Hearing for the 'Saraçhane protests' case adjourned to October 3

During the morning session of the hearing, which was held in the Istanbul 27th High Criminal Court courtroom due to space limitations, it was decided to separate the files of journalists Ali Onur Tosun, Bülent Kılıç, Gökhan Kam, Zeyneb Ceren Kuray, Emre Orman, Yasin Akgül, Hayri Tunç, and Kurtuluş Arı, as well as lawyer defendants Baran Nevzacanoğlu, Aziz Can Cengiz, Deniz Demirdögen, and Mine Erdost.

After the students and their lawyers completed their defense statements, the court took a break around 19:00 and announced its decision shortly thereafter. It was decided to issue writs regarding some defendants and to lift the arrest warrant for defendant Onur Akay, as his defense statement had been taken.

COURT REQUESTS DETAILED EXPERT ANALYSIS

Furthermore, the court decided to "reiterate the writ sent to the relevant unit for the procurement and submission of all camera footage related to the actions subject to the indictment; and following the procurement of the camera footage, to refer the file to an expert in the field to prepare a report by comparing the defendants' identification photos with the footage of the incident, determining whether the defendants were among those participating in the unauthorized demonstration, whether a warning to disperse was issued by the relevant security units, whether the warning could be heard from their location given the nature of the warning, whether force was used by law enforcement after the warning was ignored, and whether they insisted on not dispersing despite the use of force, with findings to be made for each defendant individually."

The court also rejected the immediate acquittal requests of the defendants and their lawyers, and decided that the defendants who had already provided their defense statements would be exempted from attending future hearings at the court's discretion, adjourning the trial to October 3.

News Source: 12punto