Retrial of 3 defendants in Gezi Park case begins following Court of Cassation reversal

The retrial has begun for Mücella Yapıcı, Ali Hakan Altınay, and Yiğit Ali Ekmekçi, whose 18-year prison sentences in the case concerning the "Gezi Park events"—which involves 17 defendants, including 9 fugitives and Osman Kavala—were overturned by the Court of Cassation.

The defendants, who did not attend the hearing at the Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court, were represented by their lawyers. Bayram Şahin Aydınlı, a lawyer for the General Directorate of Security, and Mesut Can Tarım, the lawyer for former minister Sadullah Ergin, who is listed as a "victim" in the case file, were also present at the hearing.

INTERIM DECISIONS

During the hearing, where the reversal decision of the 3rd Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation dated August 23, 2023, was read, the court panel ruled to comply with the reversal and lifted the judicial control measures on the defendants.

Recalling that a criminal complaint was filed against the defendants by the Istanbul 30th High Criminal Court on February 18, 2020, the panel decided to inquire with the prosecutor's office whether there are any other investigations or lawsuits filed against them for "violating the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations."

The panel also decided to ask the Istanbul Police Department whether there are any camera recordings of the incident and adjourned the hearing to May 22.

BACKGROUND OF THE CASE

The Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court, which heard the "Gezi Park events" case, had sentenced the detained defendant Osman Kavala, Chairman of the Board of Anadolu Kültür AŞ, to aggravated life imprisonment for "attempting to overthrow the Government of the Republic of Turkey," while acquitting him of the charge of "political or military espionage."

The panel had sentenced defendants Can Atalay, Çiğdem Mater Utku, Ali Hakan Altınay, Mine Özerden, Tayfun Kahraman, Ayşe Mücella Yapıcı, and Yiğit Ali Ekmekçi to 18 years in prison each for "aiding in the attempt to overthrow the Government of the Republic of Turkey" and ordered their arrest.

The Istanbul Regional Court of Justice (appellate court), where the case was appealed, had found the local court's decision to be in accordance with the law. The case file was subsequently sent to the 3rd Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation.

One of the defendants, Can Atalay, was elected as a Hatay deputy from the TİP in the 28th Term Parliamentary General Elections on May 14. Atalay's lawyers had applied to the Court of Cassation for the suspension of the trial and the release of their client, but the Criminal Chamber rejected this request.

REVERSAL DECISIONS

The high court, having reviewed the file, overturned the 18-year prison sentences handed down to defendants Ali Hakan Altınay, Yiğit Ali Ekmekçi, and Ayşe Mücella Yapıcı.

In its decision, the Chamber stated that the actions of these defendants did not fall under the scope of "aiding in the attempt to overthrow the Government of the Republic of Turkey" and should instead be evaluated under the scope of "violating the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations."

The Chamber had also previously decided to release Yapıcı and Altınay, whose convictions it overturned, under judicial control measures.

News Source: AA