ANKARA - Stating that they faced a different attitude at the Kobanê trial hearing, HDP Vice Co-Chair Ümit Dede said, "We witnessed that the government officials committed the crime of interrupting justice very clearly with their tweets and statements."
The Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Vice Co-Chair for Law and Human Rights Commission Ümit Dede and the Kobanê Case lawyers held a press conference at a hotel. Lawyers Association for Freedom (ÖHD) Ankara Branch Co-chair Şevin Kaya, Figen Yüksekdağ's lawyer Ruken Gülağacı, Sebahat Tuncel's lawyer Cemile Turhalı Balsak, Selahattin Demirtaş's lawyers Cahit Kırkazak, Diyarbakır former Bar Association President Cihan Aydın and lawyer Veysi Eksik attended the press release.
Dede said: "As you know, there was a hearing of the case known as the Kobanê Case yesterday. You also followed the hearing. That hearing will go down in history as a shame. We have come across a court management style that we have not encountered in our professional life for so many years. Dede pointed out that it was noteworthy that what happened at the court, happened after the statements and social media posts of the nterior Minister Süleyman Soylu and Presidency Communication Director Fahrettin Altun.
"We have witnessed that the government officials committed the crime of interrupting justice with their statements and social media posts very clearly" said Dede and continued: "While the judge was reasonably polite and proceeding according to law a month ago, following the tweets of the state officials, we were face to face with another judge. He became to be rude and sarcastic. The attitude of the law enforcement was an indication of what we were going to see in the courtroom before the trial."
RIGHT TO DEFENCE WAS IGNORED
Pointing out that the attitude the police showed outside continued in the court room, Dede said: "In line with the instructions they received, the president of the court and the delegation adopted an attitude that ignored the defense leg of the trial. We felt the necessity to hold this press conference, both legally and politically, regarding what was happening in this dire hearing. Together with our lawyers, we will try to convey what happened in the hearing as clearly and in detail as possible."
'THERE WAS AN OFFENSIVE ATTITUDE'
Speaking about what happened in the court room, attorney Cahit Kırkazak said: "We saw the one man system in that court yesterday. The court did not listen to the defence and tried to continue the trial. They were provoking people. Most of the court room was full of law enforcement officers. We demanded that this is not a military barracks or a security building, that a defense stand should be provided and the law enforcement officers be removed. The president of the court had an attitude towards us."
Stating that they told the court that the hearing cannot be started before the people who should be present at the hearing in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Law (CMK), Kırkazak said, “The president of the court did not listen to us insistently and he turned his back on us. We said that if our colleagues do not come, we will leave the hall. The president of the court showed us the door, saying "the door is open". Although we say that such cases are political, we have seen a crude power intervention."