Islanders face trial over 'Azmanbüs protests'

In an announcement regarding the matter, the Adalar Civil Initiative stated the following:

"Approximately one year ago, on June 15, 2024, 10 of our neighbors were detained in an application unprecedented in the history of the Adalar while exercising their right to protest, which is guaranteed by our Constitution, and now they will be tried on Friday, May 23, 2025, with a request for up to three years in prison. 

We stand with our friends who wanted to defend the tradition of traffic-free life in the Adalar by using their constitutional right to protest against the giant minibuses put into service on the streets despite the promises made by institutions, and who are fighting to prevent the step-by-step opening of the Adalar—which are registered as closed to motor vehicle traffic by Conservation Board decisions—to traffic and, consequently, to development.

This is a call to all islanders for the hearing to be held at the Adalar Courthouse on Friday, May 23, at 11:00, to strengthen our rare, still-existing neighborly relations and solidarity! The silent support you will provide by coming to the courthouse garden on the day of the hearing will give strength to our neighbors..."

The initiative added the comment, “Demonstration cannot be punished; it is a fundamental right. Making a decision that will radically change people's lives requires participation and negotiation. Threatening people with prison for expressing their views on this most fundamental right and for demonstrating by walking on the pedestrian path is an attempt to obstruct their rights. It is unacceptable to try to punish people who use their right to demonstrate, whoever they may be.”

WHAT HAPPENED?

Minibuses, referred to as 'Azmanbüs' (monster buses), were brought to the Adalar—the only district in Turkey closed to motor vehicle traffic—on May 23, 2024, despite contrary statements made by officials to the public.

Following the public outrage caused by the vehicles brought to the district, a promise was made at a public meeting organized by the Adalar Municipality on May 27, where the IETT General Manager and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) officials were also present, that the vehicles would not be put into service until a solution was found in dialogue with the public. However, on June 15, the minibuses were driven onto the roads of the Adalar. 

Some of the hundreds of people who protested what was happening by using their constitutional right, with the reflex to protect the geography they live in, were detained. On May 23, they will be tried at the Adalar Courthouse under Article 223 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), for the crime of hijacking or detaining transport vehicles.

News Source: 12punto