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2 jailed Kurdish politicians given lengthy prison sentences

Gülten Kışanak (L) and Fırat Anlı.

Former co-mayor of the Diyarbakır Municipality Gültan Kışanak and pro–Kurdish Democratic Regions Party (DBP) co-chairperson Sebahat Tuncel have been given sentences ranging between 14 and 15 years on various terrorism charges, Turkish media reported.

Kışanak, who has been behind bars since October 2016, has been given a prison sentence of 14 years, three months, while Tuncel, in pretrial detention since November 2016, was handed down a sentence of 15 years.

The latest hearing the trial of the Kurdish politicians was held at the Malatya 5th High Criminal Court on Friday.

The indictment sought a prison sentence of 230 years for Kışanak and 145 years for Tuncel on charges including founding and managing an armed terrorist group, violating the law on assembly and demonstrations and disseminating propaganda for a terrorist organization.

Kışanak was convicted of founding and managing an armed terrorist group, while Tuncel was convicted of membership in a terrorist organization.

A Diyarbakır court arrested Kışanak and Fırat Anlı, the co-mayors of Diyarbakır, after they were removed from office.

The government appointed a trustee to the Diyarbakır Municipality after the democratically elected mayors were arrested.

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