Three human rights defenders face retrial in the Gezi Park Case
On 28 September 2023, the 3rd Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation of Turkey upheld the sentences against four human rights defenders Osman Kavala, Çiğdem Mater, Mine Özerden and Tayfun Kahraman, and political activist Can Atalay while overturning the sentences of the remaining three defenders Mücella Yapıcı, Hakan Altınay and Yiğit Ekmekci on the Gezi Park case.
On 22 January 2021, the 3rd Penal Chamber of Istanbul Regional Appeals Court unanimously overturned the acquittals of the nine human rights defenders in the Gezi Park Trial. The case will be sent back to Istanbul 30th Heavy Penal Court for retrial.
On 18 February 2020, during the sixth and final hearing in the Gezi Park Trial, the 30th Heavy Penal Court in Istanbul acquitted nine human rights defenders, Osman Kavala, Mücella Yapıcı, Yiğit Aksakoğlu, Çiğdem Mater Utku, Ali Hakan Altınay, Mine Özerden, Şerafettin Can Atalay, Tayfun Kahraman and Yiğit Ali Ekmekçi.
On 16 July 2019 an access block was imposed on the "geziyisavunuyoruz.org" (“We Defend Gezi” in English) website, that was created to inform the public about the ongoing Gezi trial and contained photographs and videos of the Gezi protests, a summary of the indictment, court statements by defendants, illustrations from inside the courtroom, as well as a schedule of buses to the courthouse.
The second hearing in the trial of 16 human rights defenders who are accused of financing and organising the Gezi Park protests in 2013 in an “attempt to overthrow the government” was held on 18 July 2019 in İstanbul. If convicted, the HRDs face a possible sentence of life in prison without parole.
The indicted human rights defenders are; Osman Kavala, Yiğit Aksakoğlu, Yiğit Ali Ekmekçi, Çiğdem Mater Utku, Ali Hakan Altınay, Mine Özerden, Tayfun Kahraman, Şerafettin Can Atalay, Ayşe Mücella Yapıcı, Gökçe (Yılmaz) Tüylüoğlu, Hanzade Hikmet Germiyanoğlu, İnanç Ekmekçi, Can Dündar, Memet Ali Alabora, Ayşe Pınar Alabora, and Handan Meltem Arıkan.
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- 26 February 2024 : Three human rights defenders face retrial in the Gezi Park Case
- 6 October 2023 : Court of Cassation upholds the convictions of human rights defenders involved in the Gezi Park protests
- 26 January 2021 : Court of Appeals overturns the acquittals of nine defenders in the Gezi Park trial
- 20 February 2020 : Nine defenders in the Gezi Park Trial acquitted; Osman Kavala detained shortly after his release
- 11 February 2020 : Prosecutor requests life sentences without parole for three defenders in the Gezi Park Trial
- 11 October 2019 : Third hearing in the Gezi Park Trial
- 22 July 2019 : Access block imposed on website informing public about the Gezi trial
- 19 July 2019 : Second hearing in the Gezi Park Trial
- 29 June 2019 : First Hearing in Gezi Park Trial
On 21 February 2024, the first session of the retrial of Ali Hakan Altınay, Ayşe Mücella Yapıcı, and Yiğit Ali Ekmekçi began at the Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court after their sentences were overturned by the Court of Cassation of Turkey. The three human rights defenders were among the eight defendants in the Gezi Park case. They are on trial for violating the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations (Law No. 2911).
On 28 September 2023, the 3rd Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation of Turkey overturned the 18-year prison sentences handed to the three human rights defenders by an Istanbul court. They had been on trial alongside other human rights defenders, including Osman Kavala, Çiğdem Mater, Mine Özerden, and Tayfun Kahraman, as well as political activist Can Atalay. The Court of Cassation ruled that their actions did not fall under the "aiding and abetting to attempt to overthrow the government of Turkey" charge and should instead be reassessed under Law No. 2911. The court ordered the release of the three human rights defenders under judicial control. Ayşe Mücella Yapıcı and Ali Hakan Altınay were released the same day.
The Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court adhered to the Court of Cassation's verdict and lifted the judicial control measures imposed on Yiğit Ali Ekmekçi, Ayşe Mücella Yapıcı, and Ali Hakan Altınay. The court requested the Istanbul Security Department to investigate whether there was CCTV footage involving the three defendants during the Gezi Park protests, as well as any ongoing investigations or lawsuits against the three human rights defenders related to violations of Law No. 2911.
The next hearing is scheduled for 22 May 2024.
On 28 September 2023, the 3rd Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation of Turkey upheld the sentences against four human rights defenders Osman Kavala, Çiğdem Mater, Mine Özerden and Tayfun Kahraman, and political activist Can Atalay while overturning the sentences of the remaining three defenders Mücella Yapıcı, Hakan Altınay and Yiğit Ekmekci on the Gezi Park case. The defendants were on trial on charges of attempting to overthrow the government of Turkey for their participation in the Gezi Park protests, a country-wide popular movement that took place in June 2013.
The Chamber upheld the aggravated life sentence of human rights defender Osman Kavala for “attempting to overthrow the government”, as well as the 18 year sentences of Can Atalay, who was recently elected as a member of the Parliament. The sentences of human rights defenders Çiğdem Mater, Mine Özerden and Tayfun Kahraman, charged with “assisting in the attempt to overthrow the government”, were also upheld.
The 3rd Chamber of the Court of Cassation made this ruling in contradiction to the ECtHR ruling on Osman Kavala v. Turkey. In its 2019 ruling, the ECtHR found that Turkey had violated articles 5/1, 5/4 and 18 of the ECHR, and that Osman Kavala should be released immediately. In 2021, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe declared that infringement proceedings would be initiated against Turkey if Kavala was not released.
Furthermore, the sentences of human rights defenders Mücella Yapıcı, Hakan Altınay and Yiğit Ekmekci were overturned on the basis that their actions did not fall under the crime of “assisting in the attempt to overthrow the government”. The court instead determined that the human rights defenders should be tried for “violating the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations” and ordered their release, subject to an international travel ban. The case of the three human rights defenders will be referred to Istanbul 13th Heavy Penal Court for retrial.
Following the publication of the verdict, human rights defender Çigdem Mater commented on the judgement: “Every judge, every prosecutor who was part of... this case knows that there isn't a shred of evidence in this file. We are fine, knowing that we didn't commit any crime. They [the court], however, made the whole country an accessory to a crime by signing the judgement ‘on behalf of the Turkish nation’”. Similarly, human rights defender Osman Kavala remarked that “this judgment is a striking demonstration of the fact that convicting individuals without sufficient evidence has become a norm in the judiciary”
Front Line Defenders strongly condemns the judgement of the Court of Cassation, which it believes to be politically motivated. The Gezi Park case sets a chilling example of the lengths Turkish authorities will go to in their efforts to silence human rights defenders and civil society. The Gezi Park case lacks any substantial evidence and is, at its core, rooted in absurd and erroneous implications.
On 22 January 2021, the 3rd Penal Chamber of Istanbul Regional Appeals Court unanimously overturned the acquittals of the nine human rights defenders in the Gezi Park Trial. The case will be sent back to Istanbul 30th Heavy Penal Court for retrial.
The appeals court stated in its reasoned decision that Istanbul 30th Heavy Penal Court court failed to take into consideration the defenders’ social media posts, press statements, slogans shouted by the defendants during demonstrations, contents from technical and physical surveillance which were presented as evidence in support of charges against the defenders.
The appeals court further ruled that the first instance court must consider merging another case relating to incidents which occurred during the Gezi Park protests, publicly known as the Çarşı Trial. The court also asked the lower court to consider merging yet another case, where Osman Kavala is on trial for ‘espionage and attempt to overthrow the constitutional order’, linked with the 2016 failed coup.
On 18 February 2020, immediately after the aquittal verdict, Osman Kavala was rearrested before leaving the prison complex under a separate investigation into the 2016 coup attempt. Despite the fact that the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the detention and prosecution of Osman Kavala was politically motivated and he should therefore be released, the human rights defender remains in prison where he has spent the last three years.
