Zafer Talan, a member of the Antalya Branch of the Hacı Bektaş Veli Anatolian Culture Foundation, was sentenced to 15 months in prison for taking part in protests against the detention of mayors in Antalya. Antalya 39th Criminal Court of First Instance initially sentenced Talan at the 17 September hearing to 18 months in prison on a charge of “organizing or directing an unlawful meeting or demonstration and participating in its actions,” then reduced the sentence to 15 months. The other defendants in the same case were acquitted. Talan said his participation in commemorations of the Suruç and Ankara Train Station massacres, Deniz Gezmiş and the Sivas Massacre, as well as protests against operations targeting mayors, had been included in the case file. He said the court based the conviction on an earlier apprehension report and a photograph showing him chanting a slogan during a press statement. Arguing that the protests involved no violence or criminal element and that he had exercised his constitutional right to assembly and demonstration, Talan announced that he would appeal. Talan had previously been detained twice for participating in demonstrations.
6 October 2026
PİRHA