Metin Lokumcu case | ‘Those who gave the order must be put on trial’

"Justice for Metin Lokumcu" (Photo: Evrim Kepenek / bianet)

Click to read the article in Turkish

Over 10 years ago, on May 31, 2011, the police attacked a protest demonstration in Artvin's Hopa in the Black Sea region before the rally of the then Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Affected by the pepper gas, Metin Lokumcu had a heart attack and lost his life at the hospital.

The trial over the death of retired teacher Metin Lokumcu was held at the Trabzon 2nd High Criminal Court yesterday (December 20). The court board accepted the requests of the family's lawyers for hearing the defendants in the courtroom rather than via video conference.

While the trial was adjourned till January 6-7, 2022, the Lokumcu family, their lawyers, rights organizations and politicians made a press statement in front of the courthouse following the interim ruling.

Gathering behind a banner that read "Metin Lokumcu is our honor", they made a call for attendance to the next hearing.

'We will look the defendants in the eye'

Taking the floor first, Meriç Eyüboğlu, a lawyer for the Lokumcu family, briefly stated the following:

"Several friends of ours came here again today, as has always been the case. We came in the morning and thought that we would see them (defendants), albeit via the Audio and Visual Information System (SEGBİS). But we encountered small squares and a very blurry image. The voices echoed so much, we could not hear. There were multiple noises at the same time. The speeches made in another case were heard during our trial.

Even if the defendant spoke, we could not understand. The defendant was the then Artvin Provincial Security Director. He did not hear what we said and we did not hear what he said. And we said that the trial could not be held in this way.

"Following the recess, we saw that the court abandoned its insistence on the SEGBİS. It is ruled that the ones on trial shall be brought here. If we come from all across Turkey, they will come, too. They will give their statements, looking us in the eye. And we will look them in the eye."

'I hope that we will be more crowded'

Speaking after Meriç Eyüboğlu, Ulaş Lokumcu, the son of late Metin Lokumcu, addressed the crowd and briefly said:

"They gave a sprout [of hope] that there is a shred of justice. We will be here on January 6; I hope that we will be more crowded."

İzmir Bar Association Chair - lawyer Özkan Yücel also said:

"Metin Lokumcu was massacred while he was struggling for citizens and nature in this country. We have been seeking justice for 10 years, 6 months and 20 days. We are making efforts for this. We will be happy if the case comes to a point where the perpetrators are penalized. His struggle deserves this. We will keep on being a part of this struggle."

'We will lay claim to his legacy'

Lawyer Sercan Arcan stated:

"There is a struggle we have been waging for years. He wanted the ones who claimed his stream and mountain to claim him. This case has been taken away from Hopa. The case is transferred from the Criminal Court of First Instance to the High Criminal Court.

We know that there are others who have more responsibilities in this case. We will be here on January 6-7. We will lay claim to our teacher Metin's legacy.

'This case is the case of us all'

Workers' Party of Turkey (TİP) MP Sera Kadıgil said:

"We have learned that there was not a single gas cartridge in Hopa; it was brought from neighboring provinces just because the prime minister would come. We were subjected to nonsense about the hearings via the SEGBİS. Thanks to the lawyers' stubbornness, it has been ruled that the defendants shall be brought here. This case is not only the case of Metin Lokumcu any more. This case is the case of us all now."

Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) MP Zeynel Özen also said, "Thanks to these lawyers who have been struggling for years, today's achievement has been made. We will be here again at the next hearing."

What happened?

Retired teacher Metin Lokumcu lost his life after having a heart attack as he was affected by the pepper gas used by the police and the blows he received during the incidents that occured during and after the rally of the then PM Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Hopa, Artvin on May 31, 2011.

On the day of the incident, Lokumcu stood in front of the police with his hands behind his back, calling out to the police, "Come on, take me and save the country." This picture was then reported in the press.

70 people were detained as part of the investigation into the incidents and 16 of the detained were arrested. These persons were released afterwards.

Following Lokumcu's death, the then Prime Minister Erdoğan talked about him at the publicity meeting of the "Turkey is Ready, Target is 2023" project in İstanbul. "And, in the meantime, one of them had a heart attack... I don't know his identity... But I don't feel the need to dwell on it... He has died of a heart attack," said Erdoğan about Lokumcu.

Case transferred to high criminal court

Upon the request of the local court in Hopa, the 5th Penal Chamber of the Court of Cassation gave a decision on December 21, 2020 and ruled that the trial over the death of Metin Lokumcu should be transferred to the Trabzon Penal Court of First Instance "for security reasons."

In the justification of this decision, the Court of Cassation referred to the "possibility that social incidents and provocation might arise."

The 5th Penal Chamber of the Court of Cassation transferred the case to Trabzon as it came to the conclusions that "social incidents might erupt and the parties might face serious threats even when security measures were taken, which might lead to a failure to hold the trial in an orderly manner and pose a clear and imminent danger to public security."

At the hearing in June 2021, the Trabzon 2nd Penal Court of First Instance gave a decision of lack of jurisdiction. The police officers who were on trial over the death of Lokumcu appealed against this decision foreseeing the case to be held by a high criminal court. With their appeals rejected, the trial is now held at the Trabzon 2nd High Criminal Court. (EMK/SD)