Turgut Öker, a German citizen for over twenty years, has been sentenced to eleven months and twenty days in prison in an Istanbul court for insulting the president. The prison sentence was commuted to a fine of 7000 TL, the ban on leaving the country was lifted.

The hearing of the former HDP MP and honorary chairman of the Alevi Federation in Europe was observed by HDP MPs as well as numerous representatives of Alevi organisations. The lawyers defended in court that Turgut Öker's statements about Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan were covered by freedom of speech.