The hearing of the case brought against 33 women who were detained on August 12, 2020 for defending the Istanbul Convention was held at the Ankara 28th Criminal Court of First Instance.

 

33 women including Arzu Kurt, a member of the Lawyers for Freedom Association (ÖHD), lawyer Sevinç Hocaoğulları from the Social Law Group, Nebiye Merttürk, the President of the Community Centers, and Mesopotamia Agency (MA) reporter Eylem Akdağ are on trial. 1 years 6 months to 3 years of imprisonment is requested for the women."

 

PLAINCLOTH POLICE OFFICERS IN THE COURTROOM

 

The hearing  was attended by Amnesty International representative, Ankara Bar Association Women's Rights Center Head Ceren Kalay, many lawyers and women. While plainclothes police were also placed in the courtroom, lawyer Hülya Yıldırım, who opposed the presence of the police in the courtroom, stated that they were parties to the case and demanded that the police to be removed from the courtroom. The presiding judge decided to reject the request for the police to be taken out on the grounds that they did not know that they were not a party to the file and that they did not know whether their signatures were on the reports kept on the day of the action. Then  the lawyers demanded that they should be removed from the court room even if they had signatures on the report. Lawyers said: "Witnesses will also be heard here. They can put pressure on witnesses. On the other hand, a report is kept in line with the instructions of these police officers. That's why they definitely need to be removed."  At the insistence of the lawyers, the president of the court asked the policemen to leave the courtroom.

 

WOMEN'S PLATFORM IS A LEGAL PLATFORM

 

Taking the floor afterwards, Lawyer Sinejan Kurt reminded that Ankara Women's Platform was referred to as "Ankara Women's Assembly organization is not a legal institution" in the indictment, and said, "There is an open attempt for us to be criminalized here. But Ankara Women's Platform is a very old platform. In Turkey, where 130 women are killed every year, the platform also fights against violence with its representatives from different institutions, political parties and independent women. It is a platform that arises from the need to come together in the fight against violence against women. Therefore, it is not illegal as the prosecutor claims, but on the contrary, it is a legal platform."

 

REQUEST FOR ACQUITTAL

 

Expressing that women who use their constitutional right against violence were exposed to violence once again, defending the convention, Kurt said, “These 33 women are not the ones who should stand trial here. The police who attacked these women shold be here standing trial. We want our clients to be acquitted immediately." Kurşunoğlu then took the floor and demanded that there is no need for further investigation in the file, and in this case, the acquittal decision should be given immediately without taking statements from her clients. Stating that the indictment, which was prepared carelessly, does not contain information about what crime her clients committed, Kurşunoğlu said, "The police have a case report, but there is no case that requires a lawsuit to be filed here."

 

POLICE INVESTIGATION REPORT

 

Lawyer Süheyla Oğuz, who said that the police report included the phrase "Persons who took part in the demo were known by our officers", and said, "What kind of an accusation is this? If this is a legitimate accusation, please do explaing, because I have never seen such an accusation." Oğuz immediately demanded her acquittal, stating that the police should be standing trial, not them."

 

RESIDING JUDGE REJECTED THE REQUEST WITHOUT STATING A REASON

 

The presiding judge rejected the lawyers' request for "immediate acquittal" without stating a reason. When the lawyers stated that according to the law, the judge must state on what grounds he is rejecting the request, the president of the court, not knowing what to say, said, "At this stage, I refuse without any grounds." After the lawyers said, "Then we demand the you base your decision on a reason according to the law," the president of the court said: "I am rejecting the request for acquittal since the evidence should be examined".

 

MALE STATE VIOLENCE

 

The women who were put on trial took the floor. Nebiye Merttürk, President of the People's Houses, said, “Even though I was just going to the area, the police stopped me and I was prevented from exercising my right to protest before it even started.” Platform member Aysun Gençtanır also emphasized that defending the contract is her most legitimate right. Gençtanır said, “The Convention makes gender inequality visible and obliges the state to prevent violence. I attended to the demonstration at the call of the Ankara Women's Platform. The police stopped us before we would get to the area where the demo would take place. And we were subjected to male state violence. 

Platform member Lawyer Sevinç Hocaoğulları, who stated that demonstrations were organized all over Turkey after AKP withdrew from the convention, said, “Today I am not prosecuted for committing a crime here. There is no such claim in the indictment in front of you anyway. In fact, women defending the Istanbul Convention are on trial here. We are not being prosecuted here because did something illegal, we are on trial for doing something Erdoğan doesn't want us to do. Just as we are exposed to violence when we say 'no' to men at home, we are also exposed to state violence when we say 'no' to the will of the government."

 

Expressing that they are fighting for equality and freedom, Hocaoğulları reminded Erdoğan's words, "Whoever utters a sentence that starts with the 'Istanbul Convention', our women should react first."

 

'YOU TOO ARE A VICTIM IF VIOLENCE'

 

Emphasizing that she has a duty to establish justice due to his profession as a lawyer, Kurt said, “I am responsible for protecting the Istanbul Convention, and so are you. This is our duty. We must protect both ourselves and the lives of all women. That's why I was in that demo that day, I didn't hurt anyone. But the other party violated our rights, we were tortured and here we are on trial. If the convention was enforced, you wouldn't be able to judge us here. You, the prosecutor and the police would also receive training accordingly with the contract. However, we were subjected to violence in the first hearing of the case, we do not accept this. We know that you are not the one prosecuting us here. Since you did not return the indictment that came before you, you are the victim of this violence. Despite everything, we are defending our lives.”

 

After Kurt's defense, the hearing was adjourned for an hour.

 

BACKGROUND

 

Ankara Women's Platform organized a Chain of Life demo in Kızılay on August 12, 2020, against the discussions of withdrawing from the Istanbul Convention, and the police beat and detained the women. Our reporter, Eylem Akdağ, was also detained by the police and released on the same day.