Jailed Kurdish politician Kışanak allowed to attend sister’s funeral

Duvar English

Turkish authorities on Aug. 8 allowed veteran Kurdish politician Gültan Kışanak, who has been in prison for more than six years, to attend her sister Zeynep Özer’s funeral. 

Özer died in a hospital in the eastern Elazığ province after receiving treatment due to kidney failure.

Diyarbakır Bar Association’s former head Cihan Aydın told online news outlet Artı Gerçek that the authorities allowed Kışanak to attend the funeral which will take place in Elazığ’s Sün village on Aug. 9. 

Former co-mayor of the southeastern province of Diyarbakır Gültan Kışanak, who has been in jail since her arrest in 2016, was sentenced in February 2019 to 14 years and three months in prison on charges of “being a member of” and “making propaganda of” the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

However, an appeals court overturned the verdict in the same year, citing lack of procedure and principles during Kışanak’s trial and opening way for the retrial of her. 

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