In the Bakur case retrial following the appellate court’s decision to overturn, judicial measures on director Çayan Demirel have been lifted. The case was adjourned until 22 September 2022

ÖZKAN KÜÇÜK, BATMAN

The retrial of Çayan Demirel and Ertuğrul Mavioğlu on charges of “terrorism propaganda” over the film Bakur, which they directed and were previously sentenced to 4 years and 6 months each in a ruling that was overturned, began at the Batman 2ndHigh Criminal Court on 26 May 2022.

Çayan Demirel and his lawyers Meral Hanbayat and Gül Altay were present at the hearing, which P24 monitored. Mavioğlu’s lawyer Rozerin Seda Kip attended the hearing via the judicial videoconferencing system (SEGBİS). Many people, including President of the Batman Bar Association Erkan Şenses, German documentary maker Diana Naecke and musician Masha Qrella were present to observe the hearing.

The president of the panel of judges asked Demirel whether he would make a statement on the decision to turn of the 4th Chamber of the Gaziantep Regional Court of Justice. Stating that he agreed with the decisions to overturn, Demirel demanded his acquittal.

Demirel’s lawyer Meral Hanbayat then stated that Demirel had a medical report of 99 percent degree of disability, Hanbayat criticized the court’s statement, based on the previous SEGBİS connection, that her client did not appear to have a disability. Hanbayat said that given his health circumstances and demanded that the international travel ban imposed on her client be lifted.

Lawyer Gül Altay stated that they had asked their client to attend the hearing in person so that the court could observe his disability status and requested Demirel’s acquittal.

“There is no connection between the current case and the case at the appellate court”

Mavioğlu’s lawyer Rozerin Seda Kip said that her client’s right to a fair trial had been violated during the previous trial process and reminded the court that her client had been sentenced to the maximum punishment. Stating that there were no legal or actual connections between the current case and another case concerning her client that was at the Court of Cassation, Kip requested the acquittal of her client and the lifting of the judicial control measure.

The prosecutor for the hearing requested the procedure to begin for Mavioğlu’s statement to be taken concerning the decision to overturn and a letter to be sent to the appellate court to inquire about the outcome of the case being examined for appeal.

In its interim order, the court decided to lift the judicial control measure on Demirel. Denying the request for lifting the judicial control decision on Mavioğlu on grounds he did not appear at the hearing, the court adjourned the trial until 22 September 2022 for the case file to be brought up to date.

“A positive step”

Speaking to P24 after the hearing, lawyer Meral Hanbayat said that the lifting of the ban on travelling abroad on Demirel was a significant first step. Demirel’s spouse Ayşe Çetinbaş said that they had suffered for years due to the judicial control measure and stated that it was a positive development that the measure was lifted and that the president of the panel of judges had observed the disability situation of Demirel and had it written into the minutes.

Adding that they were very worn out by the trial due to Demirel’s health condition, Çetinbaş said “The day he finished the movie, Çayan suffered a heart attack and became severely disabled. He is a person with disabilities who could not fulfil his own most basic needs for the last seven years. To sentence a person with such a disability to imprisonment, to ban them from travelling abroad on grounds of risk of flight take a heavy toll.”

Answering our questions, President of the Batman Bar Association Erkan Şenses said that the trial fell within the scope of scientific and artistic freedom covered by article 27 of the Constitution.

History of the case

The film Bakur, which was shot during the “solution process” became the subject of a trial after a screening in Batman, and after a trial that lasted for years, directors Demirel and Mavioğlu were sentenced to 4 years and 6 months of imprisonment each. Demirel and Mavioğlu’s lawyers had appealed with the appellate court.

The 4th Chamber of the Gaziantep Regional Court of Justice had overturned the local court’s decision on 28 December 2021 and requested that the legal and actual connections between the current file at the Batman 2nd High Criminal Court and another case file in which Mavioğlu was sentenced for “terrorism propaganda” that is pending appeal at the appellate court to be investigated. The Chamber had also ruled that the sentencing, which did not apply abatement clauses was unduly severe and resubmitted the case with the Batman 2nd High Criminal Court for a retrial.