On 18 February 2020, Istanbul 30th Heavy Penal Court acquitted the nine defenders in the Gezi Park Trial of several charges including “attempting to overthrow the government of the Republic of Turkey or preventing it from performing its duties by using force”. The court separated the files of the remaining seven defenders who were abroad.
On 18 February 2020, during the sixth and final hearing in the Gezi Park Trial, the 30th Heavy Penal Court in Istanbul acquitted nine human rights defenders, Osman Kavala, Mücella Yapıcı, Yiğit Aksakoğlu, Çiğdem Mater Utku, Ali Hakan Altınay, Mine Özerden, Şerafettin Can Atalay, Tayfun Kahraman and Yiğit Ali Ekmekçi. The Court ruled that “there was no concrete and material evidence which would determine that the charged crimes had been committed.” The Court further ruled for the release of Osman Kavala, who has spent 840 days in prison.
During the hearing, the defence lawyers requested the Court to call the defence witnesses to the box. The panel of judges rejected this request, arguing that it was aimed at prolonging the trial.
Hours after the verdict, Istanbul chief public prosecutor's office issued a new detention warrant for Osman Kavala, as part of a separate investigation into the 2016 coup attempt. He was charged with "attempting to overthrow the constitutional order". He was detained before he left the prison grounds, and was taken to Istanbul Police Headquarters.
The next day, Osman Kavala was referred to the prosecutor's office to submit his testimony in relation to the new investigation. Later at night, he appeared before the 8th Criminal Court of Peace of Istanbul which ruled for his formal arrest.
However, according to an ex officio decision of Istanbul chief public prosecutor's office dated 11 October 2019, the prosecutor had considered that Osman Kavala’s arrest under that investigation was no longer a reasonable measure, and ordered his release. Osman Kavala’s lawyers have submitted this decision to the court responsible for his most recent arrest.
On 19 February, the Council of Judges and Prosecutors announced that an investigation had been initiated against the panel of judges of the 30th Heavy Penal Court of Istanbul who had acquitted the nine defenders in the Gezi Park Trial. The decision came soon after President Erdogan publicly commented that there had been an "attempt to acquit" Osman Kavala “with a manoeuvre".
Following the 2013 Gezi Park protests, there were several prosecutions which ended in acquittals in 2015. Later, however, the Turkish authorities re-opened the criminal investigation and resumed prosecution of the alleged organisers of the protests. Sixteen human rights defenders were accused of financing and organising the protests in an “attempt to overthrow the government”. Both the defendants and their lawyers drew attention to the lack of evidence and manifestly illegal arguments in the indictment.
On 6 February 2020, the prosecutor had requested a life sentence without parole for Osman Kavala, Ayşe Mücella Yapıcı and Yiğit Aksakoğlu, and prison sentences of between 15 and 20 years for Çiğdem Mater Utku, Ali Hakan Altınay, Mine Özerden, Şerafettin Can Atalay, Tayfun Kahraman and Yiğit Ali Ekmekçi.
The files of the remaining seven defenders prosecuted in the Gezi Park Trial, Ayşe Pınar Alabora, Can Dündar, Gökçe Yılmaz Tüylüoğlu, Handan Meltem Arıkan, Hanzade Hikmet Germiyanoğlu, Memet Ali Alabora and İnanç Ekmekçi, were separated by the court on 18 February 2020. The arrest warrants against them were replaced with warrants for temporary detention aimed at collecting their statements. The seven defenders remain outside of the country.
On 6 February 2020, the prosecutor in the Gezi Park Trial submitted his final arguments to the 30th Heavy Penal Court and the defence lawyers, following the judge’s request made during the trial’s 5th hearing on 28 January 2020. The prosecutor requested life sentence without parole for human rights defenders Osman Kavala, Ayşe Mücella Yapıcı and Yiğit Aksakoğlu, for “attempting to overthrow the government of Republic of Turkey or preventing it from performing its duties by using force”. He further requested prison sentences of between 15 and 20 years for Çiğdem Mater Utku, Ali Hakan Altınay, Mine Özerden, Şerafettin Can Atalay, Tayfun Kahraman and Yiğit Ali Ekmekçi, for providing assistance “to attempt to overthrow the government of Republic of Turkey or prevent it from performing its duties by using force.”
