Bans in Trabzon ahead of Metin Lokumcu case

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The trial over the death of Metin Lokumcu in 2011 will be held at the Trabzon 2nd Penal Court of First Instance tomorrow (April 21).

Ahead of the hearing, the Governor's Office of Trabzon has banned all types of demonstrations and events to be held across the city such as all types of outdoor meetings, closed meetings, marches, rallies, press statements, protest demonstrations, setting up tents, forming human chains, holding sit-in protests, launching petitions, distributing leaflets and handouts, holding commemoration ceremonies, organizing mass greeting and opening ceremonies, etc. The ban will be in effect until April 26.

CLICK - 'Pepper gas had an effect on Lokumcu's death'

Retired teacher Metin Lokumcu lost his life during a police intervention into a protest demonstration in Artvin's Hopa district in eastern Black Sea region of Turkey, where the then Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan came as part of his election campaign on May 31, 2011. The investigation into Metin Lokumcu's death has been completed nine years later.

Exceptions

According to the written statement released by the Trabzon Governor's Office, "the events to be approved by the Governor's Office and Sub-Governor's Offices" have been exempted from the ban.

The following events can be "approved" by them, as listed by the Office: "The programs and events of state institutions and organizations, official commemoration days, official ceremonies and celebrations and the programs to be held by these institutions in line with the traditions and customs, sports activities, meetings with scientific, commercial and economic purposes..."

Justification

The written statement of the Trabzon Governor's Office has also explained the reason for the ban, saying, "...with the aim of ensuring national security, protecting public order and security, stemming the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), which has been spreading across the world, preventing the committal of crimes, potential incidents of plunder and the incidents that might cause public indignation, protecting fundamental rights and freedoms, others' rights and freedoms and public peace..."

Accordingly, the ban on events and demonstrations will be in effect from 3 p.m. on April 19 to 23.59 p.m. on April 25, 2021.

What happened?

Retired teacher Metin Lokumcu lost his life after having a heart attack as he was affected by the pepper gas used by the police and the blows he received during the incidents that occured during and after the rally of the then PM Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Hopa, Artvin on May 31, 2011.

On the day of the incident, Lokumcu stood in front of the police with his hands behind his back, calling out to the police, "Come on, take me and save the country." This picture was then reported in the press.

70 people were detained as part of the investigation into the incidents and 16 of the detained were arrested. These persons were released afterwards.

Following Lokumcu's death, the then Prime Minister Erdoğan talked about him at the publicity meeting of the "Turkey is Ready, Target is 2023" project in İstanbul. "And, in the meantime, one of them had a heart attack... I don't know his identity... But I don't feel the need to dwell on it... He has died of a heart attack," said Erdoğan about Lokumcu.

Case transferred to Trabzon

Upon the request of the local court in Hopa, the 5th Penal Chamber of the Court of Cassation gave a decision on December 21, 2020 and ruled that the trial over the death of Metin Lokumcu should be transferred to the Trabzon Penal Court of First Instance "for security reasons."

In the justification of this decision, the Court of Cassation referred to the "possibility that social incidents and provocation might arise."

The 5th Penal Chamber of the Court of Cassation transferred the case to Trabzon as it came to the conclusions that "social incidents might erupt and the parties might face serious threats even when security measures were taken, which might lead to a failure to hold the trial in an orderly manner and pose a clear and imminent danger to public security." (EKN/SD)