Tunceli - Evrensel daily’s Tunceli reporter Kemal Özer's trial is adjourned until 27 March. A verdict is expected in the next hearing.
Evrensel daily’s Tunceli reporter Kemal Özer, 3 defendants who are tried whilst in detention, and their lawyers attended the sixth hearing of the trial, which was held at Tunceli 1st High Criminal Court.
Following the identification of the defendants, the Presiding Judge gave the floor to the Prosecutor for presenting his opinion as to the accusations. In his opinion, the Prosecutor claimed that Özer’s activities have been examined and it was seen that they are not occupational activities pertaining to journalism, further arguing that Özer’s activities had an “organizational” nature. In light of the information and documents collected and the evidence disclosed in the file, the Prosecutor requested defendant Kemal Özer to be punished for “membership in a terrorist organization” charges.
Following the Prosecutor’s opinion, Özer’s lawyers took the floor and expressed their objections to the Prosecutor, noting that they do not accept such accusations. The lawyers also requested extra time for an additional defense. The court decided to grant extra time and adjourned the trial until 27 March. The next one is going to be the final hearing and a verdict is expected on 27 March. The court rejected the lawyers’ request to revoke judicial control measures applied to Özer.
