EYLEM SONBAHAR

The court rejected the request of Die Welt newspaper writer and PEN Berlin spokesperson Deniz Yücel to take his defense in Germany, saying 'Germany returns press files'.

The eighth hearing of the trial of journalist Deniz Yücel, defended by Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), on charges of "insulting the president" and "publicly insulting the Turkish nation, the State of the Republic of Turkey, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, the government of the Republic of Turkey and the judicial organs of the state" was held on February 27, 2024 at Istanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance.

Yücel, who lives in Germany, did not attend the hearing, which started two hours late, while his lawyer was present. During the hearing, which officials from the German Consulate also attended, Yücel's lawyer said that they again demanded that the necessary procedures be taken for his client's defense in Germany, where he lives, and that the arrest warrant be lifted.

The judge said, "We have waited a year and a half for the request. The German state rejects all requests for a request. It also returns our press files. It does not fulfill these requests because it is a political case."

At the hearing where the prosecutor requested the missing issues to be resolved, the court ruled that there was no need to decide on Yücel's lawyer's requests for taking action to take his defense in Germany and lifting the arrest warrant because it was rejected in the previous hearing. The court also decided to wait for the execution of the arrest warrant against Yücel and adjourned the hearing to June 27, 2024, at 13.15.