Former ÖSYM President Ali Demir acquitted of FETÖ membership charges

The Ankara 2nd High Criminal Court hosted the hearing, which was attended by the non-detained defendants, former ÖSYM President Ali Demir and former ÖSYM Vice President Ömer Pekşen, along with their lawyers.

In his defense regarding the merits of the case, Demir stated, "When we arrived at ÖSYM in September 2010, it had a 36-year history. It was being managed through personal relationships. As an academic, one of the issues I was most sensitive about was ensuring equality in exams. From my first day to my last, my entire priority was exam security," he said.

"I DID NOT REQUEST TO BECOME ÖSYM PRESIDENT"

Denying the FETÖ accusations, Demir said, "I did not destroy any exam documents. The indictment claims that all exam questions prepared by ÖSYM were stolen. This is completely baseless and a perception operation. The prosecutor wants me to be punished for FETÖ membership. The witnesses heard never made any statements indicating that I was a FETÖ member. Furthermore, I did not request to become ÖSYM President. However, I knew what kind of appetite FETÖ had for ÖSYM. For this reason, I took countless measures regarding the exams. I reject all accusations and request my acquittal," he said.

Defendant Pekşen also stated that he reiterated his previous defenses and requested acquittal from the court panel.

The court panel stated that they would conclude the case and asked the defendants for their final words.

Demir said, "I do not accept the baseless accusations leveled against me. I request acquittal." Pekşen also stated, "I do not accept the accusations leveled against me. I request my acquittal."

Following the statements of the defendants and their lawyers, the court panel announced its verdict, acquitting Ali Demir of the charge of FETÖ membership, while sentencing both Demir and Pekşen to 1 year and 15 days in prison for abuse of office. The court decided to defer the announcement of the verdict and ordered the lifting of judicial control measures against the defendants.

News Source: İHA