Turkish opposition lawmaker convicted for insulting president

ŞIRNAK – Anadolu Agency

A lawmaker from opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) has received a one-year-and-nine-month prison sentence for “insulting the president,” according to a judicial source.

A court in the southeastern province of Şırnak handed the ruling.

HDP Şırnak Deputy Leyla Birlik had been arrested on Nov. 4, 2016 and released four months later, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media.

Birlik has also previously been accused of being a member of a terrorist group.

Nine HDP deputies, including HDP co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş and former co-chair Figen Yüksekdağ, are currently under arrest and awaiting trial on terrorism-related charges.

The lawmakers face prosecution under anti-terrorism legislation after their parliamentary immunity was lifted.