A court has acquitted 20 relatives of the disappeared and human rights defenders who were charged with attempting to hold an illegal demonstration during a 2023 event to mark the 950th gathering of the Saturday Mothers/People.
In today’s hearing, the İstanbul 39th Penal Court of First Instance ruled that none of the defendants had committed any criminal offense and cleared all charges against them.
Some of the defendants and their lawyers were present during the hearing. Speaking in court, a defendant, Cüneyt Yılmaz, recounted how police assaulted and detained them without any prior warning. "As we were walking towards Galatasaray Square, the police attacked us and took us into custody. We reject the accusations against us," Yılmaz said, as reported by Mezopotamya Agency (MA).
Another defendant, Hünkar Hüda Tanrıverdi, echoed Yılmaz’s account, stating that they were taken into custody without any warning. "At the police station, they asked us, 'Who gave you permission to hold this demonstration?' But the right to peaceful assembly is protected by the constitution, and we don’t need anyone's permission for it.”
Complaints ignored
Feminist lawyer Meriç Eyüboğlu, who also addressed the court, highlighted her long-standing participation in the Saturday Mothers/People protests.
"I have been attending these demonstrations since 1995. Despite three separate rulings by the Constitutional Court regarding the 700th-week protest, we were arbitrarily detained. As we approached Galatasaray Square, the police surrounded us. When we reminded them of the Constitutional Court’s decision, the officers replied, ‘We have our own prohibition order,’ but they never served us with this order," she said. She added that complaints filed against the police for arbitrary detention and assault have not been processed.
Following the statements, the prosecutor demanded the acquittal for all defendants, stating that while the gathering was illegal under the law, there had been no resistance, and thus the elements of the alleged crime were not fulfilled. The defense lawyers agreed with the prosecutor’s opinion, emphasizing that peaceful assembly is a constitutional right, and called for their clients' acquittal.
Tension in the courtroom
However, tensions rose when defense lawyer Murat Çelik criticized the prosecutor's reasoning. "A prosecutor with legal knowledge and a conscience cannot justify acquittal based on the claim that the protest was unlawful but lacked resistance," Çelik said.
The prosecutor responded sharply, stating, "You cannot accuse the prosecutor and the judges of the Turkish nation of lacking conscience." Following the exchange, the judge called for a brief recess to defuse the situation.
After the break, the court resumed the session and issued its ruling, acquitting all 20 defendants, stating that the elements of the crime did not exist in the charges brought against them.
Background
The case included several prominent figures from the Saturday Mothers/People movement, which has been seeking justice for those who disappeared in custody, mostly in Kurdish regions, since 1995. Among those acquitted were Ali Ocak, Ali Tosun, Besna Tosun, Cüneyt Yılmaz, Hanife Yıldız, Hasan Karakoç, Hatice Korkmaz, Hünkar Hüdai Yurtsever, İkbal Yarıcı, İrfan Bilge, İsmail Yücel, Leman Yurtsever, Maside Ocak, Meryem Pars, Mikail Kırbayır, Mukaddes Şamiloğlu, Selvi Gülmez, Oya Meriç Eyüboğlu, Saime Sebla Ercan, and Ümmügülsüm Aylin Tekiner.
The Saturday Mothers/People movement, which began in 1995, is made up of relatives of individuals who were forcibly disappeared while in state custody. The group has held weekly protests in İstanbul’s Galatasaray Square, demanding that the government investigate the disappearances and prosecute those responsible.
However, in 2018, then-Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu banned the 700th-week demonstration at Galatasaray Square, and the police intervened, detaining several participants. Since then, authorities have prevented the group from holding demonstrations at the square, blocking access with police barriers.
The ban was challenged in the Constitutional Court, which ruled that the prohibition violated the group’s right to peaceful assembly. Despite the ruling, police once again intervened during the group's 950th-week demonstration in June 2023, detaining 20 participants. The case brought against them concluded with this week’s acquittals.
(VK)