Opposition MP gets prison term for terrorist propaganda

ERZURUM

A court in eastern Turkey on Tuesday convicted a lawmaker from the opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) for making propaganda of a terrorist organization.

Dirayet Dilan Tasdemir, an HDP lawmaker for the eastern Agri province, was charged with attending the funerals of five PKK terrorists in the southeastern Sirnak province.

The 2nd High Penal Court in the eastern Erzurum province handed down a prison sentence of one year and eight months for Tasdemir on charges of making propaganda of the terrorist PKK.

The HDP has been accused of being linked to the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU.

For more than 30 years, the PKK has waged a terror campaign against Turkey leading to the deaths of more than 40,000 people -- security forces and civilians alike -- including more than 1,200 since July 2015 alone.

Reporting by Muhammet Mutaf:Writing by Sibel Ugurlu