Who is Charged with What in Prosecutor’s Opinion in Gezi Trial?

* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA)

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Prosecutor Edip Şahiner presented his opinion as to the accusations on Gezi trial to the court yesterday (February 6).

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Issued by İstanbul Public Prosecutor Yakup Ali Kahveci on February 20, 2019, the bill of indictment of Gezi trial was accepted by the İstanbul 30th Heavy Penal Court on March 4, 2019.

Since then, five hearings have been held. In the following hearings, the defendants and defending lawyers will present their statements of defense as to the accusations. Ahead of the sixth hearing to be held on February 18, we have compiled who is charged with what in the opinion as to the accusations announced by Prosecutor Şahiner:

What does the prosecutor's opinion say?

The prosecutor's opinion as to the accusations is accusing the defendants of leading Gezi Park Resistance in 2013.

It is indicated that the protests were the result of "a planned scenario" and turned into anti-government protests by the defendants.

Defining the protests as "an insurrection for a coup", Prosecutor Edip Şahiner argues that the main aim of the protests was to create an environment of chaos and disorder in Turkey:

"It has been understood that Gezi Insurrection did not occur randomly, but was conducted in a systematic and planned manner as part of an organization; it was turned into anti-government protests in time; though it was presented as an innocent protest for democratic rights, its main aim was to create an environment of chaos and disorder across the country by spreading acts of violence by means of various terrorist organizations, thereby inciting the public to an armed rebellion and public revolt against the government of the Republic of Turkey."

Kavala accused of financing Gezi

Associating Gezi Resistance with the Open Society Institute of George Soros, the prosecutor's opinion indicates that Osman Kavala is a member of the Open Society Foundation, the Institute caused revolts in various countries before and, thus, Osman Kavala was "the organizing figure and the financier/sponsor" of Gezi Resistance.

Arguing that the defendants organized Gezi incidents as instructed by Kavala, Prosecutor Şahiner demands prison sentences for all defendants.

The prosecutor also indicates that Gezi Resistance was planned in 2011 and defendants "scripted" the incidents, adding that the main aim of Kavala and Germiyanoğlu was to raise professional protesters for Gezi Park protests.

Indicating that all defendants acted in contact with each other, the prosecutor's opinion lists the aims of defendants as follows:

• Organizing and starting the incidents and deepening them to spread to Anatolia
• Provoking the people by fabricated news (Disinformation activities)
• Publicly inciting and provoking people to commit crimes (Provocation activities)
• Organizing secret meetings, courses, events, forums and the like to ensure that Gezi and similar protests continue and remain a current issue

'It was scripted'

Further in his opinion as to the accusations, Prosecutor Edip Şahiner summarizes his findings and accusations as follows:

"When the findings obtained and the entire content of the file are considered as a whole, it has been understood that the incidents known as Gezi Park protests were done in a planned and systematic manner as a result of organizations of Open Society Foundation and Anadolu Kültür Inc. led by Osman Kavala; the process was scripted and realized by a professional team as part of a plan and program long before the Gezi Protests started; and their ultimate aim was to cause chaos and disorder by spreading the protests to the whole country by means of marginal groups and terrorist organizations, thereby making the current government dysfunctional, overthrowing it or preparing the ground for an international intervention.

"The protesters' attempts to occupy the then Prime Minister's Office in Dolmabahçe and Sancaktepe Sub-Governor's Office during Gezi incidents have also manifested that the target was the 'Government of the Republic of Turkey' that was in power at that time."

Prison terms requested for all defendants

Against this background, excluding the files of the rights defenders who are currently abroad, Prosecutor Edip Şahiner has requested that the court accept that all defendants "committed a crime against the government", the defendants are terror suspects and their acts constituted a terror crime.

The prosecutor has requested the following in his opinion:

• The case files of the defendants who are currently abroad, namely Ayşe Pınar Alabora, Can Dündar, Gökçe Yılmaz, Handan Meltem Arıkan, Hanzade Hikmet Germiyanoğlu, Memet Ali Alabora and İnanç Ekmekçi be separated from others and the execution of the warrants against them be awaited.
• Osman Kavala, Yiğit Aksakoğlu and Ayşe Mücella Yapıcı be penalized as per the relevant provisions in the Article 312 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) on charge of "attempting to overthrow the Government of the Republic of Turkey or attempting to partially or completely prevent them from fulfilling its duties by using force and violence."

• Çiğdem Mater Utku, Ali Hakan Altınay, Mine Özerden, Şerafettin Can Atalay, Tayfun Kahraman and Yiğit Ali Ekmekçi be penalized as "persons who assisted the offense" as per the Article 39 of the TCK considering that they assisted with the commission of the offenses before and during the incidents.

(HA/SD)