Law apprentice sentenced to six years in prison over speech at İstanbul Bar

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Sinan Bin, who recently started his law internship, has been sentenced to 6 years and 3 months in prison for "being a member of an illegal organization"

If the sentence given on Wednesday (November 3) by the İstanbul 28th Heavy Penal Court becomes final, Bin will not be able to work as a lawyer. He will appeal against the judgment.

What he meant by "resistance"

A speech he gave at a symposium at the İstanbul Bar Association where he had attended when he was a student was cited as "evidence" for his sentence, Bin told bianet.

"In 2020, when I was still a student at İstanbul University Faculty of Law, dining hall prices were raised. At that time, a symposium under the theme 'We Want Justice' was held at the İstanbul Bar Association, and there were MPs, academics and journalists among the participants.

"I also attended as a spectator and took the floor, briefly talking about the raise in the cafeteria at the school. After that, the Rector's Office canceled the price raise.

"During the questioning at the prosecutor's office, my speech there came up, and I was asked what I meant by the expressions 'police violence' and 'resistance.' This is the biggest 'evidence' about me in the indictment."

Ahead of the third and the final hearing, he had written on social media that "Maybe tomorrow will be one of the most important days of my life, maybe it won't, I don't know. It is very likely that a ruling will be given in my case. Wish me luck for an acquittal, friends..."

"How could they understand?"

Another evidence against Bin was wiretapped conversations the police had. A person named Sinan is mentioned in the wiretaps. There no other details, information or a surname in the wiretaps that are included in the "evidence" part of the indictment.

However, the prosecutor demanded Bin be punished for being a member of an illegal organization, asserting that the person mentioned in the wiretaps was Sinan Bin.

"I don't know how they decided I'm the Sinan mentioned there," said Bin.

The indictment also mentions the People's Law Bureau (HHB) as the "lawyers' organization of the DHKP-C [Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front] terrorist organization."

The digital evidence

In his defense as to the accusations, Bin's attorney Güray Dağ noted that the evidence should be obtained lawfully, citing article 38 of the Constitution and the Criminal Procedure Code.

"The way the digital material obtained is against the articles of laws. Even the existence of the digitals whose images haven't been taken is doubtful," said the attorney, adding that the "evidence" had no legal value.

The same digital evidence had also been cited as a reason for the arrest of Nuriye Gülmen, an academic who had been imprisoned multiple times for protesting against her dismissal. A petition claiming that the evidence was fake and fabricated had been rejected by the court.

"I want to do my profession"

Attorney Güray Dağ requested his client's acquittal, stating that the speech at the symposium did not met the criteria for being a member of an illegal organization.

In his statement of defense, Bin said, "I'm not a member of any organization. I've had no acts in line with thean organization's instructions. In case I receive a sentence, all my work will be in vain. I want to do my procession and earn a living."

The court found Bin guilty as per article 314/2 of the Turkish Penal Code and increased his sentence as per article 5/1 of the Anti-Terror Law. (AS/VK)