Former Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) MP, lawyer Aysel Tuğluk, has been sentenced to three years in prison on charges of "spreading terrorist propaganda." The verdict hearing in the case against Tuğluk  was held on 14 January at Diyarbakır 6th High Criminal Court. 

Aysel Tuğluk did not attend the hearing due to her health condition, but her lawyer, Serdar Çelebi, was present. The prosecution demanded that Tuğluk be sentenced on charges of "spreading terrorist propaganda." 

Announcing its verdict, the court sentenced Aysel Tuğluk to three years in prison on the same charges. The court did not decide to reduce the sentence or adjourn the trial.

Background

An investigation was launched by the Diyarbakır Public Prosecutor’s Office against former HDP MP and lawyer Aysel Tuğluk on charges of "spreading terrorist propaganda" following a speech she delivered on a television program on 29 December 2010. After the investigation was concluded, a case was filed against Tuğluk at the Diyarbakır 6th High Criminal Court. In 2012, during the ongoing trial, legal amendments were introduced regarding propaganda offenses committed via press and media before 31 December 2011, provided the offenses carried sentences of less than five years. As a result, the court decided to adjourn  the prosecution. 

In 2015, another case was filed against Aysel Tuğluk in Van on the same charges. Following the trial, the Van 2nd High Criminal Court sentenced her to prison, and this sentence was upheld by the 3rd Chamber of the Court of Cassation in 2022. As a result of this decision, the previously filed case against Aysel Tuğluk in Diyarbakır was reopened.

At the verdict hearing held on 14 January, Tuğluk was sentenced to three years in prison.

Previously released due to health problems

Aysel Tuğluk, who was co-chair of the Democratic Society Congress (DTK), was arrested in 2016 due to her activities within the DTK. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges of being a "member of a terrorist organization." While in prison, Tuğluk developed dementia. Following a report from the Forensic Medicine Institute (ATK) stating that her health condition was not suitable for imprisonment, she was  released from Kocaeli Kandıra No. 1 F-Type High-Security Prison on 27 October 2022.