November 03, 2017•Update: November 03, 2017
By Aziz Aslan and Neset Karadag
DIYARBAKIR/ ADANA, Turkey
Two members of the opposition People’s Democratic Party (HDP) on Friday received prison sentences over terrorism-related offenses by two separate courts.
Selma Irmak, HDP deputy for the Hakkari province, was convicted to 10 years in prison for managing an armed terrorist organization and spreading propaganda for a terror group, by a court in southeastern Diyarbakir province.
Meral Danis Bestas, HDP deputy for southern Adana province, was sentenced to two years and three months in prison by a court in Adana for publicly humiliating the state and its institutions, including the judiciary, military and security forces.
She was convicted over a series of Twitter posts.
In January this year, she was remanded in custody for "being a member of an armed terrorist organization" in Diyarbakir, then released pending trial in April.
Thirteen HDP lawmakers were arrested last November, 10 of whom, including co-chairs Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag, remain in custody, awaiting trial on terrorism-related offenses.
The lawmakers are facing prosecution under an anti-terrorism legislation after their parliamentary immunity was lifted last May.
The Turkish government has accused the HDP of having links to the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU.
More than 1,200 people, including security force personnel and civilians, have lost their lives since the PKK resumed its decades-old armed campaign in July 2015.
