A Turkish court on Monday sentenced a former district mayor and several municipal officials to prison on charges of financing the DHKP/C terrorist group, concluding a high-profile trial involving local government figures.
The 13th High Criminal Court in Istanbul sentenced former Sarıyer district Mayor Şükrü Genç to seven years and six months in prison for providing financial support to the armed group DHKP/C, according to the ruling.
Mahmut Serdar Kızılay received the same sentence on identical charges.
The case stemmed from an investigation led by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, which accused 25 defendants, including former deputy mayors and municipal officials, of channeling funds to the terrorist group through municipal-linked activities.
The court sentenced defendants Orhan Beğenmiş, Mehrali Seçme, Erdoğan Yıldız and Abdurrahman Emin to one year and 13 months in prison.
Eight others, including Melih Morsümbül and Haydar Battal, were sentenced to six years and three months for financing terrorism.
Prosecutors had sought prison terms of up to 27 years and six months for some defendants. The verdict was delivered at Istanbul’s Çağlayan courthouse following the final hearing of the trial.
