Esraa Mohammad Awad Aljamal is a Palestinian refugee who has lived in Turkey for nine years.
She participated in a protest outside the US Consulate General in İstanbul on Sep 17 following statements by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who described Palestinians as "barbaric animals," defended genocide, and stated that Gaza must be completely destroyed.
The following morning, her home was raided, and she was detained along with her Egyptian husband, Onur Azad. Azad's friend İbrahim was also among those detained.
They were accused of throwing a Molotov cocktail at the consulate. The three were formally arrested on Sep 21 after being held in detention for four days.
Esraa’s family had come to Turkey to visit her, but were later detained despite not taking part in the protest. Her parents and sister were then handed over to the Migration Management Directorate and subsequently deported from Turkey with an entry ban.
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After more than four months in pretrial detention, an indictment was prepared against Esraa, Onur and İbrahim. The charges included "damaging property," "unauthorized possession of dangerous substances," "using explosive materials in a manner likely to cause fear, anxiety, or panic," and "publicly insulting a foreign state flag."
The trial began at the İstanbul 19th Penal Court of First Instance. Onur and İbrahim were released following the first hearing after six months in jail. Esraa continued to be held at Marmara Prison in Silivri.
No material damage at consulate
The final hearing of the case was held yesterday (Apr 21). Esraa was not brought to the court but attended via videoconference.
Her husband and his friend were present in the courtroom. Onur Azad arrived at the hearing wearing a keffiyeh around his neck. Two representatives from the US Consulate General were also among those monitoring the hearing.
Esraa, accompanied with an interpreter, made a defense against the prosecutor's opinion requesting a sentence.
Lawyer Gülden Sönmez stated that the evidence in the case file was insufficient to reveal the material facts. She added that the court did not hear the witnesses and that Esraa's fingerprints were not on the bottle found, noting that there was no evidence that Onur and his friend assisted in the crime.
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"Esraa is Palestinian. She is a person who has witnessed the massacres in her country since Oct 7, 2023. She is aware of the US support for Israel's genocide. On the day of the incident, she saw the statement by the US Secretary of State. Rubio called for genocide in Esraa's homeland. Esraa is someone who lost many friends and relatives in Gaza. Thereupon, she went to the consulate to protest the US," Sönmez said.
She stated that no material damage occurred, only a small area on the grass was damaged, and this was noticed 40 hours after the incident.
"Esraa is simply a human rights activist trying to stop the genocide," she added.
No conviction for throwing Molotov
The court then gave the floor to the defendants. Onur Azad denied the allegations, saying, "It was late at night when I learned about the incident. However, it was written as if I was at the scene and there at 21.00 pm. When Esraa called me, I went with my friend and picked her up."
He requested acquittal for Esraa rather than himself. "It is not possible for my wife to harm a person," he said.
İbrahim confirmed Onur's statement, saying, "We went to pick Esra up after Onur's call. I certainly did not do such a thing. I request my acquittal."
Esraa, who was given the floor last, denied the charges during her brief defense.
Announcing its verdict, the court did not give a ruling for "using explosive materials" for Esraa and acquitted her of "publicly insulting a foreign state flag."
The court sentenced her to 4 years and 2 months in prison on the charge of unauthorized possession of dangerous substances and imposed a fine of 41,600 liras (~925 US dollars) for the same crime. Additionally, it gave a 1-year and 8-month sentence for damaging property and deferred it for five years.
The court ruled for her release while imposing a ban on traveling abroad. It also decided to notify the Interior Ministry for her deportation after the execution of the sentence.
Onur and his friend İbrahim received 10-month prison sentences for damaging property. The court also deferred these sentences.
No release
Onur went to Silivri to meet Esraa after the hearing. He waited in front of the prison for 14 hours. In the late hours of the night, he noticed Esraa inside a police vehicle. The police informed Onur that they were taking Esraa to a police station in Ümraniye on the city's Asian side.
Lawyers found Esraa at a police station in Dudullu, Ümraniye, in the morning. When Onur went to the station in the morning, he was told that Esraa would be transferred to the Arnavutköy Removal Center for deportation.
Onur continues to wait for his wife in front of the police station. (HA/VK)
