The Gaziantep Regional Court of Justice has approved a 55 month, 10 day prison sentence for Ferhat Encü, one of 10 jailed deputies from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), Habertürk reported on Thursday.
The Şırnak 2nd High Criminal Court on June 9 had handed down a prison sentence of 55 months, 10 days on terror charges.
Encü was first arrested in a police operation on Nov. 4 along with eight other deputies including the party’s Co-chairs Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ. He was released from Kandıra Prison in February but arrested again the same month.
Turkey has stepped up its crackdown on Kurdish politicians in recent months. Trustees have been appointed to dozens of municipalities in the country’s predominantly Kurdish Southeast, while hundreds of local Kurdish politicians have been arrested on terror charges.