Interesting defense from detained youth: He said 'I am from Rize', his father's photo with Erdoğan emerged! He was released

Eight youths detained in Istanbul during demonstrations against the arrest of Republican People's Party (CHP) presidential candidate and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu were referred to the Istanbul 8th Criminal Judgeship of Peace on March 28 with a request for their arrest. 

The court ordered the arrest of 7 of the youths, while releasing 1 under judicial control conditions.

The interrogation transcripts of the 8 youths and their lawyers have been obtained. The 8 youths were charged with "insulting the President" and "participating in unlawful meetings and marches unarmed and failing to disperse despite warnings."

“WE DID NOT INSULT THE PRESIDENT”

A 19-year-old student at Beykent University stated that he did not insult the President and said the following:

"I heard the profanities, but I do not approve of them. I do not use profanity in my daily life, and I am not in a position to insult the President. I had no intent to commit a crime. I tried to stop those who were throwing things at the police. The only slogan I joined in throughout the night was 'Those who throw stones at the police are not one of us.' Many of my friends' fathers are also police officers, so I had no ill intent toward the police, nor could I have. I know the difficulties the police face. I do not accept the charges against me and request to be released."

“MY FAMILY VOTED FOR THE AK PARTY IN THE LAST ELECTIONS”

Another youth, who stated he was a student at Okan University, said in his defense, "I was never among those who were insulting. My face was not covered while I was in the area; it was always visible. I have no interest in politics; I support neither the government nor the opposition. My family voted for the AK Party in the last elections. I was only there out of curiosity, but I did not think it would lead to such an outcome. I do not accept the charges against me and request to be released." 

HE SAID 'I AM FROM RIZE' AND DID NOT ACCEPT THE ACCUSATION

The 22-year-old Marmara University student stated that he is from Rize and defended himself by saying, "I absolutely did not insult the President. I never accept such an accusation. I request to be released."

“WE DID NOT JOIN THE PROTESTING GROUP”

A 19-year-old youth stated that he was detained inside the tram and denied the accusations brought against him.

Another 24-year-old student at Sabancı University said in his defense, "When we saw Özgür Özel's rally on the news, we went out of curiosity, and after spending some time there, we went to an empty area. My mother later sent a message on WhatsApp saying 'leave there.' We left with some people; we did not join the protesting group in any way, we did not insult the President, we did not enter prohibited areas, and we proceeded along the path opened by the police. The slogans chanted in the rally area were not very audible; I did not hear the President being insulted. I did not hear the police's 'disperse' warning, nor did I hear the police's warning before leaving. I regret participating in the demonstrations; I saw people with banners, those people were on the belt side, I was on the rally side, I was far from that crowd. I heard about other protests, but I was not present at those protests and I was not among those people. I do not accept the charges against me, I request to be released."

‘ERDOĞAN’ DEFENSE FROM THE LAWYER: ‘HIS FATHER IS A CEO, HE HAS A PHOTO WITH ERDOĞAN’

The lawyer for the 24-year-old youth joined his client's defense and said the following:

"The client and his family are people raised with love for their country and nation. The client's father is the CEO of one of the companies producing national frigates for our country. One of the children who walked with the client was not referred here for arrest today; our prosecutors deemed it appropriate. I am also a Turkish nationalist; if this child were a provocateur, I would not be defending him. The client is studying computer engineering. The client is not the child of a family that would participate in these actions; the friend he went with is not here right now. He has exams at school on April 5th. His father pays 600,000 TL a year for his education, and he must not fail his classes. His father has a photograph taken with the President. One hundred thousand people went there that day, but one hundred thousand people are not here; I wish he hadn't gone. He only went out of curiosity and he is very regretful for having gone. We believe that the path of young people should not be blocked. At this stage, we request his release, or if your court is of a different opinion, that he be placed under judicial control."

"I AM NOT THE PERSON YOU ARE POINTING TO"

A 31-year-old nurse stated in his defense, "A scuffle broke out at the tram waiting area. When the clash between protesters and police occurred, I did not board the tram. After the scuffle ended, a police officer came, took me, and I was handcuffed behind my back before I could even say 'I have nothing to do with the incident.' I am not the person you are pointing to. I do not accept the charges against me and request to be released."

"HE DID NOT CHANT SLOGANS"

A 23-year-old student at Marmara University stated in his defense that he did not insult the President and denied the charges against him. The youth's lawyer, joining his client's defense, said, "My client is a national athlete in baseball and has a sensitivity toward the Turkish flag; he only carried the Turkish flag in the area and did not chant any slogans. Being tried for insulting the President is humiliating for him."

"I WAS DETAINED WITH HANDCUFFS BEHIND MY BACK, I WAS BEATEN"

Another 20-year-old youth said the following in his defense:

"I went to Özgür Özel's rally; I did not insult the President. I did not hear the police's order to disperse. During the incident, I first fainted, then regained consciousness, and was detained with handcuffs behind my back and beaten. I had no intention of committing a crime; I do not accept the charges against me and request to be released."

JUDICIARY: THERE IS A RISK OF THE SUSPECTS FLEEING

The Istanbul 8th Criminal Judgeship of Peace stated that 7 youths had participated in an unauthorized meeting and demonstration march, failing to comply with the Istanbul Governor's Office's March 23 ban decision, and that they did not disperse despite warnings from law enforcement and insulted the President with slogans. Emphasizing that the 7 youths were arrested due to the suspicion of flight, the judgeship stated the following:

"Considering the defenses of the suspects and the entire scope of the file, it is understood that there is concrete evidence indicating a strong suspicion of guilt regarding the crimes they are charged with. Given the nature of the alleged crimes and the foreseen penalty amounts, it has been evaluated that the arrest measure would be appropriate and proportionate as there is a possibility of the suspects fleeing, and that judicial control measures would be insufficient. Furthermore, considering that there is no obstacle to arrest for the suspects, it has been decided that the 7 suspects be arrested separately in accordance with Article 100 and subsequent articles of the Criminal Procedure Code (CMK)."

THE YOUTH 'WHOSE FATHER HAS A PHOTO WITH ERDOĞAN' WAS RELEASED

The judgeship decided to release the 24-year-old youth, who is a student at Sabancı University and whose lawyer argued, "My client's father is the CEO of one of the companies producing national frigates for our country. His father has a photograph taken with the President," under judicial control conditions. The judgeship's decision included the following statements:

"Although the suspect M.A.A. was referred to our judgeship with a request for his arrest on the grounds that he committed the crimes of 'insulting the President' and 'participating unarmed in unlawful meetings and marches and failing to disperse despite warnings,' it has been evaluated that, based on the current state of evidence, judicial control measures would be appropriate and proportionate for this suspect instead of arrest. Therefore, it has been decided to reject the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office's request for the suspect's arrest, and to release the suspect and place him under judicial control, provided he is not detained or convicted for another crime."