The prosecutor asked the court to separate the files of Ayşe Pınar Alabora, Can Dündar, Gökçe Yılmaz Tüylüoğlu, Handan Meltem Arıkan, Hanzade Hikmet Germiyanoğlu, Memet Ali Alabora and İnanç Ekmekçi, pending the execution of the arrest warrant. The seven human rights defenders are currently outside of the country.
In addition, the prosecutor requested that Osman Kavala remain under arrest despite the 10 December 2019 ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). The ECtHR concluded that Turkey was in violation of Article 5/1 and 5/4 of the European Convention on Human Rights, as Osman Kavala’s arrest had been politically motivated and lacked reasonable grounds, and the Constitutional Court had not examined his application within a reasonable period of time.
Osman Kavala is the only human rights defender in the case who is still imprisoned. Yiğit Aksakoğlu had been held in prison for 221 days and was released in June 2019 pending the court’s verdict.
The next hearing will be held on 18 February 2020. The court is due to hear the defence statements and give its verdict.
The third hearing in the trial of 16 human rights defenders was held on 8 October 2019 before the 30th Heavy Penal Court in Silivri. Istanbul. They are accused of “attempting to overthrow the government” as a result of financing and organising the Gezi Park protests in 2013. If convicted, the human rights defenders face a possible life sentence without parole.
On 31 July 2019, just after the second hearing of the case, the Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK) made changes to the judicial panel; they issued a decree which created a second board within the İstanbul 30th Heavy Penal Court and changed the original members of the board presiding over the Gezi Park Trial. These changes raise questions about the impartiality of the judiciary, because, as a result of the decree, Judge Mahmut Başbuğ who presided over the original board and was the only member who voted in favour of the release of Osman Kavala, has been removed from the board ruling the Gezi Park Trial.
In the third hearing of the trial, the Court questioned the defendants who were present at the hearing, and ruled for the continued detention of Osman Kavala. The fourth hearing is scheduled for 24 and 25 December 2019.
On 16 July 2019 an access block was imposed on the "geziyisavunuyoruz.org" (“We Defend Gezi” in English) website by the Ankara 3rd Penal Judgeship of Peace. The website was established to inform the public about the ongoing Gezi trial and contained photographs and videos of the Gezi protests, a summary of the indictment, court statements by defendants, illustrations from inside the courtroom, as well as a schedule of buses to the courthouse.
The second hearing in the trial of 16 human rights defenders who are accused of financing and organising the Gezi Park protests in 2013 in an “attempt to overthrow the government” was held on 18 July 2019 before the İstanbul 30th Heavy Penal Court (Silivri). If convicted, the human rights defenders face a possible sentence of life in prison without parole. The defence attorneys completed their statements in the hearing.
In its interim decision, the Court ruled for the continuation of the detention of Osman Kavala, who has been in prison for 626 days.
The next hearing will be held on 8 and 9 October 2019.
The first hearing in the trial of 16 human rights defenders who are accused of financing and organizing the Gezi Park protests in 2013 in an attempt to overthrow the government was held on 24 and 25 June 2019. If convicted, the human rights defenders face a possible sentence of life in prison without parole. Two of the defendants, Osman Kavala and Yiğit Aksakoğlu were arbitrarily arrested in November 2017 and November 2018 respectively and have been awaiting trial since then. While the Court ruled that Yiğit Aksakoğlu be released on probation with an international travel ban, Osman Kavala remains in detention. The next hearing will be held on 18 and 19 July 2019.
