The Hürriyet Daily News reported that Berberoğlu was accused of providing the newspaper Cumhuriyet with video evidence of Turkish intelligence agencies transporting weapons and ammunition to Syria in 2014.
He is the first member of the Turkish parliament to face a prison term since immunity for MPs was repealed last year.
When the article was published in 2015, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan admitted that the trucks were indeed bound for Syria. Erdoğan said the trucks were delivering military supplies to Turkish soldiers, and vowed retribution against those responsible for the story.
The editor-in-chief and Ankara bureau chief of Cumhuriyet at the time the story was published, Can Dündar and Erdem Gül, have each been sentenced to five years in prison. Prosecutors are currently seeking an additional 10 years to be added to each man’s sentence.
Berberoğlu, who was accused of providing the video to Cumhuriyet, is the latest person associated with the story to be put behind bars.
But opposition leaders from the CHP claim that Berberoğlu’s incarceration is politically motivated, and further evidence of the erosion of rule of law and democracy under the leadership of Erdoğan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP).
The Guardian reported that Engin Altay, a CHP deputy chairman, denounced the ruling: “This decision is intimidation to the opposition. This decision is intimidation to all who are displeased with the AKP.”
CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu said members of the opposition will lead a protest march from Ankara to Istanbul to show their solidarity with Berberoğlu, according to Reuters.
Berberoğlu is one of thousands of Turkish citizens, including politicians, journalists and members of the military, to be jailed in the wake of last July’s failed coup.
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