31.10.2025 15:25
The 61st Criminal Court of First Instance in Istanbul issued an acquittal decision for 109 defendants who participated in the protests that began after the cancellation of Ekrem İmamoğlu's diploma.
The CHP's presidential candidate, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, was acquitted by the Istanbul 61st Criminal Court of First Instance regarding 109 defendants, most of whom are young people, who were sued for participating in the Saraçhane protests that began after his university diploma was revoked on March 18 and his subsequent detention the next day. The court's decision referenced Article 34 of the 'Right to Organize Meetings and Demonstrations' of the Constitution of the Republic of Turkey, Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights on 'freedom of assembly,' and the provisions of Article 3 of Law No. 2911 on Meetings and Demonstrations (which states that everyone has the right to organize a demonstration or meeting without prior permission, without using violence or weapons), as well as the decisions of the Supreme Court of Appeals.
THE MAJORITY WERE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
The revocation of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) Mayor and CHP's presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu's diploma on March 18 and his subsequent detention the next day led to protests in many cities, especially in Istanbul. The protests in Saraçhane, where the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality is located, lasted for days. On March 26, 110 individuals, mostly young people and students, were detained at their homes on the grounds of participating in those protests, and an indictment was prepared against them for the charge of "Participating in Illegal Meetings and Demonstrations Without Weapons and Not Dispersing Despite Warnings," which was accepted by the Istanbul 61st Criminal Court of First Instance.
ACQUITTAL DECISION FOR 109 DEFENDANTS, ONE DEFENDANT'S FILE SEPARATED
The verdict hearing was held this morning at the Istanbul 61st Criminal Court of First Instance. After the defense statements of the lawyers and defendants, the court announced its decision, acquitting 109 defendants and separating the file of one defendant. The decision referenced the Constitutional Court, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), Law No. 2911, and the decisions of the Supreme Court of Appeals. The relevant part of the decision is as follows:
"In the case against all defendants in the file (except for the separated defendant Hasan Bilgin) for the offense of violating Article 32/1 of Law No. 2911, in light of the evaluations regarding the elements of the alleged offense in the decision of the Supreme Court of Appeals dated 11.7.2014 and numbered 2013/9-386 and 2014/353, the lack of evidence indicating that the relevant group was warned to disperse in the reports/minutes related to the file, as well as the provisions of Article 193/2 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CMK) regarding defendants whose defenses could not be taken, it was understood that the elements of the offenses attributed to the defendants (in the case of the separated defendant) were not constituted separately, and in accordance with Article 223/2-a of the CMK, they were ACQUITTED."