Verdict of Acquittal in Gezi Trial, Ruling of Release for Osman Kavala

* Drawing: Murat Başol

Click to read the article in Turkish (1) (2) / Kurdish

The sixth hearing of the lawsuit filed into Gezi resistance continued at the İstanbul 30th Heavy Penal Court in Silivri today (February 18).

Announcing its ruling after the statements of defendants and their attorneys, the court board has ruled that Osman Kavala, Mücella Yapıcı, Can Atalay, Tayfun Kahraman, Ali Hakan Altınay, Yiğit Aksakoğlu, Yiğit Ali Ekmekçi, Çiğdem Mater Utku and Mine Özerden shall be acquitted as "there was no concrete and material evidence as to the committal of the offenses charged."

The court has also ruled that businessperson and rights defender Osman Kavala, the only arrested defendant of the case, shall be released.

The files of the defendants who are currently abroad, namely Can Dündar, Mehmet Ali Alabora, Ayşe Pınar Alabora, Gökçe Tüylüoğlu, Handan Meltem Arıkan, Hanzade Hikmet Germiyanoğlu and İnanç Ekmekçi, have been separated from the others and the arrest warrants previously issued against these defendants have been lifted. New warrants have been issued against them so that their depositions can be taken.

Defendants were charged with "attempting to overthrow the government of the Republic of Turkey or preventing the government from doing its duty", "damage to property", "qualified form of damage to property", "holding or handing over dangerous material", "damaging places of worship and cemeteries", "violation of the Law No. 6136 on Firearms and Knives", "qualified looting", "qualified bodily injury", "violation of the Law No. 2836 on the Conservation of Cultural and Natural Property."

From the opinion as to the accusations

16 defendants of the case were charged with "attempting to overthrow the government of the Republic of Turkey". Accordingly, announcing his opinion as to the accusations on February 6, the prosecutor demanded aggravated life sentence for arrested rights defender and businessperson Osman Kavala, Yiğit Aksakoğlu and Mücella Yapıcı.

Demanding 15 to 20 years in prison for six other defendants, the prosecutor also demanded that the case files of seven other defendants be separated from others. Prosecutor Edip Şahiner alleged that these seven defendants committed the same acts with Kavala, Aksakoğlu and Yapıcı.

CLICK - Who is Charged with What in Gezi Trial?

Attorneys: Hear the defendants and their witnesses

The sixth hearing of the case started at around 10 a.m. Presiding Judge Galip Mehmet Perk read out the recent changes in the case file after the fifth hearing of the case on January 28, 2020. Osman Kavala was brought to court. The spectators met him with applause.

The prosecutor of the hearing demanded the rejection of the requests for extending the trial and read out his opinion as to the accusations.

Yiğit Aksakoğlu's attorney Turgut Kazan stated, "The prosecutor did not see my requests. The prosecutor knows nothing. If he is saying that our intent is to extend the hearings without knowing what we are requesting, how can they work as the prosecution?"

After the statement of Kazan, the presiding judge called Kavala to the bench, but some attornies raised objections on procedural grounds.

Kaan Karcılıoğlu, the attorney of Memet Ali Alabora, who is currently abroad, as well as the attorneys of defendants Can Atalay, Tayfun Kahraman, Mücella Yapıcı, Çiğdem Mater Utku, İnanç Ekmekçi took the floor and requested that the defendants and their witnesses be heard.

Belen: Our witnesses haven't been heard

Taking the floor, Bahri Belen, one of the defense attorneys, said,

"You heard the testimonies of defendants according to this indictment and evidence. It has been completed. Then, where is the evidence pertaining to the defenses of defendants? Has it been collected?

"To us, the evidence does not exist. Since we are forced to do so, we want to submit evidence for the defence.

"The Law on Criminal Procedure (CMK) says that the court shall give a judgement based on the evidence presented to it.

"What needs to happen after these are added to the file? The Article 214 of the CMK has put the forward quite clearly.

"After the hearing of witnesses, our witnesses should be heard. And after this happens, the parties have to be asked if they want to speak.

"The inquiry stage in our case has not been completed. There is a witness that has been heard without due process of law. You may think that due process of law has been followed.

"However, our witnesses have not been heard. The written documents have not been discussed. Only after this we can reach the legal opinion stage.

'This case will be lost beneath the magnificient Gezi events'

"Two police officers and Murat Papuç were heard as witnesses. Papuç mentioned a gas mask in his testimony. But the mask was not brought to court. Who bought this mask, who used it? Does this mask resemble the masks used by people who participated in Gezi? These questions were not asked because this mask was not brought to court.

"If you want to try the Gezi events - which was a historical experiment by the Turkish people about freedoms and democracy - with this mask - this case, the judges, prosecutors and we will all be lost under the rubble of Papuç.

"In fact, this case will be lost beneath the magnificent Gezi events.

"Please collect the evidence of the defense. These requests will help to save the Gezi events being lost under Papuç.

"Instead of a witness with mental disability, refer to people who have experienced Gezi at first hand to evaluate Gezi. This is your historical responsibility. You have to collect serious evidence for this."

