33 People Detained in Demonstration Held for Gülmen, Özakça to Stand Trial

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First hearing of the legal suit brought against 33 people, who were detained during the demonstration they held for Nuriye Gülmen and Semih Özakça in Kadıköy, İstanbul on August 4, 2017, will be held on January 19.

In the press conference held at the Human Rights Association (İHD) İstanbul Branch, The Solidarity for Nuriye and Semih have made a call for people to support the demands of Gülmen and Özakça, and attend the hearing.

Gülmen and Özakça are on the 316th day of their hunger strike which they have gone demanding that they be reinstated to their jobs.

The indictment: They “commemorated” Gülmen and Özakça

The Solidarity for Nuriye and Semih have been staging protests in front of Süreyya Opera Building in Kadıköy on every Friday since June 2017.

On August 4, 2017, the 149th day of the hunger strike, they weren’t allowed to march when they came together for the protest. 33 people were detained with police violence, then they were released.

33 people among whom are Human Rights Foundation of Turkey Representative to İstanbul Ümit Efe, two of Gülmen and Özakça’s lawyers Barkın Timtik and Meryem Göktepe, are charged with “Attending Illegal Rallies and Demonstrations Unarmed and Not Being Dispersed Despite Warning”.

The indictment prepared by Public Prosecutor Ali Dereli stated that they rallied to “commemorate” Gülmen and Özakça.