Turkey seeks prison term for official over Armenian Genocide remarksMay 24, 2019 - 10:44 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkish prosecutors have demanded a 17-year prison sentence for the Istanbul provincial head of the Republican People Party (CHP) over her social media posts about the Armenian Genocide between 2012 and 2014, Cumhuriyet newspaper reported. The prosecutors accused Canan Kaftancıoğlu of insulting the president and other public officials, provoking hatred and animosity in society and terrorism propaganda over her posts on Twitter, Ahval says. The investigation into Kaftancıoğlu, who the opposition say played a vital role in CHP’s victory on March 31 local elections in Istanbul, was launched in January 2018. “By saying deep state in fact we add mysticism to the events and clear the state. The state committed those murders,” said the politician in one of the tweets the case refers to. “The Armenian Genocide began on this day in history. We are commemorating our Armenian citizens who were massacred,” said another of the tweets. One tweet that has in recent weeks been widely shared by pro-government accounts to denounce Kaftancıoğlu, was originally posted following the 2013 murder of three female Kurdish activists in Paris. Kaftancıoğlu shared the words of Sakine Cansız, a co-founder of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and one of the women who were shot dead. “The history of the mankind starts with a woman. Humanity loses due to things done to women,” it said. The prosecutors said in their indictment that this tweet was terrorism propaganda as it spread the words of a PKK member and denounced her death. Kaftancıoğlu said in her testimony that she had posted all the tweets except the one on the Armenian genocide, Cumhuriyet said. The politician said other posts should be evaluated as criticism made according to her right to freedom of expression. Top stories The EU does not intend to conduct military exercises with Armenia, Lead Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano says. A telephone conversation between Putin and Pashinyan before the CSTO summit is not planned, Peskov says. London’s Armenian community has been left feeling “under attack” after the city’s Genocide monument was vandalised. The United States believes there should be an international mission to provide transparency. Partner news | Turkey extends military presence in Azerbaijan The Turkish parliament has adopted a bill submitted by Recep Tayyip Erdogan to extend the mandate of Turkish troops. Russia to begin assessing migrant workers' speaking skills Rosobrnadzor is planning to change the Russian language exam for migrant workers and include an assessment of speaking skills Armenian, Saudi Foreign Minister meet in Riyadh The two commended the positive dynamics of the development of political dialogue between Armenia and Saudi Arabia Pashinyan: Azerbaijan’s proximity shouldn’t worry border residents At the same time, he said that he “does not guarantee [the security of villagers] one hundred percent”. |