Gezi prisoners Çiğdem Mater and Mine Özerden transferred to different prison

The prison location for Çiğdem Mater and Mine Özerden, who were each sentenced to 18 years in prison for "aiding in the attempt to overthrow the government" in the Gezi Park trial, has been changed.

It was decided that Mater and Özerden, who have been held at the Bakırköy Women's Closed Penal Institution since April 2022, will be transferred to the Şakran Prison in İzmir.

DECISIONS MADE IN THE GEZI TRIAL

The Gezi Park trial has been recorded as the case that led the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers to initiate an infringement procedure against Turkey on the grounds that the European Court of Human Rights rulings were not being implemented.

In the verdict announced in April 2022, Anadolu Kültür Board Chair and businessman Osman Kavala was sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment for "attempting to overthrow the government" without any discretionary reduction.

In the same trial, Mücella Yapıcı, Çiğdem Mater, Ali Hakan Altınay, Mine Özerden, Tayfun Kahraman, Can Atalay, and Yiğit Ali Ekmekçi were sentenced to 18 years in prison each for "aiding in the attempt to overthrow the government" and were ordered to be arrested.

JUDICIAL PROCESS

The 3rd Criminal Chamber of the Istanbul Regional Court of Justice upheld the 18-year prison sentence given to Çiğdem Mater on December 28, 2022.

In July 2023, the Supreme Court of Appeals Chief Public Prosecutor's Office prepared an opinion requesting the upholding of the conviction sentences given to the detained defendants in the Gezi Park trial and sent the file to the 3rd Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals.

In its decision on September 28, 2023, the 3rd Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals upheld the convictions of Osman Kavala, Can Atalay, Tayfun Kahraman, Mine Özerden, and Çiğdem Mater Utku. The 18-year prison sentences given to Ali Hakan Altınay, Yiğit Ali Ekmekçi, and Mücella Yapıcı were overturned. Following the reversal decision, these individuals were retried and acquitted.

News Source: 12punto