Deniz Poyraz murder case: 'Court changed venue of trial to reduce public's interest'

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The fifth hearing of the case concerning the killing of Deniz Poyraz, a Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) employee in İzmir in an armed attack on June 17, 2021, was held at the İzmir 6th Heavy Penal Court yesterday (October 12).

At the start of the hearing, the presiding judge decided that the attorney who joined the case with a document of authorization had no authority and would not be allowed to take the floor.

Later, a gendarmerie officer slapped Deniz Poyraz's sister, Kamuran Poyaz, and the police used tear gas in the courtroom.

After the tension, the court board ruled that the case should be heard at the Şakran Prison campus in İzmir's Aliağa district, citing "security reasons."

CLICK - HDP assailant wants case to be heard in a different province 'for security reasons'

"The decision was made before the hearing"

Speaking to bianet about the incidents during the hearing, attorney Türkan Aslan-Ağaç said the court board was "conditioned not to hear the case."

The attitude of the presiding judge and the two judges who were appointed to this case before the latest hearing were no different than that of the previous ones, she said.

"As soon as the hearing started, the president of the court asked the lawyers who entered [the courtroom] with a document of authorization to leave the section where the intervening lawyers were located. He said he would not give the floor to the lawyers who attended with a certificate of authority and that they could not ask any questions.

"They had prepared the interim judgment about this with a justification and notified us about this judgment. This situation was a subject of debate at the third and fourth hearings as well. This debate was brought up intentionally."

"The court board created a tense atmosphere"

There wasn't any situation to disrupt the order in the courtroom, Aslan-Ağaç underlined.

"The court board chose not to continue the case while they could. The board created a tense atmosphere in the courtroom, knowing that the attorney would not accept [the decision]. Before the court board [came to the courtroom], the decision to transfer the case from İzmir to Şakran was made.

"With a decision that was made in advance, they took the case from İzmir and brought it to Şakran. They made such a decision because they thought it would move the case away from the public agenda."

"They prevent discussion"

By giving an "unlawful" judgment, the court prevented the merits of the case from being discussed, Aslan-Ağaç asserted.

"There is too much evidence that needs to be collected. The court board, which does not initiate proceedings for the collection of this evidence, has been in an unnecessary debate with us over the documents of authorization since the start of the case."

She said the killing of Poyaz was a "political murder" and that the public should be more sensitive for light to be shed on political murders.

(RT/VK)