Deniz Naki, who plays for second division side Amedspor in the city of Diyarbakir, was accused of promoting the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

He had been acquitted in an initial hearing in November but the verdict was then sent to a regional court in Gaziantep which quashed the ruling and sent the case back to Diyarbakir.

The Diyarbakir court Thursday ordered Naki to serve one and a half years in jail but suspended the sentence for five years.

Naki, 27, had been charged over posts in social media bitterly critical of the government's operations against PKK militants in the southeast.

The footballer has denied the charges, saying he only wanted to give a message of peace in the deadly standoff between the army and Kurdish militants.

"I was acquitted in my first trial and it's disappointing to come out of here with such a verdict," he told the Dogan news agency.

"I gave a message of peace. I said I was against the war and I have been punished for this. I am someone in love with peace and I will always give this message."

"I am ready to pay the price whatever it is," he added.

His lawyer Soran Haldi Mizrak said Naki would now appeal for this verdict to be quashed.

A midfielder, Naki represented Germany at U-19 level and also played for Hamburg-based top German side FC St. Pauli.

On social media he has repeatedly made clear his pride over his family's origins as Kurdish Alevis from the Tunceli region of eastern Turkey.

Naki previously played for the Ankara-based Turkish Super Lig side Genclerbirligi and in 2014 temporarily fled Turkey for Germany after a violent attack in Ankara following tweets he sent hostile to Islamic State jihadists.

He subsequently left Genclerbirligi to join the lower-ranking Amedspor in Diyarbakir where he has become a popular figure among fans.