Highlights From Gezi Resistance Prosecutions
Thousands of criminal complaints, hundreds of detentions, tens of arrests and countless litigations…
Gathering the “judicial” outcomes of Gezi resistance is almost impossible.
While the criminal complaints against the police violence have not been proceed yet despite one year, thousands of prosecutions have been launched against those who either attended or supported Turkey’s Gezi Resistance last year for charges related to “driving mock police tanks (POMA), passing by a street or carrying whistles in their trucks.
bianet compiled the outstanding cases of Gezi resistance in its first anniversary.
“Taksim Square pool”
In a Gezi case in İstanbul, the prosecutor demanded a punishment for the activists as they carried helmet and swimming goggles. "They didn't aim to go to swim pool, isn’t that right!,” he wrote in his indictment.
The case was filed against 23 people “caught” with helmet and swimming goggles, the court issued a ruling without any trial despite the prosecutor's demand.
Halil İbrahim, a penal judge of İstanbul 50th Assize Court, acquitted all defendants by reason that “their act do not constitute a crime factor”.
"Their innocence is clear at first sight," he explained as a reason of not holding a hearing.
“Democracy” verdict in Denizli
Certain judges also found wearing swimming goggles on land as reasonable, the judge of Gezi case in Denizli acquitted all defendants.
He defined the democracy for the justification of the decision and “The way how the governorships impede the protests do not accord with state of law and democracy," he wrote.
35 different cases for the doctors in Kırklareli
While almost in every city doctors were accused for "treating the protesting patients", the “winner” turned out to be Kırklareli province Chamber of Medicine.
Dr. Halil Muhacir, The chairman of the Chamber, as well as members of board Dr. Taner Pehlivar, Dr. Bahadır Tunçol and the employee of the chamber Süleyman Edesen were sued with the claim of “organizing” and "attending to an unauthorized demonstration”. 35 different cases have been filed against the defendants.
In Kırklareli, a small city with 70 thousand populations, 1308 people were sued for supporting Gezi Resistance.
With the recent trial that held on May 15, the number of the people acquitted of these cases rose up to 288.
“They entered the mosque with their shoes"
Only one case was filed against 255 people who attended to Gezi Resistance in İstanbul’s Beşiktaş area.
Protestors who found sheltered in Bezialem Mosque in Dolmabahçe in order to avoid the police violence were also among the defendants of the case and the doctors who treated the sheltered people were accused for “performing medicine profession with uniform”. Wounded due to police violence, protestors were accused of “polluting the mosque” as well.
However the phrase, which PM Erdoğan frequently mentioned, “They drank beer in the mosque” was not included in the indictment and even the prosecutor did not refer to such an instance.
According to the indictment prepared by prosecutor İsa Dalgıç, all defendants have been tried due to violation of Law No. 2911 on Public Gatherings and Demonstrations. The judicial process has continued at İstanbul 55th Assize Court.
The criminal acts were committed in the following dates: June 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 11, 13, 16, 17 and August 4.
“The first three day was legal but then..”
In the indictment, it was claimed that Gezi resistance began as a legal demonstration but turned into illegal:
“At first, the demonstrations were started to organize by a group called Taksim Solidarity Platform and several NGOs, and also illegal groups as well, but they turned into illegal and unlawful acts in the process of time upon straying away from the legal remedies, and then started to affect the social peace negatively….,” the prosecutors claimed.
Well-known evidences: Marbles, spray paint, swimming goggles, gas masks, Guy Fawkes (V for Vendetta) masks, scarf, solution for lessening the effect of gas, gloves, placards, helmets…
Both raid and arrests against Çarşı
Being in the forefront during Gezi Resistance, Çarşı, the fan club of Beşiktaş soccer team, was also included into the triangle of custody-domiciliary visit-investigation.
20 people were detained on June 16, 2013 with the accusation “being member of a benefit-oriented crime syndicate”. On June 19, after giving statement to the prosecutor, one of the founders of Çarşı fan club Cem Yakışkan (nicknamed “Sarı Cem”), and Numan Bülent Ergenç, Halil İbrahim Erol and Güray Sözmen also from Çarşı were brought into the court for arrest demands.
Erol and Halilullah were arrested for keeping a “gas canister” at home, after a while Erol was released from prison.
Interrogation question: Explain POMA
Defendants from Çarşı were asked about POMA (‘Vehicle for control of the police violence’ referring as a mock alternative to TOMA ‘Riot Control Vehicle’) during the prosecution's examination:
“It was determined that the construction vehicle to demolish İnönü stadium was plundered, after then the construction vehicle was used as a shield for the group who thrown stones and marbles to the police, it was driven towards to TOMA vehicles in order to damage and go to PM’s office in Beşiktaş. Upon the withdrawal of TOMA vehicles, people were oriented in order to raid the PM’s office, and later on, the construction vehicle was left in the middle of the road as a barricade for preventing the possible police intervention by a group of people including Çarşı fan club. “Could you please provide info and your relation about these incidents?”
The prosecutor is insistent on “arrest”
On July 8 2013, 50 activists from Taksim Solidarity Platform were detained . The houses of Mücella Yapıcı from Chamber of Architests, Secretary of Chamber of Medicine – İstanbul branch Ali Çerkezoğlu, Vice Leader of EMEP (a political party) and member of HDK (People’s Democratic Congress) Ender İmrek and Haluk Ağabeyoğlu from HDK, Head of Chamber of Electronics Engineers – İstanbul branch Beyza Metin were searched by the police.
38 people were released at the end of 3-day detention period after giving statement to the prosecutor. 12 people were sent to the court upon the accusations “organizing a crime syndicate”, “violation of Law No 2911 on Public Gatherings and Demonstrations” and “resisting a police officer” with regards to Article 220 of Turkish Penal Code.
38th Peace Court issued the ruling on July 11 at 11:20 pm local time for the release of all defendents.
Prosecutor Nazmi Okumuş filed an appeal in order to arrest the members of Taksim Solidarity Platform who were released on the conditions of trial without arrest.
İstanbul 46th Assize Court objected the arrest demand of Prosecutor Okumuş once again.
“Organization” suspect for Taksim Solidarity Platform
On February 10, the court rejected an indictment by Prosecutor Okumuş with the claim “organizing and leading an illegal organization” against 28 defendents.
“It was not clearly understood that which offense(s) in which law were aimed to commit by the suspects through organizing and leading an illegal organization, so in order to take the statements of the suspects, it has to be defined in the accusation,” the court declared.
The first accusation was objected by the court as a result of the court’s question “Why did they organize this organization?”, but the prosecutor was changed and the accusation of “organization” remained same. While the “reason of the organization” was not defined in the accusation, 33rd Assize Court accepted the indictment.
Bells freed, whistle stored in police evidence unit
People who passed a nearby street to Taksim also shared of the police violence, custody, investigation and cases just as journalists, doctors, politicians and activists.
People from Zile district were detained at the truck bed with the claim of attending Gezi resistance and sued for “provoking people to riot”. Several objects in the truck such as "whistle" were confiscated with the consideration of a weapon and stored in the police evidence unit.
The indictment was again prepared by Prosecutor Okumuş and admitted by İstanbul 48th Assize Court.
39 people including 23 people from Tokat’s Zile district who were “arrested” in the truck in Beşiktaş, were sued for the accusations “attending armed resistance” and “provoking people to revolt”. (AS/CB/BM)
* Click here to read the article in Turkish.