Engin Çeber Murder Case: Long and Winding Trial Road

The 7^th hearing of the Engin Çeber torture case was repeated on 5 October. Çeber had died from torture in police custody one year ago. The hearing had to be repeated because in the session on 22 July the audio recording malfunctioned "for an unknown reason".

Detained defendants Fuat Karaosmanoğlu, Murat Çise, Murat Kızılkaya, Yavuz Uzun and Sami Ergazi appeared before the Bakırköy 14^th High Criminal Court together with another 12 un-detained defendants.

Murat Gevrek, who shared his cell with Çeber and made important statements during the last hearing, did not attend yesterday's hearing along with Adem Halil, Rasim İltaş, Gıyasettin Şakiroğlu and Selahattin Apaydın, the latter excused by a report.

Also Amnesty International (AI) followed yesterday's hearing. AI had previously criticized Turkey's human rights record, arguing that Çeber's death is "further proof that torture and ill-treatment are rife in places of detention in Turkey", despite the government "zero-tolerance" against torture.

Detained defendant Karaosmanoğlu claimed in the second session of the 7^th hearing that he was not guilty. Also Ahmet Aksu who shared a cell with Çeber for some time and who made a statement in the previous session was heard again:

"When Çeber came to our room he was sleeping. I heard he was wet and exhausted. He was very quiet and could not speak much. He threw up green vomit. There were stroke marks on his body. Those stroke marks were not very recent, they looked as if they were from before. Çeber did not get up for the counting. When the guards came we told them that Çeber was sick. Çeber got angry with me and said "don't say I am sick". On the day of the incident he did not stand up for the counting. The guards beat him quite heavily. Right now I cannot recall who beat him. When Çeber got worse we rang the bell and he was brought to the infirmary. Later on we learned that he had been taken to hospital and after that we got to know that he had died".

When asked by lawyer Taylan Tanay why Aksu had not made a conscious statement in prison he answered: "We did not know if we were to die as well. We could not make such a statement in prison. We were afraid because we also lived there" adding "Çeber wanted to give the letter he wrote before he died to the Public Prosecutor's Office".

On the day Çeber was taken to the emergency room of Istinye State Hospital, esthetic specialist Hanife Akınoğlu was the doctor on duty. She attended the hearing and made the following statement:

"Çeber was brought to hospital by 3 men and a woman. There was an erythema on his head. Çeber continuously said that he had a headache. I ordered a tomography and prepared a report for the examination of the brain surgeon. I was called by the Üsküdar Public Prosecutor's office. They asked me if Çeber could stay in the holding cell and I told him I was not authorized for the answer of this question".

Head of the Lawyers Rights Center witness and lawyer Ömer Kavilli said in his statement:

"The group that was arrested together with Çeber shouted slogans in the holding cell. I also warned them to be quiet. Later on a police officer showed unpleasant behavior when he turned towards the group and raised the middle finger of his right hand. When I passed in front of the camera I asked if it was recording. I was told by the police officers that the Istanbul Police Directorate was watching. I also saw Çeber. He was apathetic. His eyes were blank. Maybe this was his personality, I do not know".

The defendants' lawyers requested to continue the prosecution of their clients without detention. The court delegation postponed the hearing to 16 November to call witnesses who had been heard in the previous hearing again to cover the missing statements.

The indictment mentions that Çeber resisted officials in prison and that he was mal-treated. The Indictment foresees prison sentence for the defendants under charges of "torture", "mal-treatement",             "injuring on purpose", "abuse of duty", "neglect of duty" and "not reporting a crime of a public official".

Attorney Tanay still concerned about a fair trial

After the hearing lawyer Tanay said to members of the press "We are still concerned regarding the issue of a fair trial, especially since the defendants are kept in a certain kind of prison".

"We are calling the Ministry of Justice and the related institutions. The order of the law must be fulfilled and the defendants must be saved from these particular detention conditions".

"Defendant Ahmet Aksu has been a little nervous in today's hearing. In such an important case for the agenda of the public opinion the defendants are concerned about the safety of their lives over the file that trials many public officials when they listen to it again and again"

"It was seen that the defendants answered the questions with fear and worry. In the end the defendants were disclosed. Having them listening again and again makes it difficult to approve of such a presentation".

In front of the the court house members of the People's Front demanded justice in a press release. Kemal Polat, father of Murat Polat, who was tortured and killed in the Adana Military Prison, and Çebers family participated in the protest action.

Case background

Engin Ceber (29) was a Turkish human rights activist who was tortured and killed while in police custody. After the Forensic Medicine report proved evidence for torture, Turkey's Minister of Justice Mehmet Ali Sahin apologized and announced that 19 officials had been suspended pending investigation.

Ceber was arrested after he issued a press release protesting that the shooting of left-wing human rights activist Ferhat Gerçek by the police, which resulted in his paralysis, has not been investigated or punished by the authorities.

He was sent to a prison in Istanbul, where he was severely beaten. After complaining to his lawyer, he was sent to a hospital, where he fell into a coma, dying of brain hemorrhage on 8 October 2008.

After an investigation was launched by the Bakırköy Public Prosecutor's Office complaints were filed against 39 executive guard officers, 3 prison managers, 13 police officers, 4 gendarmes and a doctor. (BÇ/VK)

* Click here to watch recently published footage of Engin Çeber in the holding cell after he was arrested.

* Sources: cnnturk.com and atilimhaber.org.