Journalist gets 8 years, 3 months for alleged terror links

The Muş 2nd High Criminal Court on Friday handed down a sentence of eight years, three months in prison to journalist İdris Sayılğan after his conviction of membership in a terrorist organization and disseminating terrorist propaganda, the Mezopotamya news agency reported.

Sayılğan, who was a reporter for the now-shut-down Kurdish Dicle news agency, was arrested on Oct. 24, 2016.

During the final hearing Sayılğan alleged ill-treatment in the course of his transfer from a prison in Trabzon to a facility in Muş, claiming he was subjected to a strip search.

After a coup attempt in 2016, the Turkish government closed dozens of media outlets, including Kurdish agencies due to their alleged ties to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Turkey is the leading jailer of journalists in the world and is ranked 157th among 180 countries in the 2018 World Press Freedom Index released by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). (turkishminute.com)

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