This article is composed from the publications at social network – Twitter, of the HDP( Democratic Party of the Peoples) MP – Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, and was published on December 9, 2020. The article was translated by our comrades from Anadolu News Blog.

The Yüksel Resisters, who have been detained for 108 days on the grounds of ‘intense action’, are facing the judge today. After being dismissed by the Decree Law, the resisters who organized the “We want our job back” protests on Ankara’s Yüksel Street were detained on 13 August and remained in police custody for 8 days.

After 4 years of demonstrations on Yüksel Street, the resisters Acun Karadağ, Alev Şahin, Armağan Özbaş, Mahmut Konuk, Mehmet Dersulu, and Nazan Bozkurt were arrested by the court they were brought for “intensive action”.
Yüksel Resistance members, who have been under arrest for 108 days today, appear before the judge in Ankara Courthouse. Academician Sibel Özbudun, CHP Deputy Sezgin Tanrıkulu, HDP deputy Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, TMMOB Ankara Branch President Tezcan Karakuş and Düzce Resistance Council Initiative came to Ankara Courthouse in order to follow the hearing and support the resisters.

HDP Deputy Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu used the following statements regarding the hearing in his post on his social media account:

“I am at the court of Yüksel resisters. The charges are astonishing ‘Why did you take action and continue’?”
“In this pandemic environment, they have been keeping these victims in prison for 3.5 months, the decrees will go, we will win!”

“Acun Karadağ speaks very striking words at the court ‘Gökhan Açıkkollu was a diabetic person, he died in custody, the imam did not perform the funeral prayer just because he was dismissed by decree (KHK). I am a teacher, I am not a murderer, my health is deteriorating, this is plague!'”

Stating that Acun Karadağ was angry with the accusations of the organization, Gergerlioğlu said that Karadag used following expressions: ‘What are these police officers trying to do? I am a teacher with statutory decree who just wants her job back, is it a crime to ask for one’s job?’

‘THE STATE PROSECUTOR WROTE AND WROTE’

Gergerlioğlu, who criticized the court’s attitude, used the expression “It is being shown as a crime to speak publicly about the suicides and the cancer diseases due ot statutory decree!!! The prosecutor wrote and wrote !!! Yüksel resisters tried to embrace every victim. Both oppress the people dismissed by statutory decree (KHK), and blame the criticism!”
Stating that Mahmut Konuk, one of the Yüksel Resistance members, said ‘I am only and only a defender of rights’, Gergerlioğlu said, “In his defense, Mahmut Konuk, who was dismissed by statutory decree, tells about the human rights struggle that lasted for years.’ and said ‘I do not accept fiction and conspiracy.”

‘MY ACTIONS ARE RIGHT AND LEGITIMATE’

Contemporary Lawyers Association Ankara Branch is also among those who attended the hearing. ÇHD Ankara, who gave its defense on his social media accounts, said, “We are at the first hearing of Yüksel Resisters, who were unjustly and unlawfully arrested for resisting by saying ‘We want our job back’ after being fired with the decree law”.

The statements of arrested resister Mahmut Konuk were taken from the social media account of ÇHD. Mahmut Konuk used the following statements in his defense:

“My actions are just and legitimate. An important part of the society has also supported these actions. This lawsuit has already been filed against the same people in 2018 regarding the same action and is duplicate. While we should be tried without arrest in that file, the only reason why we were tried on remand in this file is the new report of the anti-terror police branch directorate, which serves as an instructor to judicial authorities. The Anti-terror branch directorate almost gave the court an order to arrest these people.

While the police are creating the file within their own fiction, they do not provide evidence for the file that they dragged me on the ground for days and released me without any official action. The police wants to associate a statement titled “election is not a solution” with me. Although they know that I am an independent candidate for parliament, they do not intentionally submit this to the file. Malatya SES branch head died after being fired with a statutory decree. Exactly a year later, the state of emergency commission decided to return him to his job. Well now I’m asking: Will the OHAL Commission be able to return the life of the president?’

Melek Çetinkaya, who was among those who followed the hearing, stated that a new charge was made against Acun Karadağ. Making a statement on her social media account, Çetinkaya said, “A new crime was charged against Acun teacher. It was claimed that she had used a code name from a program that she did not even know the name of, and messaged something like ‘Take care of Melek Çetinkaya, mother of a cadet who got a life-sentence in prison. Acun teacher has never been particularly dealt with me personally. She did not call in private. Acun teacher has 4 chronic ailments. There is a battery in her heart” she said.

The deputies who followed the hearing from the courtroom and the relatives of the protesters who were sent to different prisons after being arrested under pandemic conditions were removed from the hall on the grounds of coronavirus.

‘SEGBİS IS A VIOLATION OF THE RIGHT TO DEFENSE’

Düzce Resister Alev Şahin, who was expelled with the Statutory Decree, said that he will not make a defense with the SEGBİS (sound and video information system) method, stated “My defense is ready, but it is not possible for me to hear or see your delegation or other defendants in a healthy way with the SEGBİS method. For this reason, I want to make a face to face defense regarding this file that will affect my life”.

Stating that they do not want to testify through SEGBİS and want to defend face to face, the Yüksel Resisters made following statements…

Acun Karadağ:
“I want to make a defense before the Court because SEGBIS is a violation of the right to defense. Although I have serious health problems, I maintain my life with a pacemaker. I do not want to be a new Gökhan Açıkkollu. I want my release.”

Mehmet Dersulu:
“Although it was possible for me to be ready in the courtroom in accordance with the corona measures, I connected to the hearing with Segbis. This is a violation of the centenary and the principle of directness. I want to plead before the court.”

On the Twitter account of the Contemporary Lawyers Association Ankara Branch, Att. Fatih Gökçe’s statement regarding the SEGBİS system was published: “It is a violation of the right to a fair trial.” Att. Gökçe said: “Our clients who do not want to make a defense with SEGBİS, requesting their defense in this way is a violation of the right to a fair trial.

Even the failure of client Nazan Bozkurt to attend this hearing with SEGBİS is an indication of how appropriate the clients’ requests are. Dozens of acquittal verdicts were issued in trials that where opened against the clients for ‘opposition to the law on meetings and demonstrations’ due to their peaceful demonstrations.

I present 15 of them to your court. In the justification of all these decisions, it was stated that the actions taken took place peacefully. Showing these actions in connection with an organization is nothing more than a distortion of the truth.”