Eylem Sonbahar
A request for the immediate acquittal of Gezi defendants Mücella Yapıcı, Ali Hakan Altınay, and Yiğit Ali Ekmekçi, were rejected by an Istanbul court on 22 May. The defendants are being retried in the Gezi case following a reversal by the Court of Cassation.
In the second hearing at the Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court, the three defendants, previously sentenced to 18 years for "aiding an attempt to overthrow the Turkish government" but now facing charges of violating the "Law on Meetings and Demonstrations," were represented by their attorneys. The court denied the defense's request for immediate acquittal.
Previously, the court had requested footage from the Mobile Electronic System Integration (MOBESE) during the Gezi Park protests, but police reported that no such footage existed. Attorney Fikret İlkiz emphasized that Mücella Yapıcı had been acquitted of similar charges by the Istanbul 5th Criminal Court of First Instance, urging the court to consider this definitive ruling.
İlkiz also pointed out another case involving Yapıcı at the Istanbul 11th High Criminal Court related to a strip-search incident, although Yapıcı was not a defendant in that case. Emel Ataktürk, representing Ekmekçi, argued that based on the Court of Cassation's decision, the case should be closed and forwarded to the prosecution, and an acquittal issued without further evidence collection.
The court ordered files from the Istanbul 33rd and 30th Criminal Courts of First Instance via the National Judiciary Informatics System (UYAP) and requested the acquittal file from the Istanbul 5th Criminal Court of First Instance and the strip-search case from the Istanbul 11th High Criminal Court, involving Mücella Yapıcı and her daughter Cansu Yapıcı.
The court postponed the trial to October 9, rejecting the immediate acquittal plea.
**Case background**
On April 25, 2022, the Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court sentenced Osman Kavala to aggravated life imprisonment for "attempting to overthrow the Turkish government" while acquitting him of "political or military espionage" charges. Other defendants, including Can Atalay, Çiğdem Mater Utku, Ali Hakan Altınay, Mine Özerden, Tayfun Kahraman, Mücella Yapıcı, and Yiğit Ali Ekmekçi, received 18-year sentences for aiding the attempt to overthrow the government, resulting in their detention.
The regional appeals court upheld the local court's decision. However, on September 28, 2023, the Court of Cassation partially overturned these rulings, upholding the life sentence for Kavala and the 18-year sentences for Atalay, Kahraman, Özerden, and Mater, but reversing the sentences for Altınay, Ekmekçi, and Yapıcı. The court ruled that their actions did not constitute aiding an attempt to overthrow the government but rather a violation of the law on demonstrations, ordering their release under judicial control. Altınay and Yapıcı were released on September 28.
