HRW calls for 'end to injustice' in Gezi Park case following top prosecutor's opinion

Eight people were convicted last year.

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Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called for an end to the "injustice" in the Gezi Park trial, following an opinion by a prosecutor at Turkey's top court of appeal. The prosecutor asked the court to uphold the conviction of jailed rights defender Osman Kavala and his codefendants, but HRW says that the opinion is completely devoid of legal reasoning and perpetuates a deep injustice.

The prosecutor's opinion comes 15 months after an İstanbul court convicted Kavala and seven others on charges of attempting to overthrow the government for their alleged role in the 2013 Gezi Park protests. These mass demonstrations had begun over an urban development plan in central İstanbul and spread to other cities in Turkey.

The opinion disregards two binding judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ordering Kavala's release and entirely discrediting the evidence presented in the trial, as well as the ongoing Council of Europe infringement process against Turkey over the case, notes HRW.

"The Gezi trial is a mockery of justice and exemplifies Turkey's rule of law and human rights crisis," said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "The gross misuse of criminal charges and prolonged detention to hound perceived critics of the Erdoğan government has become the number one form of political persecution in Turkey today."

The Court of Cassation's 3rd Penal Chamber will review the case in the coming months and issue a verdict on whether to approve or quash the convictions, though the timing of that decision is not known.

MP prevented from assuming office

The prosecutor also opposes the release of Can Atalay, who was elected member of parliament from the Workers' Party of Turkey (TİP) in the country's May 14 parliamentary election.

HRW says Turkey's Constitution and case law from the Constitutional Court clearly provide that Atalay should be able to benefit from parliamentary immunity and be released from prison to take up his parliamentary seat.

Ibn Haldun, Maslow, Atatürk...

HRW says that Prosecutor Şahin's 77-page opinion relies on unsupported assertions and information concerning the defendants from the original indictment, which was deemed irrelevant and insufficient by the European Court of Human Rights. The prosecutor also offers abstract reflections on criminal intent and unsubstantiated views about civil society organizations, human societies, and other themes. He cites sources ranging from fourteenth-century philosopher Ibn Haldun to US psychologist Abraham Maslow and Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic, but fails to show how these sources would be relevant to the criminal prosecution of Kavala and the other defendants.

"When prosecutors and courts rely on conspiracy theory and abstract assertions instead of examining the evidence in relation to the alleged crime, they violate the most basic principles of criminal law," Williamson said.

"The Gezi trial bears the hallmarks of a political show trial from start to finish. The defendants should be acquitted of all charges and immediately and unconditionally released to end the huge injustice and pave the way for a new approach in which the Turkish government ceases to use detention and criminal proceedings as instruments of repression." (NT/VK)