Verdict in Gezi Park strip-search case! 'It is a crime of torture'
A verdict has been reached regarding the three police officers tried after Taksim Solidarity spokesperson Mücella Yapıcı and her daughter Cansu Yapıcı were subjected to a strip search. The Istanbul 11th High Criminal Court announced that two female police officers were sentenced to 5 months in prison each for "misconduct in office," while one police officer was acquitted. The Yapıcı family drew attention to the illegality of the process they experienced, describing the situation as torture.
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Mücella Yapıcı and Cansu Yapıcı’s lawyer, Gülyeter Aktepe, and the lawyers for the accused police officers were present at the hearing held at the Istanbul 11th High Criminal Court. One of the accused police officers, Levent Mustafaoğlu, who is detained for another crime, connected to the hearing via SEGBİS from the Bolu T-Type Closed Penal Institution where he is being held.
In her statement against the prosecutor's opinion, Mücella Yapıcı and Cansu Yapıcı’s lawyer, Gülyeter Aktepe, said, "The clients were subjected to the torture of a strip search despite the fact that the reason for their unjust and unlawful detention was not related to any narcotics-related accusation. Two hours after they were taken into custody, a strip search was conducted only for the women. This is not 'misconduct in office' but a crime of 'torture'."
In his final statement, the accused male police officer reiterated his previous testimonies and requested acquittal.
1 POLICE OFFICER ACQUITTED, 2 POLICE OFFICERS CONVICTED
Announcing its verdict, the court panel decided to acquit 1 defendant, while sentencing 2 defendants to 6 months in prison for the crime of "misconduct in office," which was then reduced to 5 months in prison each after applying a discretionary reduction. The court also decided to defer the announcement of the verdict.