President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said no journalists in Türkiye for imprisoned for their ideologies or journalistic activities, as he highlighted they were convicted for their ties to terrorist groups, and other criminal offenses.
Noting that he was jailed for a poem he had recited during his time in office as the Mayor of Istanbul, Erdoğan told a gathering with youth at the library of the Presidential Complex in Ankara that his imprisonment was ideological, but the so-called journalists in jails now are not convicted for their ideologies or thoughts.
Official data from the Justice Ministry indicates that most of the suspects referred to as "journalists" have been convicted of terrorism and criminal offenses.
According to the data, many of the suspects are imprisoned for membership in terrorist organizations including the PKK, DHKP-C and the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ).
Some of the non-terror-related crimes were listed as deliberate murder and extortion. For instance, C.B. was imprisoned after attacking his landlord, who requested him to pay his rent.
Erdoğan also said the former co-chair of the pro-PKK People's Democratic Party (HDP) Selahattin Demirtaş is not convicted for his ideologies or thoughts, in response to a question about his incarceration having a negative impact on Turkish democracy.
"Selo (Demirtaş) is a terrorist who led to the deaths of 51 Kurdish siblings in Diyarbakır," Erdoğan said, adding that he is not imprisoned for his political ideology but rather for his ties to the PKK terrorist group.
He noted that the former co-chair is responsible for provoking the Kobani riots and has the blood of innocent people killed during the riots.
In the events that would become known as the Oct. 6-7 Kobani protests, 31 people were killed and some 350 others were injured in clashes between pro-PKK and conservative Kurdish groups and security forces throughout Turkey, especially in the southeast.
During the violence, 16-year-old Yasin Börü was brutally murdered by the terrorist group's supporters in southeastern Diyarbakır while distributing meat to poor families.
Following the events, more than 1,600 investigations were launched, 894 suspects were detained and 386 of them were imprisoned. Eighteen of the 41 suspects were sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Yasin Börü and his friends.
Then-HDP co-chairs Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ were named by the court as the main perpetrators of the overall violence, and the two were arrested following the investigation.
The events were a major blow for HDP and its public face, Demirtaş, who repeatedly stated that they aim to be an umbrella party appealing to all of Turkey instead of a regional and ethnic party. Their later calls, however, found little support.
The HDP has come under fire for its close links to the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. Members of the party have so far declined to call the PKK a "terrorist group" and have attended PKK militants' funerals.
Syrians gradually returning home
Syrian refugees have started returning to their country voluntarily, Erdoğan said.
"We have built over 100,000 houses for them in northern Syria ... Gradually, Syrian refugees began to settle in these residences," he said.
Erdoğan said Syrian people are facing life threats from terrorist organizations in their country, adding that their forceful return would amount to oppression.
"There is no time limit on this issue ... We give our best to support and assist them in this regard," he said.
More than 3.7 million Syrians currently reside in Türkiye, making it the world's top refugee-hosting country.
Following the start of a bloody civil war in Syria, Türkiye adopted an "open-door" policy for Syrians fleeing persecution and brutality.
Türkiye has ensured the voluntary return of an estimated 530,000 people to the safe zones in Syria, President Erdoğan said earlier.
Around 42,000 Syrians in Türkiye have returned to their home country across the border since the Feb. 6 earthquakes centered in Türkiye's southern region, according to officials.
Syria has been embroiled in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million others displaced, according to U.N. estimates.