As we have informed you earlier, to restrict and break the defence in the Adnan Oktar case, 4 of the defence counsels were detained on March 30, without a permit from the Ministry of Justice. One of these attorneys was arrested, and the other 3 were released with judicial control measures.
We have also informed you that, after a review period of one year, the court of appeal reversed the judgment of the court that had sentenced Adnan Oktar and his friends to thousands of years in prison and released 68 defendants. However, upon the prosecutor’s objection, another court of appeal, which could in no way have reviewed the case file consisting of hundreds of thousands of pages in 2 days, sustained the objection, revoked the release order, and decided to re-arrest the released defendants.
Turkish MP Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, Deputy of the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) and Chairman of the Turkish Parliamentary Human Rights Commission, talked about the ongoing series of unlawfulness in the Adnan Oktar case.
Please find below the links and English translations of Gergerlioğlu’s tweets about his statements at the press conference in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey on May 1, 2022:
“There are serious human rights violations in trials in Turkey. One of them is the case of Adnan Oktar and his friends. Accusations were made against them and then they were arrested. Their trial was full of illegally obtained evidence, secret witnesses and questionable actions.
The indictment was based on illegally obtained evidence, fake complainants, fake confessors, testimonies received through intimidation and threats. The court trial was no different.
In the end, the court handed out a judgment, which was overruled by the court of appeals, as the initial judgment was unlawful. Normally the court of appeals in Turkey work like notaries, they just confirm what is handed over to them. But even those notary-like courts got surprised at the extent of unlawfulness in this case and overruled the initial judgment.
Just when you think that there was at least some semblance of law in Turkey, suddenly, another court revoked the decision of the court of appeals. Upon the objection of the prosecution and the second court’s decision to revoke, people were re-arrested. Such strange things happen. And then there is the matter of violation of the rights of the defenders.
Adnan Oktar’s lawyers were arrested and sent to prison. It’s unbelievable that such things are happening.
They make it look like a lawyer talking to her client and telling him things within the limits of law is a crime. It is the most basic right of a defendant to meet with his lawyers. This is the right to defense and is an inviolable right. But incredibly, attorney Sinem Mollahasanoğlu [the lawyer of Adnan Oktar] was arrested.
Regardless of the contents of the case of Adnan Oktar and his friends, I am absolutely against such illegal, unlawful actions. People can be accused of a crime, but they should be tried fairly.
A trial that is arbitrary, illegal and based on secret witnesses and confessors is not a real trial. Unfortunately, by eventually arresting even the lawyers of those people, the extent of the political pressure is revealed to the public.
We are against discrimination. We believe that regardless of their identities, everyone should receive a fair trial. If people have committed crimes, they should be tried fairly and punished accordingly.
But we are against unfair trials that violate the principle of the presumption of innocence of anyone, regardless of who they are.”
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As you may well be aware, the European Parliament has recently adopted a resolution on May 5, regarding the case of Osman Kavala. The resolution reads;
“[The European Parliament] Is deeply concerned about the ongoing deterioration of fundamental rights and freedoms and the rule of law in Turkey, especially after the failed coup; calls on the Turkish authorities to end the judicial harassment of human rights defenders, academics, journalists, spiritual leaders and lawyers;… Urges the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Commission and the Member States to continue to bring up the case of Mr Kavala, and all other cases of human rights defenders, lawyers, journalists, politicians and academics, among others, subjected to arbitrary detention with their Turkish interlocutors, and to provide diplomatic and political support for them, including trial observation and case monitoring;…”
Through this information presented to you, we look forward to your monitoring this case (the trial of which will start on September 6, 2022 in Silivri, Istanbul) in terms of what you may do for providing legal support and suggestions in the face of this incessant eradication of legality.
