ISTANBUL: A senior member of Turkey’s main opposition party was freed Tuesday on the same day she was jailed following a conviction for having insulted President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other public officials.
The sentence against Canan Kaftancioglu, who leads the Republican People’s Party (CHP) in Istanbul, also bans her from running in next year’s legislative and presidential elections.
On May 12, the Supreme Court of Appeals confirmed Kaftancioglu’s conviction on three counts including over an anti-Erdogan tweet.
Although her sentence was for four years, 11 months and 20 days, party officials earlier told AFP she would be freed at any time as can happen for sentences shorter than five years.
Tens of thousands of people rallied in Istanbul on May 21 to express their support after the court handed down its sentence.
Kaftancioglu, a doctor by profession, played a key role in the surprise victory of the CHP’s Istanbul mayoral candidate Ekrem Imamoglu in 2019 — the first time Erdogan’s party had lost power in Turkey’s biggest city for 25 years.
Imamoglu himself will appear in court on Wednesday on charges of insulting public officials. If convicted, he faces up to four years in jail.
Kaftancioglu will attend the hearing, her office said.
Political opponents have accused Erdogan’s government of putting pressure on the opposition ahead of next year’s vote.
Leading Turkish opposition figure jailed and then freed
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Leading Turkish opposition figure jailed and then freed
- Tens of thousands of people rallied in Istanbul on May 21 to express their support after the court handed down its sentence
Syrian Democratic Forces withdraws from east of Aleppo
RIYADH: Syrian Democratic Forces have withdrawn from positions east of Aleppo, according to SDF head Mazloum Abdi.
He announced Friday that SDF will withdraw from east of Aleppo at 7 a.m. local time on Saturday and redeploy them to areas east of the Euphrates, citing calls from friendly countries and mediators.
Hours earlier, a US military designation had visited Deir Hafer and met with SDF officials in an apparent attempt to tamp down tensions.
The US has good relations with both sides and has urged calm. A spokesperson for the US military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Shortly before Abdi’s announcement, interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa had announced issuance of a decree strengthening Kurdish rights.
A wave of displacement
Earlier in the day, hundreds of people carrying their belongings arrived in government-held areas in northern Syria ahead of the anticipated offensive by Syrian troops on territory held by Kurdish-led fighters.
Many of the civilians who fled were seen using side roads to reach government-held areas because the main highway was blocked at a checkpoint in the town of Deir Hafer controlled by the SDF.
The Syrian army said late Wednesday that civilians would be able to evacuate through the “humanitarian corridor” from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday and then extended the evacuation period another day, saying the SDF had stopped civilians from leaving.
There had been limited exchanges of fire between the two sides in the area before that.
Men, women and children arrived on the government side of the line in cars and pickup trucks that were packed with bags of clothes, mattresses and other belongings. They were met by local officials who directed them to shelters.
* with input from Reuters, AP
