The Van High Criminal Court found the defendant, Lezgin Botan, guilty of “damaging the unity and territorial integrity of the state, membership in a terrorist organization and disseminating related propaganda, and encouraging criminal acts,” Turkish-language daily newspaper Evrensel reported.

The decision comes at a time that Ankara government presses ahead with a clampdown on members of the opposition party.

In a related development, the 17th High Criminal Court in the capital Ankara sentenced another pro-Kurdish deputy, Aysel Tugluk, to 10 years in prison on charges of “being the leader of a terror organization.”

Tugluk said in her defense before the court that the Democratic Society Congress (DTK) was not an extension of the PKK.

“The DTK has never called for violence. It serves as a legal platform that seeks a democratic solution to the Kurdish question,” she commented.

On December 26, 2016, Turkish security forces arrested Tugluk, a senior official of the HDP, in Ankara as part of an investigation launched by the Diyarbakir Chief Public Prosecutor's Office against the PKK and the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), an alliance of pro-Kurdish groups.

On November 3, 2017, the Diyarbakir 5th High Criminal Court pro-Kurdish opposition lawmaker Selma Irmak to ten years in prison.

Reporter’s code: 50101