Appeal against Resul Emrah Şahan's detention! First statement from lawyers

Şişli Mayor Resul Emrah Şahan was arrested on March 23 as part of the "urban consensus" investigation. His lawyers, Hüseyin Ersöz and Enes Ermaner, have filed an appeal against the decision by the Istanbul 2nd Criminal Court of Peace to maintain his detention.

EMPHASIS ON "DETENTION WITHOUT EVIDENCE"

The lawyers stated that keeping Resul Emrah Şahan deprived of his liberty for 8 months without an indictment being prepared is unlawful. The legal experts, noting that Şahan has been detained since the moment he was taken into custody without any evidence, reported that no new evidence has been added to the file during this process. Pointing out that the possibility of tampering with evidence has been eliminated under these conditions, they argued that continuing the detention based on abstract and repetitive grounds is incompatible with the principles of a state of law.

ATTENTION DRAWN TO ŞAHAN'S POLITICAL POSITION

In the appeal application, reference was made to Resul Emrah Şahan's political achievements, stating that the current detention measure is disproportionate because it is not based on evidence. It was recalled that Şahan, who took office with high support from the people of Şişli, has implemented 150 services during his 11-month tenure and ranks among the most successful mayors in Istanbul in satisfaction surveys.

SCIENTIFIC OPINION: "NO EVIDENCE, ONLY ASSUMPTIONS"

The application petition also included a scientific opinion signed by criminal law experts Prof. Dr. Bahri Öztürk, Prof. Dr. Adem Sözüer, and Prof. Dr. İzzet Özgenç. The following assessment regarding the main claim of the investigation was conveyed in the opinion:

“There is no direct, definitive, and concrete evidence to portray a national and legitimate policy, such as the Turkey Alliance, as a secret structure formed under the instructions of a terrorist organization. This assessment is an assumption.”

"ORDINARY POLITICAL PROCESSES ARE BEING REFLECTED AS EXTRAORDINARY"

The legal assessment further stated that the file carries a structure that has been "constructed according to the desired outcome." Drawing attention to the error of presenting ordinary political functioning as an extraordinary process, the following statements were used:

“It is not extraordinary for individuals engaged in politics under the umbrella of associations or political parties to run in elections from CHP lists, individually, based on a common understanding in municipal services within the framework of the aforementioned ‘Turkey Alliance’ perspective of the CHP. In parallel, as a natural consequence of this type of political strategy, it does not constitute an extraordinary situation for individuals who have served in right-wing or left-wing parties in the past, who possess the quality of opinion leaders, and who can influence the voting preferences of large voter masses with their actions and rhetoric, to run in elections under the CHP umbrella within the scope of the ‘Turkey Alliance,’ to be municipal council member candidates in the election, or to be appointed as deputy mayors after the election.”