Deciding to issue a new subpoena for the accused police officer N.D., whose statement has not yet been taken, the court set 11 March 2022 as the date for the fourth hearing

CANSU PİŞKİN, İSTANBUL

The third hearing in the trial of three police officers who violently detained former Bianet reporter Beyza Kural as she was covering a demonstration in Istanbul in 2015 was held on 10 December 2021.

The police officers are charged with “Violation of the freedom to work or labor by using force, threats or by any other unlawful act” under Article 117/1 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), which carries a penalty of imprisonment for a term of 6 months to 2 years, or a judicial fine.

The trial, overseen by the Istanbul 35th Criminal Court of First Instance, follows on the heels of a Constitutional Court judgment rendered in January 2021, which held that Kural’s arrest violated freedom of expression, freedom of the press and prohibition of ill-treatment.

P24 monitored the hearing, which was held in the courtroom of the Istanbul 4th High Criminal Court due to the large number of spectators. None of the defendants attended the hearing. They were represented by their lawyer Abdülkadir Cerrah. The plaintiff Kural and her lawyer Meriç Eyüboğlu were in attendance.

Kural’s lawyer asked the court to issue an arrest warrant for the third police officer on trial, N.D., whose statement has still not been heard by the court. The lawyer representing the officers said the subpoena for N.D. had been delivered to his former address and that he would attend the next hearing to make his statement.

Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA) Co-Director and lawyer Veysel Ok requested to join the case since Kural is a member of their association. The prosecutor asked the court to reject the request.

In its interim ruling, the court rejected Ok’s request on the grounds that the association was not directly affected by the offense. Ruling to issue a new subpoena for N.D. to attend the next hearing, the court adjourned the case until 11 March 2022.