The third hearing in the trial of 23 people, most of them university students, who were detained while protesting the detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and subjected to strip searches, was adjourned until February next year due to missing documents.
Büşra Genel
The third hearing in the trial of 23 people, most of them university students, who were detained for participating in protests in Turkey’s capital, Ankara, on March 19, was adjourned until Feb. 18, 2027, to allow missing documents and other deficiencies in the case file to be addressed.
The defendants were detained in dawn raids following protests sparked by the detention and subsequent arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, a prominent opposition figure and political rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
They were charged with “participating in unlawful assemblies and demonstrations without weapons and refusing to disperse despite warnings.”
The third hearing was held at the Ankara 33rd Criminal Court of First Instance, with some defendants and their lawyers in attendance. Proceedings began half an hour late.
In their defense statements, the defendants maintained that they had been exercising their constitutional rights and had committed no crime. They requested acquittal.
Speaking after the defendants' defense statements, lawyer Ferhat Çelepkolu said the nationwide protests were a political matter.
Çelepkolu noted that numerous people prosecuted on similar charges in Istanbul had been acquitted. He argued that the legal elements of the alleged offense had not been established and called for the acquittal of all defendants.
The court adjourned the proceedings until Feb. 18, 2027, to allow outstanding deficiencies in the case file to be resolved.
About the Case
Twenty-three people, most of them university students, went on trial after being detained in dawn raids for participating in the March 19 protests in Ankara, Turkey’s capital. They were charged with “participating in unlawful assemblies and demonstrations without weapons and refusing to disperse despite warnings.”
At the first hearing, the defendants said they had been subjected to strip searches and torture following their detention.
