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Turkish court acquits 9 civil activists of terror charges Turkish court acquits 9 civil activists of terror charges
(about 3 hours later)
ISTANBUL — A court in Istanbul on Tuesday acquitted nine leading Turkish civil society activists of terrorism-related charges in relation to anti-government protests, including philanthropist Osman Kavala. ISTANBUL — A court in Istanbul on Tuesday acquitted nine leading Turkish civil society activists of terrorism-related charges related to anti-government protests, including a renowned philanthropist who has been jailed for more than two years.
The trial of 16 leading activists was seen by critics as a momentous bid by the government to crack down on opposition voices and criminalize mass anti-government protests. The defendants were accused of organizing anti-government protests in an attempt to overthrow the government in 2013. Critics saw the charges and resulting trial as a momentous bid by those in power to crack down on opposition voices and criminalize mass anti-government protests. A total of 16 people were accused of organizing or aiding in the 2013 protests in an attempt to violently overthrow the government.
The court ruled that Kavala, the sole defendant still in jail, should be freed. The trial against seven other defendants, some of who escaped overseas, will continue. A panel of judges ruled that civil society defender and ex-businessman Osman Kavala, the sole defendant still in jail, should be freed. It ordered seven defendants who live abroad to be brought in for questioning.
The protests began to protect a small park in central Istanbul from being redeveloped as an Ottoman-style shopping mall but grew into a wider protest movement across Turkey, challenging Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was Turkey’s prime minister at the time and is now Turkey’s president. Supporters broke into applause and tears when a judge quickly read the panel’s verdict for acquitting the activists instead of convicting them and imposing harsh sentences, as many had feared.
The trial took place Tuesday in a courthouse near the Silivri maximum security prison campus on the outskirts of Istanbul. Rights groups, lawmakers and hundreds of supporters arrived to observe the trial. Many burst into applause when Kavala entered the courtroom. “It’s a great verdict. Acquittal was the only thing that could be just. This is the verdict we should have been given two years ago,” Andrew Gardner of Amnesty International told The Associated Press. “We will have to see what comes next but today is a decision to celebrate.”
The prosecutor had been seeking a life sentence in solitary confinement without parole for Kavala, architect Mucella Yapici and Yigit Aksakoglu, who works on early childhood development and spent 221 days in pretrial detention. They rejected the accusation that they tried to overthrow the government and say the protests were simply an exercise of democratic rights. The protests at the center of the case started to oppose the planned development of a small park in central Istanbul into an Ottoman-style shopping mall. The demonstrations grew into a wider protest movement across Turkey, challenging Turkey’s prime minister at the time and now president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Yapici, who is a member of Taksim Solidarity, a group working for the area’s urban issues, has already been tried for her involvement in the protests on other charges and was acquitted in 2015. More than 300 people came to watch the trial Tuesday, joining lawmakers, foreign delegates and rights group members at a courthouse near the Silivri maximum security prison campus, on the outskirts of Istanbul. Hundreds of others waited outside.
Defense lawyers say their witnesses have yet to be heard and that the evidence has not been adequately presented. The prosecutor asked that demands to hear the witnesses on Tuesday be rejected. The court agreed. Many observers burst into applause when Kavala entered the courtroom and after some of the testimony, prompting warnings from the court. The atmosphere was tense. The court rejected requests to hear the testimony of defense witnesses and to give the defendants more time to respond to the prosecutor’s sentencing statement.
The prosecutor was also demanding 15 to 20 years in prison for six other defendants, among them filmmakers, a lawyer and an urban planner, for aiding an attempted overthrow. The tension built to an uproar when security forces tried to remove a defense lawyer from the courtroom. Officers in riot gear arrived after members of the audience and lawyers loudly voiced their objections.
Kavala was arrested four years after the protests and held in pretrial detention for 840 days. In the December ruling, the Strasbourg-court European Court of Human Rights said that Kavala’s right to liberty was violated by a lack of reasonable suspicion, and that his extended detention served “the ulterior purpose of reducing him to silence” with a “chilling effect on civil society.” “Complaints of the lawyer not being heeded by the court, statements by the defendants, really seemed to fall on deaf ears in terms of the panel of judges,” Gardner said, describing the trial as a roller-coaster. “And then suddenly, for the judge to announce a not-guilty verdict for all, is incredible.”
The 63-year-old is a businessperson and the founder of a nonprofit institution that focuses on cultural and artistic projects for peace and dialogue called Anadolu Kultur. The prosecutor had sought a life sentence in solitary confinement without parole for Kavala, architect Mucella Yapici and Yigit Aksakoglu, who works on early childhood development and spent 221 days in pretrial detention. They denied trying to overthrow the government and say the protests were an exercise of democratic rights.
Kavala has maintained that he took part in peaceful activities to defend the environment and the park, which is near his office, and rejected the accusation that he organized and financed the protests. The prosecutor demanded 15 to 20 years in prison for six other defendants, among them filmmakers, a lawyer and an urban planner, for aiding an attempted overthrow.
Kavala, 63, founded a nonprofit organization, Anadolu Kultur, that focuses on cultural and artistic projects promoting peace and dialogue. He rejected the accusation that he organized and financed the 2013 protests. He said he took part in peaceful activities to defend the environment and the park, which is near his office.
Kavala was arrested in November 2017, four years after the protests. The European Court of Human Rights ruled for his immediate release in December, saying Kavala’s extended time in custody served “the ulterior purpose of reducing him to silence” with a “chilling effect on civil society.”
The Istanbul court did not heed the European court’s order during two previous hearings but ruled in favor of Kavala’s release Tuesday.
An estimated 3.6 million people joined the Gezi Park protests, according to government estimates, and thousands were injured. Police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse mostly peaceful protesters and have been criticized for excessive force.An estimated 3.6 million people joined the Gezi Park protests, according to government estimates, and thousands were injured. Police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse mostly peaceful protesters and have been criticized for excessive force.
The Turkish Bar Association puts the number of killed in the unrest at 15, including a police officer, but the prosecutor’s indictment against the defendants says five were killed. The discrepancy stems from the inclusion of heart attacks and cerebral hemorrhages thought to be caused by pepper spray, as well as those killed in other protests during the same period.The Turkish Bar Association puts the number of killed in the unrest at 15, including a police officer, but the prosecutor’s indictment against the defendants says five were killed. The discrepancy stems from the inclusion of heart attacks and cerebral hemorrhages thought to be caused by pepper spray, as well as those killed in other protests during the same period.
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Robert Badendieck in Istanbul and Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey contributed to this report.
Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.