ISTANBUL Supplier Murat Utku shows the books on the living room table.
The books are on their way to an Istanbul prison. Utku’s spouse is a film producer Çiğdem Mater was sentenced to 18 years in prison in the spring.
Mater’s fate is an example of what can happen if you end up president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to the line of fire.
In Turkey, non-governmental organizations, opposition parties and trade unions have faced even harsher measures pressure (you switch to another service) destination (you switch to another service) of President Erdoğan tightening the grip (you switch to another service).
University staff, journalists and NGO activists are brought before the court.
One of the legal processes that attracted the most attention concerns the Anatolian cultural community and its leader, a businessman Osman is cunning.
Kavala has financed, among other things, environmental and cultural organizations in various parts of Turkey.
From organizational activist to usurper
In the spring of 2022, in the so-called Gezi trial, Kavala was sentenced to life imprisonment for attempting to overthrow the Turkish government.
Six other people, among them Çiğdem Mater, were convicted of assisting Kavala.
– In my opinion, this was a show trial. No evidence was presented for the alleged crimes, says Murat Utku.
The verdict is related to the protests that broke out in Istanbul in the spring of 2013, where they tried to prevent the construction of a shopping center in Gezi Park.
Gezi Park is one of the few green areas in the center of Istanbul. Erdoğan, who served as prime minister, supported the mall project and soon the demonstrations expanded into a protest against the prime minister’s growing autocracy.
For some time now, Erdoğan and the politicians of his Justice and Development Party had been telling in a religious spirit what the appropriate number of children is, what is the place of a woman, why abortion should be banned and why drinking alcohol is a sin.
Erdoğan on the trail of a great conspiracy
Riot police finally managed to quell the protests. Erdoğan, who became president in 2014, apparently had the suspicion of a vast conspiracy led by Osman Kavala burning in his mind.
Kavala was unexpectedly imprisoned in 2017.
What happened then tells about the current state of the Turkish legal system.
The courts are Council of Europe (you will switch to another service) estimated to have lost their independence.
Just days after Kavala was arrested in the fall of 2017, Erdoğan gave a speech in which he claimed that Kavala was behind the Gezi protests.
The president directs the courts
During the legal process, the president has repeatedly spoken about Kavala’s guilt.
Another recurring theme is Kavala’s connections with a Hungarian billionaire to George Soros. Soros has supported civil society in several countries and also faced the wrath of autocratic leaders.
When the president determines guilt, the courts don’t have much leeway. In Turkey, there are other examples of how the president interferes with the judiciary.
In October, the president of the Turkish Medical Association Şebnem Korur Fincancı was captured.
Before the arrest, President Erdoğan harshly criticized Fincancı. Fincancı was under investigation because he had presented a report on whether Turkish forces have used chemical weapons against Kurdish guerrillas in Syria.
“Harsh sentences are a warning”
In any case, one has wondered why President Erdoğan clings again and again to Osman Kavala.
Imprisoned Çiğdem Materi’s husband Murat Utku says the Gezi trial and harsh sentences send a message to the wider public.
– The trial is a warning and a message that this can happen to anyone, Utku estimates.
The Gezi trial is also an interesting example of the grounds on which activists and politicians may be tried in Turkey.
Bee maps and flight information as evidence
Original 657-page indictment (you will switch to another service) is a jumbled collection of loose bits of information that don’t really connect to anything.
For example, Osman Kavala’s trip to Budapest in April 2013 has turned out to be proof. The only concrete information is which seat he sat on the plane.
But the indictment assumes that there was something fishy about the trip, because George Soros had activities in Hungary around the time of the trip.
A map of bee species occurrence areas found in Kavala turned into evidence of a plan to divide Turkey in the eyes of the prosecutor.
“Judgment for things not done”
At the heart of the evidence against Çiğdem Mater is a film about the Gezi protest – although the film was never made. This evidence disappeared from the records at least at some point.
Mater stated by yourself (you switch to another service)in an interview he gave from prison that he was apparently sentenced to 18 years in prison for things he did not do.
During the long process, new and even wilder accusations were made when the old ones fell.
In February 2020, Kavala was acquitted of charges related to the Gezi protests.
However, he was arrested again at the prison gate on new charges. Now he was guilty of espionage and was involved in organizing the 2016 coup attempt.
There is also evidence of a coup mixed collection (you switch to another service) flights, phone calls and meetings. According to the prosecutor, the listings are in themselves evidence of a broad conspiracy.
The president rejects all criticism
Osman Kavala was eventually convicted of both leading the Gezi protests and his involvement in the 2016 coup attempt.
Turkey has rejected (you switch to another service) all reviews related to the Gezi trial and the country’s human rights situation.
The Gezi verdicts have been appealed. In Murat Utku’s opinion, regardless of everything, it is necessary to believe in the victory of justice. Utku waits for the day when his spouse returns home. No crime has occurred.
And what happened to Gezi Park? The shopping center was not built. At least for now.
You can discuss the topic on Sun 27.11. until 11 p.m.
Read more:
Finland does not provide Turkey with legal aid – a Finnish-Turkish citizen living in Tampere is accused of defaming the Turkish president on Facebook
Turkey’s Erdoğan’s autocracy is crumbling – exceptionally challenging elections ahead
The war in Ukraine saved Turkey from the brink – the country’s importance is growing, and President Erdoğan can discipline his opponents without worrying about the reaction of the West
Discussions on Sweden’s NATO membership will continue in Stockholm soon — according to Erdoğan, Sweden’s attitude is slowing down the NATO process
‘s reporter in Istanbul’s restless night: People ran for cover in their distress