EP Turkey rapporteur throws support behind CHP Istanbul chair Canan Kaftancıoğlu

The European Parliament’s Turkey rapporteur Nacho Sanchez Amor has thrown her support behind CHP Istanbul chair Canan Kaftancıoğlu who was sent to prison on May 31 to serve her jail sentence for "insulting" the president and the state. According to Kaftancıoğlu's lawyer, the politician will be freed on probation after entering prison.

Tuesday May 31 2022 05:43 pm

Duvar English

The European Parliament's (EP) Turkey rapporteur Nacho Sanchez Amor has thrown her support behind main Republican People's Party (CHP) Istanbul chair Canan Kaftancıoğlu after she was sent to the Silivri Prison on May 31.

“My dear Canan Kaftacıoğlu, CHP Istanbul chair and renown Turkish opposition figure, is right now on her way to Silivri prison. She should be released today but it’s anyway a clear, sad sign of how bad current times are in Turkey for political freedoms. All my support,” Amor said in a tweet.

Amor also shared a photo of Kaftancıoğlu just before she was dispatched from the Istanbul Courthouse to Silivri Prison. In the photo, Kaftancığlu is seen making a “break time” hand gesture.

My dear @Canan_Kaftanci, CHP Istanbul chair & renown 🇹🇷 opposition figure, is right now on her way to Silivri prison. She should be released today but it’s anyway a clear, sad sign of how bad current times are in #Turkey for political freedoms. All my support. pic.twitter.com/F1rGTjqvog
— Nacho Sánchez Amor (@NachoSAmor) May 31, 2022

Kaftancıoğlu surrendered herself to the authorities after the Court of Cassation, Turkey's highest appeals court, earlier this month approved her jail sentence of nearly five years for “insulting” the president and the state.

Following the judicial procedures at the Istanbul Courthouse, she was transferred to the Silivri Prison.

Kaftancıoğlu's lawyer said that the politician will be freed on probation after entering prison.

Kaftancıoğlu has been credited as the person behind Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu's election success. The CHP’s victory in the 2019 local elections in the megacity ended the 25 year-rule of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its predecessor Welfare (“Refah”) Party.