Çiğdem Mater and Mine Özerden, who were convicted in the trial over the 2013 Gezi Park protests, have been transferred from İstanbul to the İzmir Women’s Closed Prison, also known as Şakran Prison in western Turkey.
Mater and Özerden had been held at the Bakırköy Women’s Closed Prison since April 2022.
Mater’s lawyer, Hürrem Sönmez, told bianet that they would pursue all available legal remedies.
“We will exhaust all legal avenues,” Sönmez said.
Sönmez said they had not yet been informed of the reason for the transfer.
“These procedures are generally carried out without informing families or lawyers,” she said. “These people were born and raised in İstanbul. Their families and lawyers are here.”
“Family visits will become more difficult, and they will face another form of isolation beyond imprisonment itself,” she added. “I want to believe that the state does not harm its citizens, but what has been done is harmful.”
The Şakran prison is nearly 400 kilometers away from where the Mater and Özerden are currently held.
What happened?
The trial concerned the 2013 anti-government protests known as the Gezi Park protests, which drew millions of people across Turkey. Eight righrs advocates were accused of organizing and financing the protests.
While the initial trial ended with the acquittal of all defendants, a retrial resulted in lengthy prison sentences.
In Apr 2022, the court sentenced philantropist Osman Kavala to aggravated life imprisonment for “attempting to overthrow the government” under Article 312 of the Turkish Penal Code. The court did not apply any discretionary reduction.
The other seven defendants, Mücella Yapıcı, Çiğdem Mater, Ali Hakan Altınay, Mine Özerden, Tayfun Kahraman, Can Atalay and Yiğit Ali Ekmekçi, were each sentenced to 18 years in prison for “aiding an attempt to overthrow the government.” They were imprisoned subsequently.
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Who are the eight convicts of the Gezi case?
26 April 2022
After an appeal the 3rd Penal Chamber of the İstanbul Regional Court of Appeals upheld the convictions on Dec 28, 2022.
In Jul 2023, the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Court of Cassation submitted its opinion to the court’s 3rd Penal Chamber, requesting that the convictions be upheld.
The chamber issued its final ruling on Sep 28, 2023, upholding Kavala’s aggravated life sentence and the 18-year prison terms imposed on Atalay, Kahraman, Özerden and Mater Utku. The chamber overturned the 18-year sentences imposed on Altınay, Ekmekçi and Yapıcı. They were acquitted following a retrial.
Three acquitted in Gezi Park case retrial
11 February 2025
(EMK/VK)
Source: BIANET
