HDP politician Fırat Keser sentenced to 7,5 years in prison

HDP Party Council member Fırat Keser has been sentenced to seven years and six months in prison for "membership in a terrorist organization."

On Tuesday, the verdict against Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) politician Fırat Keser was handed down at the 2nd Heavy Penal Court in Aydın. The HDP party council member was sentenced to seven years and six months in prison for "membership in a terrorist organization." Keser and his lawyer Sedat Kula attended the hearing through video conferencing system SEGBIS from the Courthouse of Van.

Keser has been held in the maximum-security Van Prison since May 28. The case against him has been ongoing since 2010, when a "witness" changed his testimony after ten years and brought about Keser's arrest in May. The reason given for the detention was that Keser lived near the Iranian border and therefore there was a "flight risk."

In his plea, Keser's lawyer rejected the charges, stating that they were based solely on the statements of one person. He called the request for penalty "unlawful" and demanded acquittal. Despite the lack of evidence, the court did not follow the defense, but sentenced the politician to many years in prison. Keser's lawyer announced that he would appeal.