A Turkish court has in a retrial sentenced Ayşe Gökkan, a former mayor and prominent Kurdish women’s rights advocate, to more than 19 years in prison on terrorism-related charges, the Mezopotamya news agency (MA) reported.
The Diyarbakır 9th High Criminal Court convicted Gökkan of membership in the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and ordered that she remain in prison to serve her sentence, rejecting prosecutors’ request for her release pending appeal.
Gökkan said in her defense that she had not committed any act warranting prosecution or punishment, adding that any activity could become the subject of a criminal case as long as the existence of Kurds is not accepted.
Her lawyers said their requests for an investigation into the statements of secret witnesses were not considered and that she had not received a fair trial. They also requested the release and acquittal of Gökkan, who has health problems and posed no risk of flight.
Gökkan previously served as mayor of the Nusaybin district of Mardin province and as a spokesperson for the pro-Kurdish Free Women’s Movement (TJA). Her case returned to retrial after the Supreme Court of Appeals overturned two earlier prison sentences of 12 years and seven years, six months on the charge of membership in an armed terrorist organization.
The PKK, designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies, has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984 but said in May 2025 it would disband and end its armed campaign.
The sentence drew protests at demonstrations organized by TJA members in İstanbul, Diyarbakır, Şırnak and Mardin. Pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) lawmakers and officials from the Democratic Regions Party (DBP) also attended in support.
Human rights defender Eren Keskin criticized the ruling in a post on X, asking “Where is the process?” in reference to Turkey’s new peace initiative with the PKK, launched after the group announced in May 2025 that it would lay down its arms to pursue a democratic struggle to defend the rights of the Kurdish minority.
Gökkan was also previously sentenced to more than seven years in prison for “knowingly aiding a terrorist organization” and three years for “disseminating terrorist propaganda.” In a retrial in 2023, her sentence for “aiding a terrorist organization” was reduced to something over three years.
During her six years in prison, Gökkan underwent two surgeries and previously filed a complaint alleging that her medical treatment had been obstructed and that she had been subjected to mistreatment while in custody.
In 2023 she received the Humanity and Courage Award by Switzerland’s Paul Grüninger Foundation for her activism.
Turkey’s use of counterterrorism laws against human rights defenders, lawyers and opposition figures has attracted criticism from international bodies including the United Nations, the European Union and the Council of Europe, which have urged Ankara to end violations of international human rights standards and restore key legal safeguards.
