An AFP editor reported that Istanbul on Friday the test of nearly 200 people who were detained as a result of Turkey’s largest protests in more than a decade, including students and journalists.
189 defendants were detained on March 19 and later put in jail in Istanbul, along with 189 others, in a federal crackdown on protests that erupted following Ekrem Imamoglu’s arrest and subsequent jailing. The majority are pupils, but eight editors, including AFP artist Yasin Akgul, who were covering Turkey’s largest street protest wave since 2013, are among them.
According to court documents, they are accused of participating in “illegal rallies and parades” and of dispersing despite being given officers orders. Human Rights Watch ( HRW) said in a statement on Thursday that other charges include carrying a weapon, covering their faces to conceal their identities, and inciting criminal activity.
An AFP editor reported that on Friday morning, the Caglayan court in Istanbul was crowded with supporters, including members of family, journalists, college lecturers, and representatives of the main opposition, the main opposition, CHP party members.
With his imprisonment causing tens of thousands of people to walk the streets in Istanbul, the capital of Ankara, and Izmir, the imprisoned president is President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s greatest political enemy and the party’s candidate for the 2028 election.
Almost 2, 000 people were quickly detained by police, many of whom were arrested before dawn, using tear gas, plastic guns, and water cannons to disperse the demonstrators. More than 819 persons may be tried in 20 criminal investigations, according to the Istanbul attorney’s office.
Lawyer Veysel Fine requested that the eight Turkish reporters be found innocent when they appeared in court. They were there as journalists to document the protests, he claimed to the judge, who eventually agreed to split their situation from that of the students and accepted their plea.
Their prosecutor said their case will be heard differently from that of four other attorneys being tried in connection with the demonstrations. A big crowd of supporters gathered outside the court to protest and vowed to stand by their friends and family, according to an AFP journalist.
” We are here to watch our friends who are being held in custody go through the testing.” We’re by their side, and we didn’t let them keep on their own,” a student by the name of Ahmetcan Kaptan told AFP. We’ve overcome our apprehension and learned new skills, he said, and we’re stronger, more united, and more in touch with one another.
We have no fear at all. Hope has somehow come back,” said Sumeyye Belentepe, a second student who claimed she may also face a charge of inciting protests after in the year. Some people don’t enter the court, according to Avni Gundogdu, co-founder of The Kids Solidarity Network, because of the stringent security measures in place. We want our kids to be treated fairly. They must be working at their desks at college, no prison, he told AFP.
