Decision on Osman Kavala's request for retrial in the interest of law

The request for a retrial in the interest of law, filed by the lawyers of Osman Kavala, who was sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment in the Gezi case and whose sentence was upheld, has been rejected. 

According to a report by Murat Sabuncu from T24, the decision cited Article 312, which falls under the heading "crimes against the government," and stated: "In view of the scope of the file, the grounds upon which it is based, and the discretion of the court, it has been decided not to pursue a reversal in the interest of law against the decision of the Istanbul 14th High Criminal Court dated 25/04/2024 and numbered 2024/65 miscellaneous business."

The grounds for the decision are as follows:

"Furthermore, although the defendant's counsel claimed in their petitions containing both the request for retrial and the request for reversal in the interest of law that the victim, who constitutes the material element of the crime, was removed by constitutional amendment; it is noted that Article 312, under the heading 'Crimes against the government' with which the defendant is charged, aims to protect the government, which is the executive organ of the State's executive power, from attacks directed at its existence and functions as a whole, that the victim of the crime is the Government of the Republic of Turkey, that the executive power and duty were granted to the President with the amendment made to Article 8 of the Constitution of the Republic of Turkey numbered 2709, titled 'Executive power and duty,' that the amendment did not change the victim of the crime, and that the claims used by the defendant's counsel as the basis for the retrial request were also raised during the appellate and supreme court stages and the aforementioned decision became final after passing through ordinary legal review,

In view of the scope of the file, the grounds upon which it is based, and the discretion of the court, it has been decided not to pursue a reversal in the interest of law against the decision of the Istanbul 14th High Criminal Court dated 25/04/2024 and numbered 2024/65 miscellaneous business."

News Source: 12punto