ANKARA - The court board wanting to finalize the Kobané Case quickly by getting to the interrogation stage in a haste, violating the procedure, was so paralyzed that they were unable to ask any questions. The spirit of Deniz Poyraz, the role of PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan for peace, the women's struggle was embodied in the court room.

 

The third hearing of the law suit filed against Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Co-Chairs, Central Executive Board (MYK) members and administrators for protesting the ISIS attack on KObané ended after 10 sessions. 

 

108 people, who are accused in the case file of the 22nd Heavy Penal Court in Ankara, are on trial for 29 different charges, with 38 aggravated life sentences and 19,680 years in prison each.

 

Three hearings were held in Sincan Prison Campus in 15 sessions so far. Ayhan Bilgen, Can Memiş, Berfin Özgü Köse, Cihan Erdal, Zeki Çelik, İbrahim Binici, Emine Ayna and Emine Beyza Üstün who are among the 28 names who were jailed pending trial, were released.

 

We have compiled what has happened so far in the trial, which lasted for two months.

 

FIRST HEARING: COURT BOARD IGNORING THE DEFENCE WAS PROTESTED

 

Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun said, "The perpetrators of the murders will face the judge today. It's is time for reckoning' on the first day of the hearing, giving everyone the clue that this would not be a fair trial and the decision was already made. HDP was well prepared and supported by the people in the face of the judiciary that recieved orders from the government. 200 lawyers came forward to assume the power of attorney while foreign committees from 11 different countries as well as bar presidents came to Ankara to monitor the hearing.

 

POLICE, GENDERMERIE AND SNIPERS ON THE ROOFS

 

In addition to the 3 separate checkpoints established up to the hall where the trial was held, snipers were placed on both sides of the building. While 300 gendarmerie and riot police were assigned to the courtroom, which has a capacity of approximately 1,500 people, 100 lawyers were not allowed into the hall on the grounds that "there was no room". The court board, which did not let the lawyers into the hall, caused a reaction when it wanted to conduct a trial in which it ignored even the basic legal demands and ignored the defense lawyers. The lawyers protested the court committee by leaving the hall clapping their hands in protest. The court board tried to start the hearing without the lawyers were protested by the politicians who reminded that they can not continue the hearing without the lawyers.

 

ILLEGAL PROCEDURE

 

The lawyers said the procedure was illegal while the politicians underlined that this was a conspiracy case and both rejected the judge spefically assigned to the case. 

 

While the procedure was violated inside the court room, things were not so different outside of the court. While the HDP Parliamentary Group was blockaded by the police when they wanted to hold a press release, another group who came to the court house to protest the HDP was allowed to make a demo against the HDP with Turkish flags in their hands.

 

SECOND HEARING: TRIAL UNDER ARMS

 

The second hearing of the case was held on May 18-20-21 in 3 sessions. Everyone who came to follow the hearing went through 3 different check points being searched. The vicinity of the court room was crawling with police officers and gendermerie personnel. The riot police was placed inside the hall with guns in their hands. The lawyers of HDP critisized the situation saying the hearing was carried out under arms.

 

PRESS WAS BLOCKED

 

The press cards accepted at the first hearing were not accepted in the first session of the second hearing, saying that "there is an order from the president of the court". The computers and phones of the journalists who did not have the state issued press cards were confiscared and placed in another hall reserved for the people who wanted to follow the hearing.

 

EU DELEGATION IN THE HALL

 

The three sessions of the hearing were followed by deputies, bar association presidents, party members and administrators, representatives of non-governmental organizations, as well as names from the European Union (EU) Delegation to Turkey and the diplomatic representations of EU member states. At the hearing, lawyers of institutions such as the Ministry of Interior, AKP, Meat and Milk Institution took part in the complainant's seat.

 

'THIS COURT IS DEFENDING ISIS!'

 

May 19: The lawyers of HDP requested the recusal of the court board and listed their reasons for it. Imprisoned politicians and lawyers rejected the court board and said: "You are following the orders of the government. You haven't examined the case file, you haven't investigated the evidence. This court is a fiction. This court board is defending ISIS. We will reveal the truth in this hearing."

