ISTANBUL (Armenpress) — Turkey’s Supreme Electoral Council has denied Istanbul-Armenian intellectual and linguist Sevan Nishanyan’s application for nomination as a Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) candidate because of his prior convictions, according to the Turkish source Demokrathaber.net. Nishanyan, currently in jail, was nominated as a candidate for the November 1 parliamentary election by the LDP officially on September 17. He is the first on the list of the political party. In Turkey Nishanyan has always spoken out about the Armenian Genocide.
Nishanyan has been in prison because of “construction infractions” since January 11, 2014. The Turkish media had reported earlier that he was imprisoned for publicly criticizing the Turkish government.
Nishanyan will be transferred to Sultanhisar Open Prison on September 24, where prisoners are housed under relatively mild conditions.