A mass trial began in İstanbul on Friday for 189 people, including students, journalists and lawyers, who protested the detention and subsequent arrest of İstanbul mayor and opposition presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu last month.
İmamoğlu, widely seen as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s strongest political rival, was arrested on March 23 on corruption charges, which many critics view as politically motivated. His detention on March 19 ignited widespread protests, the largest in Turkey since 2013, escalating political tensions.
Police were quick to crack down, using tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon to disperse the protesters who took to the streets defying a protest ban in İstanbul, Ankara and İzmir. Police detained nearly 2,000 people, many during pre-dawn operations.
The İstanbul prosecutor’s office has said more than 819 people will be tried over the protests in 20 criminal investigations.
Two court hearings were held for 189 of them on Friday at the İstanbul Courthouse in Çağlayan. The trial began amid tight security, with the courthouse and surrounding area under heavy police control. The courthouse was packed with supporters, among them family members, journalists, university lecturers and lawmakers from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).
The defendants are facing a number of charges, notably “taking part in illegal rallies and marches” and “failing to disperse despite police warnings,” according to court documents.
Other charges include carrying a weapon, covering their faces to hide their identity and incitement to commit a crime, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a statement on Thursday.
One of the cases involves 99 people, among them eight journalists and four lawyers, who are accused of participating in an “unauthorized demonstration” and refusing to disperse despite police warnings. The journalists include Bülent Kılıç, Yasin Akgül, Zeynep Kuray, Gökhan Kam, Kurtuluş Arı, Ali Onur Tosun, Hayri Tunç and Emre Orman. They were detained in police operations last month, with some of them placed in pretrial detention for several days.
Addressing the court on behalf of the eight Turkish journalists, lawyer Veysel Ok called for their acquittal.
“They were there as journalists to cover the protests … that’s what they are paid for,” he told the judge, who denied the acquittal request but later agreed to separate their case from that of the students.
Their case will be heard separately along with the case of four lawyers also being tried in connection with the protests, their lawyer said.
Outside the courthouse, a large crowd of supporters gathered to protest, vowing to stand by their friends and family members.
“We are here for the trials of our friends who are in custody. We’re by their side, we won’t leave them on their own,” a student called named Ahmetcan Kaptan told Agence France-Presse.
“We’ve overcome our fear and learned new things, we’re stronger, more united, more connected to each other,” he said.
“We are not afraid of anything. Hope has somehow returned,” said Sümeyye Belentepe, another student who said she would also go on trial over the protests later in the year.
Avni Gündoğdu, co-founder of The Parents Solidarity Network, which was set up in the wake of the arrests, said some couldn’t get into the courtroom because of the tight security measures in place.
“We want justice for our children. They need to be at their desks in university, not in prison,” he told AFP.
In the other case, 90 university students are being tried for allegedly violating Turkey’s law on meetings and demonstrations. They were detained during mass protests held in front of İstanbul city hall in the Saraçhane neighborhood following İmamoğlu’s detention.
The court also split the case due to overcrowding and decided to hold the next hearing for 45 students in July, with a new date to be set for the remaining 45.
Parents demand justice for detained youths
Ahead of the hearings, members of The Parents Solidarity Network held a press conference outside the courthouse. They said their children were subjected to police violence during detention and exposed to physical and psychological mistreatment.
“Despite constitutional protections, our children were punished for exercising their right to peaceful assembly,” the group said. “We want justice, not just for those still in pretrial detention or facing house arrest, but for all young people targeted for speaking up.”
Human Rights Watch condemns mass prosecutions
HRW sharply criticized Turkey for what it calls “rushed and baseless” trials targeting peaceful demonstrators in its statement on Thursday. The organization said the proceedings lack individualized evidence and appear designed to intimidate future protesters.
“Given the glaring absence of evidence, it is hard not to conclude that the intended purpose of these rushed trials is to send a warning against exercising the rights to peaceful protest or free expression,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at HRW. “The prosecutor should be calling for these cases to be dropped unless there is direct and substantive evidence that particular individuals committed specific crimes.”
HRW reviewed nine indictments encompassing 650 defendants. Most charges involve participation in unauthorized protests, refusal to disperse or inciting crime via social media. In many cases the supposed “weapons” cited in court documents were as minimal as a protester holding a rock.
HRW also documented numerous cases of alleged police mistreatment, including beatings, insults and even sexual harassment during and after arrests. At least 30 individuals reported abuse during pretrial detention, with many more expressing concern over the excessive use of force.
While 278 people were initially detained, more than 230 were later released, reportedly due in part to public pressure and the fact that many are university students preparing for critical exams.
The European Court of Human Rights has issued more than 70 rulings against Turkey over the past 15 years for violations of the right to peaceful assembly. The Council of Europe has repeatedly urged Ankara to reform its laws on protests and demonstrations.
“Violent police dispersal of demonstrations that Turkish authorities deem unlawful is an entrenched problem requiring amending their law and practice to uphold the right to peaceful assembly,” Williamson said. “Abuse of the criminal justice system to detain and charge students for peaceful protest is only the latest instance in a catalogue of cases in which the European Court of Human Rights has found multiple rights violations.”
© Agence France-Presse with TM