Metin Lokumcu case taken to the Court of Appeal: Family lawyer speaks to 12punto

With the decision announced in recent days, 13 police officers were acquitted in the case of Metin Lokumcu, who lost his life in 2011 in Artvin due to exposure to tear gas. The Lokumcu family has taken the decision to the Court of Appeal. The family's lawyer, Meriç Eyüboğlu, spoke to 12punto about the process.

Don't leave your news choices to an algorithm - decide for yourself what you read. Add 12punto to your preferred sources!

Metin Lokumcu case taken to the Court of Appeal: Family lawyer speaks to 12punto

Hazal Güven - 12punto.com.tr

On May 31, 2011, then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited the Hopa district of Artvin, where he was protested by local residents who had taken to the streets to oppose a hydroelectric power plant (HES) project. During the police's harsh intervention against the protests, retired teacher Metin Lokumcu suffered a heart attack after being exposed to intense chemical gas and lost his life.

Following the incident, Lokumcu's family filed a lawsuit to have those responsible put on trial. In the case where 13 police officers were tried on charges of "causing death by negligence," a true legal travesty occurred. The indictment was only prepared 9 years after the incident, and in the end, the court panel acquitted all of the accused police officers.

'THERE WAS NEITHER A DIAGNOSIS NOR ANY MEDICATION HE USED'

The scandals in the Metin Lokumcu case did not end there. In the reasoned decision announced after the final hearing, it was stated that Lokumcu was already a heart patient and that he lost his life due to his existing heart condition, not because of the intense gas he was exposed to. However, speaking to 12punto, his son Ulaş Lokumcu stated that his father had no existing heart disease diagnosis or any medication he used for such a condition.

IT WAS STATED THAT 'THE POLICE ACTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAW'

The decision also stated that the 13 police officers on trial intervened in the protests in accordance with the law, and that the protesting citizens were organizing an anti-government protest rather than objecting to the HES project.

In its reasoned decision, the court stated that it took into account the forensic examination and autopsy report of the Hopa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and included the following statements:

“Although Lokumcu was directly exposed to tear gas, considering the video recordings and the autopsy report, it is understood that there was no physical intervention, that the unrest increased after the news of the deceased's death was announced by those protesting, that the hospital was surrounded to prevent intervention for an injured police officer when he was taken to the hospital, that the intense intervention occurred at this stage, and that it is not possible to speak of the deceased being exposed to intense tear gas.”

Meriç Eyüboğlu - Lawyer for the Lokumcu family

CASE TAKEN TO THE COURT OF APPEAL

Metin Lokumcu's family has taken the acquittal decision for the 13 police defendants to the Court of Appeal.

The Lokumcu family's lawyer, Meriç Eyüboğlu, spoke to 12punto. Stating, "We will try all legal avenues," Eyüboğlu said the following:

"We have filed our appeal. In this legal struggle that has been ongoing since 2011, we will continue to knock on every door we can, such as the Constitutional Court (AYM), the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), and the Court of Cassation.

We are facing such a blatant act of killing that I hope we will wake up to a country where those responsible will be held accountable, if not today, then in the future."

News Source: Hazal Güven