Köksal: Our aim is to help the judicial authority

Taking the floor after Belen, Tuğçe Duygu Köksal, the attorney of defendant Mine Özerden, said that their requests needed to be discussed:

"Since there is an indictment at present, our requests have to be discussed. We requested that some evidence be collected in order to aid the judicial authority. I cannot take any action with the intent of extending the hearings, because these applications were submitted before the hearing."

Turgut Kazan: Hear the mayors as witnesses

Submitting a list of witnesses to be heard as part of the lawsuit, attorney Turgut Kazan said that if their requests were rejected, it would harm the public conscience.

Indicating that the prosecutor's opinion was "full of mistakes from the top to the bottom", Kazan said that his client Yiğit Aksakoğlu was working on children in the 0-3 age group, mostly for the municipalities of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Stating that Aksakoğlu facilitated grant aids to the municipalities, defense attorney Turgut Kazan said, "You have to listen and learn how these supports were provided and what kind of works were done. Hear Ahmet Misbah Demircan, Hüseyin Keskin, Fatma Şahin."

Kazan also said that the voice records should be brought to court, otherwise, a judgement could not be given. The attorney requested that an expert examination be conducted on the records.

Koyuncu: We won't defend as evidence not discussed

İlkan Koyuncu, the attorney of Kavala, also said:

"We will not defend since the evidence is not being discussed. Murat Papuç has to be duly heard in a hearing where we are present, and the gas mask he submitted also needs to be investigated. And the witnesses we submitted also have to be heard.

"The judges state that the Ministry of Justice reports the European Court of Human Rights decision as not being ascertained. But the Ministry of Justice does not have such a statement. We request that the Ministry of Justice be asked about this decision."

Sevimli: We want opinion on effects of pepper gas

Yiğit Ali Ekmekçi's attorney Emel Ataktürk Sevimli stated:

"The witnesses have not been duly heard, evidence has not been collected and discussed. The approach of the court is giving rise to concerns about a hastened trial being conducted.

"We think that authorities are trying to apply pressure on the court.

"My client is being accused of two things: Working to ensure an embargo would be applied to pepper gas imports and bringing this issue to the public agenda. None of these are crimes.

"We want the sound and video records of the two hearings closed to defence be given to us. And we want the opinion of the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) and the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV) regarding the effects of pepper gas on human health."

All requests rejected

After a 15-minutes recess following the statements of defense attorneys, the court rejected all requests raised by the defendants and their attorneys.

The hearing continued with the statements of defendants.

Kavala: View the matter objectively

* Drawing: Zulal

After the statements of defense attorneys, Osman Kavala, the only arrested defendant of the case came to the bench.

Kavala stated the following in brief:

"I want some evidence to be examined. I will talk about this later, but now I will talk about my detention.

"The ECHR also stated that, evidence to deprive a person of their liberty should be objective.

"The ECHR decision said that, in the absence of criminal activities, it is not possible to create reasonable suspicion that the crime of attempting to overthrow the government was committed.

"The President of the Constitutional Court, Zühtü Arslan, made the same assessment in his dissenting opinion.

"ECHR judges evaluated the facts, information and documents in the case file from the perspective of an objective observer. The ECHR is authorized to be an impartial observer as it is not a court directly handling the case. I believe the findings of the ECHR are important for this reason.

"The claim that the Gezi events were an attempt to overthrow the government may seem reasonable to you, but it does not remove your obligation to view the matter objectively.

'View the facts as an impartial observer'

"The indictment claims that I am guilty based on a general examination of the evidence, but not a single crime in the indictment has been linked to an action. Increasing the information and documents that do not have the quality of evidence does not make them evidence.

"The problem we are facing is not about delaying or negating the implementation of the ECHR decision, it is about not examining the evidence through the eyes of an objective observer. I invite you to view the events and facts, not politically, but as an impartial observer."

Ali Hakan Altınay: A grave accusation

Defendant Ali Hakan Altınay also said, "My lawyers requested 6 witness, 7 documents. You refused this. There is a grave accusation. I cannot defend myself without documents. I request time for defence."

Tension at the court hall

Presenting their statements, defendants requested time to prepare their statements of defense as to the accusations. The court rejected this request as well. The applauded in protest of this rejection.

While the court board left the hall, the audience was also ordered to leave. The court requested that attorney Özgür Karaduman be taken out of the court hall. However, other attorneyss objected to this as there was no wirtten order. The audience did not leave the court hall.

Verdict of acquittal

The hearing continued after the court board returned to the court hall. The court board has announced its verdict.

The court baord has ruled that the files of seven defendants who are currently abroad shall be separated from others and the remaining nine defendants shall be acquitted of all charges.

The court has also ruled that businessperson and rights defender Osman Kavala, the only arrested defendant of the case, shall be released.

The following defendants of Gezi trial are currently abroad: Ayşe Pınar Alabora, Can Dündar, Memet Ali Alabora, Gökçe Yılmaz Handan, Meltem Arıkan, Hanzade Hikmet Germiyanoğlu and İnanç Ekmekçi.

Kavala arrested despite ECtHR verdict

In its ruling dated December 10, 2019, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ruled that Osman Kavala shall be released immediately.

