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| Soccer Fans in Turkish Protests Stand Trial | Soccer Fans in Turkish Protests Stand Trial |
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| ISTANBUL — Thousands of people have already been indicted on charges related to last year’s nationwide anti-government protests. On Tuesday, it was the turn of soccer fans. | ISTANBUL — Thousands of people have already been indicted on charges related to last year’s nationwide anti-government protests. On Tuesday, it was the turn of soccer fans. |
| Thirty-five members of a soccer fan club that played a prominent role in the demonstrations in Istanbul were put on trial on charges of attempting to overthrow the government in a case that has drawn criticism from human rights groups who accuse the government of using the trial to warn other people against expressing dissent. | Thirty-five members of a soccer fan club that played a prominent role in the demonstrations in Istanbul were put on trial on charges of attempting to overthrow the government in a case that has drawn criticism from human rights groups who accuse the government of using the trial to warn other people against expressing dissent. |
| The protests started in June 2013 over the planned redevelopment of Gezi Park, in the center of Istanbul. After a harsh government crackdown, the protests spread to other cities. | |
| The nationwide protests were the first serious threat to the pro-Islamic government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, then prime minister, after more than a decade in power. | The nationwide protests were the first serious threat to the pro-Islamic government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, then prime minister, after more than a decade in power. |
| “Charging these Besikta football club fans as enemies of the state for joining a public protest is a ludicrous travesty,” Emma Sinclair-Webb, a Turkey researcher at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. “It reveals a great deal about the enormous pressure being exerted on Turkey’s justice system by the government.” | “Charging these Besikta football club fans as enemies of the state for joining a public protest is a ludicrous travesty,” Emma Sinclair-Webb, a Turkey researcher at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. “It reveals a great deal about the enormous pressure being exerted on Turkey’s justice system by the government.” |
| All the defendants Tuesday face life in prison and pleaded not guilty. The soccer fans were lauded by fellow demonstrators, who felt that the fan club would help their cause. | |
| The indictment accused the protesters of trying to occupy ministry offices “to create the appearance that a weakness of authority had emerged in the country,” and of assisting the foreign news media in collecting images like those of the Arab Spring, the semiofficial Anadolu Agency reported. | |
| On Tuesday, hundreds of people, most wearing the black and white of the fans’ soccer team, gathered outside the courthouse in the city center to support the defendants. Inside the courthouse, other supporters chanted, “We are soccer fans, not terrorists.” | On Tuesday, hundreds of people, most wearing the black and white of the fans’ soccer team, gathered outside the courthouse in the city center to support the defendants. Inside the courthouse, other supporters chanted, “We are soccer fans, not terrorists.” |
| The trial began just days after the detentions of police officers, TV script writers and journalists, including Ekrem Dumanli, the editor in chief of the newspaper Zaman, on claims that they contributed to coup attempts. Some of those who were detained were sympathizers of Fethullah Gulen, a religious leader who is a strong critic of Mr. Erdogan and is in self-imposed exile in the United States. | |
| The European Union called the detentions a blow to freedom of speech in Turkey. | The European Union called the detentions a blow to freedom of speech in Turkey. |
| On Monday, Mr. Erdogan responded to the criticism by saying the bloc’s members “should mind their own business.” The tit-for-tat statements were the latest blow to Turkey’s bid to join the union. He added that the detentions were “within the rule of law against elements that threaten our national security.” | On Monday, Mr. Erdogan responded to the criticism by saying the bloc’s members “should mind their own business.” The tit-for-tat statements were the latest blow to Turkey’s bid to join the union. He added that the detentions were “within the rule of law against elements that threaten our national security.” |
| More than 5,300 people have been charged in the nationwide Gezi protests, many of them accused of violating the public protest law and damaging property. | More than 5,300 people have been charged in the nationwide Gezi protests, many of them accused of violating the public protest law and damaging property. |
| “This is a match between the government and those that the government marked as ‘others,’ ” said Yusuf Ozkan, 42, who went to the courthouse on Tuesday to show solidarity with the soccer fans, even though he says he is a fan of another soccer team. “If we do not win this game with the government, the losers will be fair justice, our dignity, a bright future to entrust our children and our public conscience.” | “This is a match between the government and those that the government marked as ‘others,’ ” said Yusuf Ozkan, 42, who went to the courthouse on Tuesday to show solidarity with the soccer fans, even though he says he is a fan of another soccer team. “If we do not win this game with the government, the losers will be fair justice, our dignity, a bright future to entrust our children and our public conscience.” |