Wednesday’s hearing in the trial of 30 people, 25 of whom were in pretrial detention, for attempting to defy a government ban on holding May Day demonstrations in central İstanbul concluded with the release of the 25 protestors, marking the release of all 200 initially detained on May 1, the Bianet news website reported.
Some 200 demonstrators who wanted to march from İstanbul’s Saraçhane neighborhood to Taksim Square, which has symbolic importance, to mark May Day were detained on May 1. Demonstrators were also taken into custody in the following days on accusations that they had resisted law enforcement to make their way to Taksim.
The protesters, who were brought to the courtroom under gendarmerie escort from their detention centers, faced charges related to their attempt to march from Saraçhane to Taksim on May 1. Other defendants and their lawyers were also present in the courtroom.
Defendant Alev Palo, in her defense, described police intervention with tear gas and plastic bullets.
“I participated in May 1 [protests] to voice the demands of workers and oppressed people. As we attempted to march to Taksim, we faced unlawful police barriers. When we tried to proceed, they intervened with plastic bullets and tear gas. We were subjected to violence during our arrests at our homes. I went there to exercise my constitutional right. I didn’t hear the disperse warning, but I knew about the Taksim ban,” she said.
Another defendant, Ayşe Beliz İnce, also claimed she did not commit any crime. “I went there to protest against the system and to exercise my constitutional right. I didn’t hear any police warning to disperse. I simply wanted to march to Taksim. I don’t think I committed a crime,” she said.
Bekir Arslan, a non-detained defendant, explained that he went to Saraçhane following a call from main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Özgür Özel. “I had no intention of harming the police or any public official. I was merely trying to protect myself reflexively. I didn’t hear any disperse warning and was unaware of the Taksim ban. I went there following Özgür Özel’s call. I also obtained a medical report for the assault I experienced by police officers,” he said.
The May Day protesters face charges of “preventing law enforcement officers from carrying out their responsibilities,” “participating in an illegal meeting and march and failing to disperse despite warnings,” “intentional injury” and “damaging public property.”
The indictment demands sentences ranging from three years, nine months to 13 years, six months in prison for the protesters.
The next hearing is scheduled for December 25.
The Interior Ministry and the İstanbul Governor’s Office announced before May Day that no demonstrations would be allowed in Taksim due to security concerns, sparking a backlash from opposition parties, labor unions and civil society groups, who said the ban was “unconstitutional.”
The government ban on demonstrations in Taksim Square contravenes a Constitutional Court decision last year that found violations of the right to free assembly in the controversial ban.
The symbolic importance of Taksim Square stems from the killing of 34 people by unknown assailants on May Day in 1977. The area has become a subject of tension and confrontation between the government and labor unions in the days leading up to May Day since 2013.
Until 2009, Taksim was off limits to demonstrators following Bloody May Day in 1977. About three decades after the incident, under tight security, Taksim Square became the venue of peaceful demonstrations aside from a few minor incidents in 2010, 2011 and 2012. The area was again closed to demonstrations in 2013 out of security concerns.
