A Turkish court has sentenced a German-Kurdish singer in absentia to three years, one month and 15 days in prison on a conviction of supporting terrorism in Turkey, Deutsche Welle Turkish service reported on Tuesday.
The sentence was handed down by a court in Edirne to Saide İnaç, a singer of German nationality from Cologne, better known by her stage name, Hozan Cane, on charges of supporting the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), her lawyer Nevruz Akalan told the German dpa news agency.
Turkey, the European Union and the United States have designated the PKK as a terrorist organization.
Being in Germany, Cane did not attend the hearing in Turkey.
Cane was arrested in Edirne in June 2018 after she had appeared at a campaign event for the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) ahead of national elections. Prosecutors focused on some of Cane’s Facebook posts in their arguments.
Back then, she was sentenced to six years, three months in prison on charges of terrorist organization membership.
As a result of the appeal filed by her lawyer, the Supreme Court of Appeals concluded in August 2020 that there was no “clear evidence” of the offense of membership in a terrorist organization.
After spending two years in prison, she was released in September 2020 under a travel ban.
Last year, another case was launched against Cane on charges of supporting the PKK.
In July, the court canceled the travel ban imposed on on Cane, making it possible for the singer to leave Turkey.