A Turkish man was handed a prison sentence of 13 year and nine month for insulting the national flag during a protest in the predominantly-Kurdish south-east of the country, local media reported Friday.

Prosecutors had accused the man of carrying out the act in the name of a radical organization, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported. The defendant denied the charges.

The demonstration, during which the man climbed up a flag pole at a military base and lowered the national symbol, took place last year, after two Kurdish protesters were killed by security forces.

The man was sentenced at a court in Diyarbakir, in the south-east.

Turkey has strict laws about desecrating the national flag and the incident stoked anti-Kurdish sentiment among Turkish nationalists. SAPA