PKK leader Öcalan's lawyers acquitted in 'terror' case

İstanbul Courthouse (Photo: Diren Gazeteci/File)

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Eight lawyers, including the attorneys of outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan, have been acquitted of the charge of "membership in a terrorist organization."

The lawyers, all of whom are members of the Asrın Law Office, were on trial for their meetings with Öcalan on İmrali Island between September 12 and November 28, 2007.

According to the Mezopotamya Agency (MA), seven of the lawyers (Ali Maden, Baran Doğan, Cengiz Yürekli, İnan Akmeşe, Mahmut Taşçı, Mehmet Selim Okçuoğlu, Rezan Sarıca) attended the hearing at the İstanbul 33rd Heavy Penal Court, while Suat Eren participated via video conferencing as he was not in İstanbul.

Members of the Freedom for Lawyers Association (ÖHD) and international legal organizations, also attended the trial. The hearing began with the identification process and proceeded with witness testimonies against the core allegations made by the prosecutor.

"Legal activities"

The first witness, İrfan Arasan, stated, "I am a lawyer myself, and I know many other lawyers due to our profession. During the mentioned period, a search was conducted at the provincial office. The materials seized were related to political activities, mostly. They were materials gathered from legal political activities."

Another witness, Adem Çavuşçu, said, "Most of the defendants are my colleagues. During the mentioned phone conversation, my client was under custody. I followed the trial process. It was a professional discussion, not an organizational meeting."

"We visited Imrali Island with permission"

Subsequently, the defendants presented their defenses. Baran Doğan, the first lawyer to speak, countered the witness statements:

"We are aware that there is a Kurdish issue in this country, and we are fighting for its resolution. People are curious about how we went to Imrali Island. We were allowed by the prosecutor, and not even a pen was allowed inside. I deny the allegation of an organizational meeting. Why do you ask me why I practice law? We went to the meetings with the guarantees of our profession. I have no affiliation with the organization, nor does the organization have any information about me."

Lawyer Suat Eren, defending through videoconferencing, emphasized that he did not accept the prosecutor's final opinion:

"I accept all the phone interceptions down to the last detail. The conversations recorded in those interceptions were all normal discussions. There is no suspicious conversation. The second conversation was with the President of the Van Bar Association. At that time, a Syrian journalist had died, and I had a discussion about the earthquake and the journalist's murder. Another conversation was in 2011 with Raziye Öztürk, who is currently my lawyer. If the law is applied, I would already be acquitted. I request my acquittal."

"The accusation is unfounded"

Lawyer Mahmut Taşçı stated, "Regarding the allegation of being a courier, it is known how lawyers went to Imrali Island, how the conversations were recorded, and how we were not allowed to use our pens. How can there be claims of couriering in such a place? It is not even known what the courier allegedly transported. The accusation of being a courier is baseless and unfounded. Charges like illegal communication and couriering are copied from the indictments of our previously tried colleagues."

Taşçı questioned, "Are lawyers who represent Mr. Öcalan and deal with his legal situation being intimidated by this case? Are they preparing a case against lawyers who try to get news from him, as we have been unable to receive any news from Imrali for years?"

"We have dealt with political cases"

Lawyer İnan Akmeşestated, "Yes, we went to the island and provided legal assistance. We have faced many trials related to this, but we have been acquitted from all of them. As the other defendants have also stated, we have dealt with political cases, that's true. However, if we had exceeded our professional boundaries, you wouldn't be seeing us here today with empty cases."

Lawyer Rezan Sarıca said, "This case has been unjust from the beginning. I believe that the reason behind this case is solely related to our contacts and relations, which are purely based on communication and economics."

Lawyer Cengiz Yürekli reminded that the prosecution had already requested their acquittal.

"Professional activities"

After the defendants' statements, their lawyers presented their defenses.

Ercan Kanar, Mahmut Taşçı's lawyer, stated that the eight lawyers were being prosecuted for their professional activities, and he argued that the secret witness statements in the case did not correspond to scientific reality and were detached from the truth.

Raziye Öztürk, the lawyer for Cengiz Yürekli, Rezan Sarıca, and Suat Eren, stated, "Apart from unlawful evidence and interpretations based on them, not a single piece of evidence related to the charges has been presented against our clients in the indictment." Other defense lawyers also requested acquittal. (AS/VK)