WSJ journalist convicted in Turkey of spreading propaganda

ANKARA, Turkey – The Wall Street Journal says one of its reporters has been convicted in Turkey of terrorist propaganda and has been sentenced to 2 years and one month in prison.

The paper said late Tuesday that Ayla Albayrak, who has dual Finnish and Turkish citizenship, would appeal her conviction on the charge of engaging in propaganda supporting outlawed Kurdish rebels.

Albayrak’s conviction stemmed from an article she wrote in 2015 on a conflict between Kurdish militants and government forces in Turkey’s mainly Kurdish southeast.

More than 100 journalists have been imprisoned in Turkey and some 200 media outlets were shut down as part of a government crackdown that has targeted alleged members of a movement led by a U.S.-based cleric blamed for last year’s failed coup, as well as opposition lawmakers and activists.