Gezi Park case prisoners Çiğdem Mater and Mine Özerden transferred to İzmir prison
Çiğdem Mater and Mine Özerden, who were convicted in the trial over the 2013 Gezi Park protests, have been transferred from İstanbul to the İzmir Women’s Closed Prison, also known as Şakran Prison in western Turkey.
Mater and Özerden had been held at the Bakırköy Women’s Closed Prison since April 2022.
Mater’s lawyer, Hürrem Sönmez, told bianet that they would pursue all available legal remedies.
“We will exhaust all legal avenues,” Sönmez said.
Sönmez said they had not yet been informed of the reason for the transfer.
“These procedures are generally carried out without informing families or lawyers,” she said. “These people were born and raised in İstanbul. Their families and lawyers are here.”
“Family visits will become more difficult, and they will face another form of isolation beyond imprisonment itself,” she added. “I want to believe that the state does not harm its citizens, but what has been done is harmful.”
The Şakran prison is nearly 400 kilometers away from where the Mater and Özerden are currently held.
What happened?
The trial concerned the 2013 anti-government protests known as the Gezi Park protests, which drew millions of people across Turkey. Eight righrs advocates were accused of organizing and financing the protests.
While the initial trial ended with the acquittal of all defendants, a retrial resulted in lengthy prison sentences.
In Apr 2022, the court sentenced philantropist Osman Kavala to aggravated life imprisonment for “attempting to overthrow the government” under Article 312 of the Turkish Penal Code. The court did not apply any discretionary reduction.
The other seven defendants, Mücella Yapıcı, Çiğdem Mater, Ali Hakan Altınay, Mine Özerden, Tayfun Kahraman, Can Atalay and Yiğit Ali Ekmekçi, were each sentenced to 18 years in prison for “aiding an attempt to overthrow the government.” They were imprisoned subsequently.
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Who are the eight convicts of the Gezi case?
After an appeal the 3rd Penal Chamber of the İstanbul Regional Court of Appeals upheld the convictions on Dec 28, 2022.
In Jul 2023, the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Court of Cassation submitted its opinion to the court’s 3rd Penal Chamber, requesting that the convictions be upheld.
The chamber issued its final ruling on Sep 28, 2023, upholding Kavala’s aggravated life sentence and the 18-year prison terms imposed on Atalay, Kahraman, Özerden and Mater Utku. The chamber overturned the 18-year sentences imposed on Altınay, Ekmekçi and Yapıcı. They were acquitted following a retrial.
Three acquitted in Gezi Park case retrial
(EMK/VK)
Editor of bianet Women’s News (2018). Editor of bianet Women’s and LGBTI+ News from October 2018 to February 2025. She conducts workshops on gender-focused journalism and reporting on gender-based violence. She is among the founders of the Women and LGBTI+ Commission of the Journalists’ Union of Turkey (TGS). She is a board member of the TGS Istanbul Branch for the 2023–2027 term. She received the Musa Anter Journalism Award in 2011 and the Turkish Psychiatric Association’s Best News Award in 2024. She worked as a reporter for Cumhuriyet, BirGün, İMC TV, DİHA, Jinha, and Jin News, and also worked for local newspapers in Rize. Her news reports and articles have been published in Sivil Sayfalar, Yeşil Gazete, Journo, and trade magazines. She is one of the founding writers of GOR, a Hemşin culture magazine. She contributed writings to the books Yeşilden Maviye Karadenizden Kadın Portreleri, Sırtında Sepeti, and Medya ve Yalanlar. She was a bianet intern in 2000. She graduated from the Department of International Relations at Istanbul Bilgi University.
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