The PES regrets the decision to partially uphold the prison sentence she received in 2019 – Ms Kaftancıoğlu has committed no crime.
The PES recognises this decision as yet another clear sign that the judicial system in Turkey is being used to take revenge on the opposition. We condemn the actions of President Erdogan and his government and stand in full support with Ms Kaftancıoğlu, the leader of our associate member party CHP, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, and the countless opposition politicians subject to threats, oppression, and imprisonment in Turkey.
The PES condemns this sentence, which leaves Ms Kaftancıoğlu facing potential jail time or a complete ban from politics.
Ms Kaftancıoğlu is innocent. She received the original sentence in 2019 for social media posts – now made a decade ago – which criticised President Erdoğan. Following an appeal, the Supreme Court of Appeals today upheld a prison sentence of nearly 5 years.
European socialists and democrats stand, and have always stood, firmly by their colleagues from the CHP and all opposition parties in Turkey, in the name of the rule of law and democracy in the country. We will continue to closely follow developments in this, and other, cases.