The indicted human rights defenders are; Osman Kavala, businessman and philanthropist, the chairman of the board of directors of Anadolu Kültür and founder or advisory board member of many civil society organisations including History Foundation, TEMA and TESEV; Yiğit Aksakoğlu, Turkey representative of the Bernard van Leer Foundation, a Dutch philanthropic organization focusing on early child development projects, and former worker at İstanbul Bilgi University NGO Training and Research Unit; Yiğit Ali Ekmekci, deputy chair of Anadolu Kültür, executive board member of Terakki Foundation Schools and a founding member of many educational institutions, including the Nesin Foundation and İstanbul Bilgi University; Çiğdem Mater Utku, film producer, journalist and one of the consultants of Anadolu Kültür; Ali Hakan Altınay, executive board member of Anadolu Kültür, director of Boğaziçi European School of Politics in Istanbul and founding member and chair of Global Civics Academy; Mine Özerden, advertiser, civil society activist, film-maker, co-director, the secretary general of Taksim Platform and former worker at Anadolu Kültür; Tayfun Kahraman, academic, urban planner, member of Taksim Solidarity and member and executive board chair of TMMOB Chamber of Urban Planners İstanbul Office; Şerafettin Can Atalay, lawyer of TMMOB, member of Taksim Solidarity, executive board member of Social Rights Association; Ayşe Mücella Yapıcı, architect, member of Taksim Solidarity, the secretary general of Environmental Impact Assessment Department of the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects; Gökçe (Yılmaz) Tüylüoğlu, Open Society Foundations Turkey representative; Hanzade Hikmet Germiyanoğlu, education consultant and coordinator of Civil Society Development Center (STGM); İnanç Ekmekçi, civil society professional working at many civil society organisations on children’s rights, refugee’s rights, women’s human rights and ecology; Can Dündar, journalist and former editor of Cumhuriyet newspaper; Memet Ali Alabora, actor and former president of Actor/Actress Union; Ayşe Pınar Alabora, actress; Handan Meltem Arıkan, a novelist and playwright.
Although there were several prosecutions in 2015 following the protests, all cases against individuals and organisations concerning the Gezi protests ended in acquittals in 2015. Yet, in the past two years, the Turkish authorities re-opened the criminal investigation and resumed prosecution of the alleged organisers of the 2013 Gezi Park Protests.
As part of those operations, on 18 October 2017, Osman Kavala was taken into custody at Istanbul’s Atatürk International Airport and was arrested on 1 November 2017 both for his involvement in the Gezi protests as well as his “unnaturally close contact” with foreign persons, who the Turkish authorities accuse of being behind the attempted coup on 15 July 2016. On 16 November 2018, 13 human rights defenders were taken into custody “for their activities in a hierarchical structure led by Osman Kavala”, according to the information note provided by the police department. Twelve were promptly released, but Yiğit Aksakoğlu remained in custody and was subsequently arrested.
On 4 March 2019, Istanbul 30th Heavy Penal Court approved the 657-page indictment submitted by the prosecutor’s office, which accuses the 16 human rights defenders of financing and organising the Gezi protests. The indictment was filed on the last day of the response period that European Court of Human Rights had provided to the government of Turkey after an application by the legal representatives of Osman Kavala. The indictment argues that the Gezi protests were not a largely spontaneous wave of anti-government protests, but the outcome of a planned conspiracy, which was designed by the philanthropist George Soros, founder of Open Society Foundations, and led by Osman Kavala and a small group of people indicted with him, in order to destabilize Turkey and overthrow the government. Evidence presented in the indictment consists of hundreds of intercepted telephone calls between the defendants during and after the Gezi protests, details of their international travels, their social media posts, and some surveillance camera photographs. The defendants face a possible life sentence without parole, on the charge of “attempting, by use of force and violence, to abolish the government, or prevent it from fulfilling its duties” without any concrete evidence. In addition to the main charge, the indictment also holds them responsible for crimes allegedly committed during the protests across Turkey, and thus they face additional charges of “damaging public property”, “damaging a place of worship or cemetery”, “unlawful possession of dangerous substances”, “unlawful possession of weapons”, “looting” and “serious injury”.
