Turkish court denies release of former Kurdish mayor despite prosecutor’s request

30.12.2025

By SCF

Source:https://stockholmcf.org/turkish-court-denies-release-of-former-kurdish-mayor-despite-prosecutors-request/

A Turkish court has refused to release Ayşe Gökkan, a former mayor and prominent Kurdish women’s rights advocate, despite the prosecutor’s request for her release during a retrial following the overturning of several terrorism-related convictions, the İlke TV news website reported.

The Diyarbakır 9th High Criminal Court rejected both the prosecutor and the defense’s requests for Gökkan’s release, ruling that she should remain in prison while standing trial on a remaining charge of membership in the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The prosecutor had sought her conviction on that charge while also requesting her release pending trial, citing the length of time she has already spent in custody. Her next hearing was scheduled for March 26, 2026.

Founded in the late 1970s by Abdullah Öcalan, the PKK launched an armed insurgency against the Turkish state in 1984, a conflict that has claimed more than 40,000 lives. The group is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies, including the European Union and the United States.

In May the PKK announced that it would lay down its arms to pursue a democratic struggle to defend the rights of the Kurdish minority, in line with a call by Öcalan. The Turkish Parliament in August established a special parliamentary commission to oversee the peace efforts.

Gökkan previously served as mayor of the Nusaybin district of Mardin province and as a spokesperson for the pro-Kurdish Free Women Movement (TJA). Her case returned to trial after the Supreme Court of Appeals overturned three prison sentences totaling 27 years while upholding a separate conviction for “disseminating terrorist propaganda.”

Gökkan was detained in February 2018 in Nusaybin and later handed down multiple prison sentences including 12 years and seven years for “membership in a terrorist organization,” more than seven years for “knowingly aiding a terrorist organization” and three years for “disseminating terrorist propaganda.”

In a separate retrial in 2023, her sentence for “aiding a terrorist organization” was reduced to more than three years, while the remaining convictions were later overturned by the Supreme Court of Appeals, leading to the current retrial.

During her six years in prison, Gökkan underwent two surgeries and previously filed a complaint alleging that her medical treatment had been obstructed and that she had been subjected to mistreatment while in custody.

In 2023 she received the Humanity and Courage Award by Switzerland’s Paul Grüninger Foundation for her activism.

Turkey’s use of counterterrorism laws against human rights defenders, lawyers and opposition figures has attracted criticism from international bodies including the United Nations, the European Union and the Council of Europe, which have urged Ankara to end violations of international human rights standards and restore key legal safeguards.