Sofya Alağaş, a Kurdish journalist and elected co-mayor of Siirt municipality, was sentenced to six years and three months on charges of terrorism-related activities. Her case highlights deep-seated political tensions in Turkey, particularly following a failed coup attempt in 2016 that intensified state repression against opposition groups and independent media. Established in 1978, the PKK represents Kurdish aspirations, yet is labeled a terrorist organization by Ankara. Alağaş believes her sentence embodies a political rather than legal decision, contingent on whether the Turkish state moves toward democratization in the near future.
The sentence was not a legal decision but a political one. If the Turkish state takes some steps towards democratization, the case will end with an acquittal.
The situation in Turkey grew more dire after July 15, 2016, when a faction within the Turkish military attempted a coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Kurds are Turkey's largest ethnic minority group, but their traditional homelands also stretch across parts of modern Syria, Iraq and Iran.
Alağaş said she quit her communications job for a municipality of Diyarbakır, the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey, because she refused to work for a trustee.
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