22 Releases in Hopa Trial
28 people stand trial in Ankara in the context of their protest actions in Turkey's capital against the massive police intervention in the course of anti-government demonstrations in Hopa (eastern Black Sea coast) on 31 May 2011.
At the Friday (9 December) hearing of the case, the court decided to release all 22 detained defendants pending trial.
The defendants are charged with "membership of the illegal armed terrorist organizations THKP-C (Turkey's People's Liberation Party-Front), Revolutionary Path, Revolutionary Youth".
Defence lawyer Ayhan Erdoğan said in the first part of the Friday session that a terrorist organization did not have to be a left-wing organization but could also occur within the state. The students were alleged to be members of organizations of the People's Liberation Front of Turkey, Revolutionary Path and Revolutionary Youth that did not exist, the lawyer claimed. Therefore, Erdoğan found it wrong to have the case handled by a special authority court, he concluded.
The lawyer continued that since there was no illegal organization there was no need for a special authority court. He requested the court decide for lack of jurisdiction and the release of the defendants. Public Prosecutor Hakan Yüksel on the other hand put forward that the defendants were active on behalf of the illegal organization without being a member of it and demanded to reject the request for their release.
When the court decided for a ten-minute intermission in order to evaluate the request for lack of jurisdiction, the prosecutor tried to leave the court room as well. The defence lawyers and people in the audience protested his move since it evoked the impression as if he might try to influence the decision of the court board. Thereupon, the prosecutor stayed in the court room.
The court board dismissed the request for jurisdiction according to Articles 250 and 252 of the Criminal Procedure Law and Article 1 of the Anti-Terror Law (TMK).
Prosecutor Yüksel demanded to summon the law enforcement officers who were involved in the incident to court to be heard as witnesses. Yüksel also requested to release defendants Ozan Sürer, Eda Dişkaya, Cüneyt Çakır, Göksel Ilgın and Ferhat Konukçu since the nature of crime had changed and to keep the other defendants in detention.
The court board decided for the release of all 22 detained defendants and postponed the hearing. The families of the detained defendants were delighted by the decision and some of their mothers started crying with relief.
Supporters of the defendants who came to Ankara from different places expressed their contentment with the decision for release in a meeting at the Abdi İpekçi Park. About 2000 people came together and shouted slogans. The crowd carried banners of political parties and organizations such as the Youth Opposition, Community Centres, Socialist Democracy Party (SDP) or Communist Party of Turkey (TKP). (MAF-GK/HK/VK)
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