- A prosecutor has requested the acquittal of all defendants in the trial of activists who called for Turkey to halt trade with Israel during President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's speech at the TRT World Forum.
- The prosecutor said it could not be proven that activists inside the conference hall heard police orders to disperse, while defendants outside the venue did not resist police intervention.
- The activists had also filed complaints alleging they were subjected to ill-treatment while in police custody, but the Istanbul Governor's Office did not authorize an investigation into the police officers involved.
MLSA— The fifth hearing in the trial of activists who called for Turkey to halt trade with Israel during President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's speech at the TRT World Forum on Nov. 29 at the Istanbul Congress Center was held on June 12 at Istanbul's 8th Criminal Court of First Instance.
Ten participants in the protest are being tried on charges of "participating in an unlawful assembly or demonstration without weapons and failing to disperse despite warnings" under Turkey's Law No. 2911 on Meetings and Demonstrations.
Prosecutor requests acquittal
In the opinion on the merits presented at the hearing, the prosecutor said that during President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's speech, some of the defendants displayed placards reading “Stop Fueling Genocide” and chanted slogans calling for an end to trade with Israel.
The opinion also stated that other defendants outside the venue chanted slogans in support of Palestine and protested the invitation of certain individuals to the forum.
The prosecutor noted that a public prosecution was subsequently launched against the defendants under Turkey's Law No. 2911 on Meetings and Demonstrations.
The prosecutor said that for the offense charged against the defendants to be established, three conditions must be met simultaneously: participation in an unlawful assembly, the issuance of an order to disperse, and the dispersal of the group through the use of force.
According to the opinion, an expert report found that the defendants protesting outside the venue voluntarily boarded police vehicles after being warned by law enforcement officers. The prosecutor therefore concluded that the defendants did not fulfill the element of the offense involving “persisting in refusing to disperse despite the use of force.”
As for the defendants who took part in the protest inside the conference hall, the prosecutor said video footage did not show any dispersal order being issued. The opinion also noted that police officer witnesses testified that they did not know whether the defendants had heard the warnings that were allegedly given.
The prosecutor also said that the activists inside the conference hall were directly intervened against by police and that there was no concrete evidence showing the defendants persisted in refusing to disperse despite a warning.
For these reasons, the prosecutor requested that all defendants be acquitted under Article 223/2-a of Turkey's Code of Criminal Procedure, which provides for acquittal where the elements of the alleged offense are not established.
What had happened?
During the TRT World Forum at the Istanbul Congress Center on Nov. 29, 2024, activists protesting Turkey's continued oil trade with Israel interrupted President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's speech by chanting slogans and displaying placards. The protesters were swiftly removed from the conference hall, and one demonstrator appeared to have his mouth covered by security personnel as he was being escorted out.
Nine young protesters were detained following the demonstration. They were jailed pending trial on Dec. 2 and later released. A separate group outside the venue also chanted slogans in support of Palestine.
Following the protests, prosecutors filed charges against the activists under Turkey's Law No. 2911 on Meetings and Demonstrations.
The activists also filed criminal complaints alleging that they were subjected to strip searches and physical and psychological abuse while in police custody.
Following the complaint, prosecutors sought authorization to investigate the public officials involved. However, the Istanbul Governor's Office denied permission for an investigation.
An appeal against that decision was later rejected by the Istanbul Regional Administrative Court, which ruled that the case file did not contain sufficient concrete information or evidence to warrant a criminal investigation.
The activists' lawyer, Adem Bingöl, said there were hospital records, medical reports and photographs showing that his clients had been subjected to ill-treatment. He said they would challenge the decision before Turkey's Constitutional Court.
Bingöl also said police had not yet provided an official response regarding surveillance footage requested by prosecutors as part of the inquiry.