On 24 and 25 June 2019, the first hearing of the case held at İstanbul 30th Heavy Penal Court in Silivri, Osman Kavala Yiğit Aksakoğlu, Mücella Yapıcı, Ali Hakan Altınay, Mine Özerden, Çiğdem Mater Utku, Can Atalay, Tayfun Kahraman and Yiğit Ali Ekmekçi made their defence statements. The remaining defendants were not present at the hearing. Currently there are arrest warrants issued against İnanç Ekmekçi, Memet Ali Alabora, Ayşe Pınar Alabora, Handan Meltem Arıkan, Can Dündar, Gökçe (Yılmaz) Tüylüoğlu and Hanzade Hikmet Germiyanoğlu. In the 24 and 25 June hearing, both the judges and the lawyers agreed on hearing only the statements of the legal representatives of the two imprisoned defendants, considering the possibility of an interim decision for the release. The lawyers of the other defendants will make their statements at the next hearing. Osman Kavala and Yiğit Aksakoğlu were arbitrarily detained in Silivri prison since November 2017 and November 2018. While the Court ruled that Yiğit Aksakoğlu be released on probation with an international travel ban, Osman Kavala remains imprisoned. The next hearing is scheduled to be held on 18 and 19 July 2019.
During the first hearing, both the defendants and their lawyers drew attention to the lack of evidence and manifestly illegal arguments in the indictment.
Firstly, the indictment itself was prepared based on an investigation carried out in 2013 by a prosecutor who is currently a fugitive and on the results of telephone tapping ordered by a senior police officer. Both the prosecutor and the police officer are currently charged in relation to their alleged involvement with a movement described by the Turkish government as “FETÖ/PYD” (Fetullah Gülen Terrorist Organisation). The authorities accuse the movement of using its members in the police and the judiciary to initiate sham trials against its adversaries by using illegal or fake evidence and trumped-up charges. The judges who ordered the telephone tapping of the defendants are also charged with involvement in “FETÖ/PYD". The indictment opens with an explanation of this issue and argues that the evidence collected by the accused prosecutors and judges have been “valued”, which is not a legal term in the Turkish Criminal Code. The indictment does not explain how the illegally collected evidence and the indictment prepared with trumped-up charges were “valued”.
Secondly, the indictment contains explicit errors in facts, and fails to make any effort to establish a link between the allegations and the facts. For example, the indictment includes no evidence of meetings, phone calls, or other actions of a conspiracy made in advance of Gezi. Most of the "evidence" collected dates to either during or after the Gezi protests, with the exception of some details on international travel. The telephone calls mostly consist of random conversations, with only some of them relating to the Gezi protests. There are numerous errors in dates, in the activities allegedly carried out by the defendants, and even in the names of the organisations/platforms that they were involved. Evidence presented in the indictment includes a television station that never broadcast and a film that was never made. Furthermore, the indictment contains no evidence of financial support provided to organize the Gezi protests. The Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) reports do not identify any payments that might be evidence of money provided to organize the protests or even for unidentified purposes. The closest evidence provided to support this is the grants provided to projects conducted by civil society organisations and intercepted telephone calls from Osman Kavala talking about lending a plastic folding table or sending food to Gezi Park.
Thirdly, the lawyers during the hearing drew attention to the fact that the crime of “attempting to abolish the government, or prevent it from fulfilling its duties” can be only committed “with the use of force and violence” according to the relevant Article in the Turkish Criminal Code. However, while the indictment presents no evidence that the human rights defenders incited the use of force and violence, it lists “non-violent acts and persuasion methods” that were used during the protests, portraying them as illegal activities that seem “innocent” at first glance. For example, the human rights defenders are accused of bringing professional protestors, trainers and facilitators from abroad to focus on issues like “civil disobedience” and “peaceful protesting” in order to prolong the Gezi Park protests and participating in the creation of new media sources in order to influence public opinion about the existing and future protests. As an effort to establish “the use of force and violence” element, the indictment accuses the defendants of responsibility for some violent acts allegedly committed by protesters in different cities during the protests, by defining them as “indirect perpetrators” of those acts.
While Front Line Defenders welcomes the release of Yiğit Aksakoğlu on probation, it expresses its concern at the criminalisation of human rights defenders over their alleged involvement in peaceful protests, the ongoing detention of Osman Kavala and judicial harassment of the 16 human rights defenders, as it believes that they are solely linked to their legitimate and peaceful work in defence of human rights. It urges the authorities in Turkey to immediately release Osman Kavala, drop all the charges against the 16 human rights defenders, and guarantee in all circumstances that all human rights defenders in Turkey are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals and free of all restrictions.
