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Mahmut Günes was arrested in Turkey at the end of July
Photo: private
A German was convicted in Turkey of "terror propaganda" for the banned Kurdish Workers' Party PKK.
The court in Kırşehir in Central Anatolia sentenced her client Mahmut Günes to around 2 years, 9 months and 22 days in prison on Tuesday at the start of the trial, his lawyer Berfin Arslan told the dpa news agency.
The judgment is not yet final and Arslan has announced an appeal.
A release from prison was denied because of the risk of escape, she said.
The background to the proceedings are Twitter messages.
According to Günes supporters, the Bochum resident is accused of sharing critical tweets by Kurdish journalists about the Turkish invasion of northern Syria and about human rights violations by the Turkish government.
Günes participated via video from prison
Attorney Arslan criticized the court for having convicted Günes for communications on social media without being able to prove that it was his profile.
The decision is illegal.
The 46-year-old Günes took part in the trial via video from prison and, according to his lawyer, denied that he owned the Twitter account cited by the prosecution.
The Bochum resident was arrested on entering Turkey and arrested at the end of July.
According to his lawyer, he only has German citizenship.
In his home town of Bochum, Günes receives broad support.
On the website "Freedom for Mahmut", among others, the Greens, the SPD, the CDU, the Left and the FDP as well as the German Trade Union Federation (DGB) show solidarity with him.
Merkel visits Erdoğan at the weekend
The Green politician Max Lucks from Bochum, who entered the Bundestag for the first time in 2021, told SPIEGEL: “I am shocked by the verdict. I have the impression that it is about the political hostage-taking of a German citizen. «The verdict is an indication of how the Turkish government would instrumentalize the judiciary. Lucks demanded that Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) raise the issue during her visit to Turkey next weekend. Merkel meets Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Istanbul.
In Turkey, German citizens are repeatedly targeted by the judiciary for alleged terrorist allegations.
Among other things, the Cologne singer Hozan Canê (stage name) is threatened with conviction for supporting terrorism in Turkey.
Canê was imprisoned in Turkey for more than two years and is now back in Germany.
lukewarm / dpa
