Crackdown on Free Speech: Turkish Court Hands Down Harsh Sentences to 16 Over Kurdish Sermons

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Sixteen of the 23 defendants, including the chairman and members of the Religious Scholars Unity Association (DİAYDER), have been sentenced to prison on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization” and “spreading terrorist propaganda” for delivering sermons and prayers in Kurdish.

The chairman of the association, Ekrem Baran, and three other defendants were sentenced to more than seven years in prison. While six defendants were acquitted, the other individuals received prison sentences of varying lengths from around two to six years.

‘Religious affairs branch of PKK’

In the case, the prosecutors argued that the DİAYDER served as the “religious affairs arm” of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has prepared a 335-page indictment against the defendants, alleging that the DİAYDER, which operates in Istanbul, was established as a Kurdish version of the Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) under the instructions of the PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan was imprisoned.

The indictment stated that the association systematically presents launch cards obtained from public institutions “to individuals to increase the loyalty of the families of those who were part of the PKK or who have been neutralized during (military) operations, ensuring that they are cutting ties with the PKK.”

After the indictment was accepted by the court, the Ministry of Interior launched in December 2023 an investigation into the Istanbul Municipality led by the opposition. Some of the suspects in the case worked in the borough.