A Turkish court on Thursday sentenced the former head of a pro-Kurdish party to 42 years in prison for his alleged role in deadly 2014 protests that erupted as Islamic State group jihadists overran the Syrian town of Kobane. In jail since 2016, Selahattin Demirtas, 51, a two-time election rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was convicted of dozens of crimes including undermining state unity and the country’s integrity.
The court in Sincan, on the outskirts of Ankara, also sentenced the People’s Democratic Party former co-chair Figen Yuksekdag to 30 years and three months in jail, private broadcaster NTV and rights group MLSA reported.—Agencies
