Medine Mamedoğlu
Diyarbakır - The second hearing in the retrial of lawyer Özüm Vurgun, a member of the Lawyers for Freedom Association (ÖHD), who is charged with “membership in an organization” based on the statements of confessor Ümit Akbıyık, was held at the Diyarbakır 4th High Criminal Court in southeastern Turkey.
Vurgun and her lawyers, Mehdi Özdemir, Gizem Miran and Muharrem Erbey, attended the hearing. The session was also monitored by members of the ÖHD Amed Branch, lawyers from the Diyarbakır Bar Association and a delegation from Lawyers Without Borders from France.
Speaking first at the hearing, Mehdi Özdemir reiterated the requests they had submitted at the previous hearing and made the following statements:
“Within the scope of the file, in a letter sent by the governor’s office without any request from your court, it is stated that our client engaged in organizational activity. When the said letter is examined, it contains narratives and interpretations that disregard your court’s previous acquittal decision. From this perspective, we request that the letters sent to the file by the governor’s office be removed from the case file. These unlawful assessments are null and void. There is also a decision of non-prosecution regarding witness Canan Ceylan. The accuracy of the statements of the person named Canan Ceylan could not be determined. My client carried out her professional activities; these activities cannot be criminalized based on the statement of a confessor. At this point, the prosecution should reach a decision in the file as soon as possible. Our client should be acquitted, and we request that the ongoing travel ban and judicial control decision imposed on her be lifted,” he said.
Following the defense statements, the court panel rejected the lawyers’ request and ordered an address search for witness Canan Ceylan. The panel adjourned the hearing until April 30 at 10:05 a.m. to remedy the missing issues in the file.
About the case
After the statements of confessor Ümit Akbıyık, Özüm Vurgun, an ÖHD member, was detained on April 25, 2023, and arrested on April 28. She was released on May 25, 2023.
Based on Akbıyık’s statements and citing her participation in 14 protests and events, Vurgun was tried on charges of “membership in an organization.” She was acquitted at the verdict hearing held on May 2, 2024, at the Diyarbakır 4th High Criminal Court.
The prosecutor appealed the decision to the Regional Court of Justice. The 9th Criminal Chamber of the Diyarbakır Regional Court of Justice overturned the acquittal, considering the protests and events Vurgun attended, as well as her prison visits, to constitute a “crime.”
