and his closest allies have been found guilty of inciting a deadly riot at the height of the Syrian Civil War

He was a rival of Turkish President Erdogan and the hope of the opposition - now the pro-Kurdish politician Demirtaş must spend 42 years in prison. The charge: terrorism.

A long list of Turkey's leading Kurdish politicians received long prison sentences on Thursday as the verdicts were read out in the so-called Kobani trial.

The former leader of the HDP party is accused of terrorist propaganda and endangering state unity.