However, in the previous hearings of Gezi trial on December 24 and January 28, the court ruled for the continuation of his arrest.

The prosecutor's opinion as to the accusations was accusing the defendants of leading Gezi Park Resistance in 2013. It was 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 argued that the main aim of the protests was to create an environment of chaos and disorder in Turkey.

Davutoğlu has withdrawn

There were 746 complainants in the bill of indictment of Gezi trial. One of the leading plaintiffs of the case was Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the then Prime Minister, and the 61th term government chaired by him. The then Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmet Davutoğlu was also among the plaintiffs in Gezi trial. However, he has recently announced that he has withdrawn from the lawsuit as an aggrieved party.

On the other side, the court also accepted the request of police officer Mevlüt Saldoğan and the Ministry of Treasury to intervene in the case on the allegation that "they came to harm" as a result of the protests. Saldoğan was one of the people who caused the death of Ali İsmail Korkmaz during Gezi Park protests in Eskişehir on July 10, 2013.

About Gezi Trial

It has been 78 months since an investigation was launched into Gezi Park protests, 26 months since Osman Kavala was arrested and 19 months since the bill of indictment was shared with the public and the trial started.

* Businessperson Osman Kavala, who was on his way back from Antep, was taken into custody at İstanbul Atatürk Airport on October 18, 2017.

* On November 1, 2017, it was announced that Kavala was arrested on charges of "attempting to change the Constitutional order and to overthrow the government." In the official document referring him to court with a request of arrest, it was alleged that Kavala was the head and financier of Gezi incidents.

* While Kavala and his attorneys were prevented from seeing the file of the investigation with restrictions, the content of the file was served to the media.

* On November 16, 2018, a wave of detentions targeted several people, including some executives of Anadolu Kültür Inc. cofounded by Osman Kavala.

* The previously acquitted members of Taksim Solidarity platform were also summoned to depose and it was reported in the news that there was indeed a more extensive list of investigation.

* Imprisoned for 19 months without standing before the judge and without a bill of indictment prepared by the prosecutor's office, even Kavala and his attorneys also had to follow the course of the investigation from the press.

* Almost 1.5 months passed without any judicial processes.

* The bill of indictment prepared the prosecutor's office was announced on February 19, 2019 and accepted by the court on March 4.

* Issued against Gezi incidents from six years ago in 16 months, the indictment demanded life sentence for 16 people.

* The indictment and its annexes were mostly based on wiretapping evidence. It was announced that, mostly consisting of wiretapping evidence, the 657-page indictment also had over 8,000-page additional documents.

* The first hearing of the case was held on June 24, 2019. The defendants presented their statements of defense. Yiğit Aksakoğlu, one of the two arrested defendants of the time, was released.

* Announcing its ruling on the individual application of Osman Kavala on May 22, 2019, the Constitutional Court concluded that there was "no violation" despite the dissenting opinion of its own rapporteur.

* Requests of release for Osman Kavala were rejected in all three hearings on June 24, July 18 and October 9.

* Since the Gezi Trial started, the defendants and audience were faced with three different court boards. The presiding judge who requested the release of Osman Kavala was immediately dismissed from his duty.

* The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) announced its ruling on the individual application of Osman Kavala on December 10, 2019.

*Accordingly, the ECtHR has unanimously ruled that there had been a violation of Article 5/1 (right to liberty and security) of the European Convention on Human Rights, and a violation of Article 5/4 (right to a speedy decision on the lawfulness of detention) of the Convention.

The Court has said, "By six votes to one, that there had been a violation of Article 18 (limitation on use of restrictions on rights) taken together with Article 5 § 1, and that the respondent State was to take every measure to put an end to the applicant's detention and to secure his immediate release."

CLICK - ECtHR: His Pre-Trial Detention Not Based on Reasonable Suspicion

Following the ECtHR verdict on Osman Kavala, in the fourth and fifth hearings of Gezi trial on December 24 and January 28, the court ruled for the continuation of his arrest.

Prosecutor's opinion added to the file

* The opinion as to the accusations of prosecutor Edip Şahiner was added to the file on February 6, 2020.

* The prosecutor of the Gezi Trial has requested an aggravated life sentence for three defendants, Osman Kavala, Mücella Yapıcı and Yiğit Aksakoğlu.

* The prosecutor has requested 15 to 20 years of prison term for six defendants, who have been charged with "attempting to overthrow the government of the Republic of Turkey or prevent it from performing its duties by using force": Çiğdem Mater Utku, Ali Hakan Altınay, Mine Özerden, Şerafettin Can Atalay, Tayfun Kahraman and Yiğit Ali Ekmekçi.

* He requested the separation of the files of the defendants who are abroad: Ayşe Pınar Alabora, Can Dündar, Gökçe Yılmaz, Handan Meltem Arıkan, Hanzade Hikmet Germiyanoğlu, Memet Ali Alabora and İnanç Ekmekçi. The prosecutor alleged that these seven defendants committed the same acts with Kavala, Aksakoğlu and Yapıcı.

(TP/HA/SD)

* Source of statements: #DefendingGezi Twitter account