 

'WE WILL NOT BE THE ACTORS OF THIS PLAY YOU HAVE WRITTEN'

 

May 20: The politicians who spoke at the second session of the hearing told that they will not be judged, on the  contrary, they will be the ones to judge by revealing the facts. İmralı Delegation member Sırrı Süreyya Önder addressed the representative of the meat and milk institution who was among the complainants of the case and asked them, "What did I ever do to you? Did I spill your milk and eat your milk? What happened to you so bad that you became a complainant in a case in which people are sought to be punished with 38 times aggravated life in prison?" Diyarbakır former Co-Mayor Gültan Kışanak said: "This is not an indictment. This is fiction. You might want to be an actor in this play you have written, but we don't. We will return this indictment to you by defending democracy, peace and women's rights."

 

May 21: At the third hearing of the case, the attorneys reminded that it was a collective judging which belongs to the fascism periods of other countries. Reminding the court board their duties, the lawyers said: "You have to convince us that this is an independent court. The Judges and Prosecutor's Committee you are affiliated to is elected by the government. This is an intervention on the judiciary. The Republic of Turkey is now being ruled by Presedential decrees."

 

THIRD HEARING: THIS COURT WILL REMIND EVERYONE OF DENİZ POYRAZ

 

The third hearing of the case took place between 14-25 June in 10 sessions. Deniz Poyraz was killed in İzmir HDP building the day of the second session. At the first session, curiously, the court board asked the politicians why no one was attacking the HDP buildings if it was criminalized so much by the government. 

 

June 14: The court board, which did not decide on the request of the complainants to attend, interrupted the defense lawyers and quickly moved to the interrogation phase. Kars Municipality Co-Mayor Ayhan Bilgen, who was replaced by a trustee, was questioned. Instead of the evidence in the indictment, the delegation asked Bilgen about a statement they added to the file later on.

 

4 PEOPLE RELEASED

 

June 15: At the second hearing of the case, HDP former Executive Board Members Can Memiş, Cihan Erdal, Berfin Köse made their defence and were released by the court. When the attorneys were making their defence, the court board said 'I won't listen to you!' The court asked the politicians in they thought YPG was a terror organization which is absurdly irrelevant to the case. 

 

UNCONTROLLABLE CROWD IN THE COURT ROOM

 

June 16: A group of provocators came to the court on the third session of the hearing. While the police did not stop the crowd who wanted to attack the HDP MPs, MPs recorded the attack. The court board said, "What happens outside of this hall is not my business" and did not take any measures. Making his defence, Günay Kubilay reminded Efkan Ala who said 'There are uncontrollable crowds here' for the Kobané protests, referring to the group waiting outside of the hall. The court board argued that those who were killed during the protests were not HDP voters and asked, 'If HDP was the one that was attacked during the protests, why no one ever attacked HDP buildings?"

 

DENİZ POYRAZ

 

June 17: Following the question of the court board about HDP buildings not being attacked, an attack was carried out against the İzmir HDP building and Deniz Poyraz was killed. Hearing about the killing of Deniz Poyraz, a group of people following the hearing left the hall in protest. Learning the killing of Poyraz, the attitude of the police has changed. Police tried to remove the people following the hearing from the court room and allowed only 25 people in the hall, which shares the same last names with the defendants.

 

SLOGANS ECHOING IN THE HALL

 

June 18: The attack in İzmir effected the Kobané hearing as well. Hearing about the murder of Deniz Poyraz, politicians who were supposed to make their defence commemorated Deniz Poyraz while people following the hearing shouted out the slogan 'Jin, Jiyan, Azadi'

 

EMPHASIS ON ÖCALAN

 

June 21: Former MP and TJA Activist Ayla Akat Ata made her defence at the sixth hearing of the case. Underlining the importance of Öcalan in the women's struggle, Akat reminded that Öcalan once was asked, 'The freedom of Kurdistan or the freedom of the women' which he responded, 'Ofcourse the freedom of women".

 

THE COURT BOARD WAS INCAPABLE OF ASKING QUESTIONS

 

June 22: The court board was only able to ask if the HDP politicians were at the Central Executive Board meeting. The politicians asked the court board if they read the indictment, stressing that they would be able to ask questions if they had. While the court board was unable to ask any questions, the HDP politicians on trial kept asking, 'Where is the evidence of our guilt?', 'Who killed Deniz Poyraz?'

 

THE LAST SESSION

 

June 25: The sessions, where not a single question was asked to the politicians about revealing the truth, passed as if the court committee and the complainants did not exist. At the end of the hearing, Emine Ayna, Beyza Üstün, Zeki Çelik and İbrahim Binici were released on probation.

 

 

MA / Zemo Ağgöz