25/05/2023 | Writer: Yıldız Tar
The file of Boğaziçi Pride March case is a bundle of contradictions: The police asked about the membership of an association. The allegations, which don’t occur in the footage, turned into accusations via police testimony.
The lawsuit brought against those, who were detained during 9th Boğaziçi Pride March, begins on May 29th. The case's first trial, which will be heard at the İstanbul 58th Penal Court of First Instance, will be held over three days. The trials will be heard between May 29th and June 1st starting at 09.30 am and going on throughout the day. They will be held in the hearing room of 30th Heavy Penal Court in Çağlayan Courthouse.
Students are on trial due to attending LGBTI+ Pride March planned to be held on the campus of Boğaziçi University on May 20, 2022. All that remains from the day of the march, which was imprinted on the memories with images of police attack, blockaded students and lack of evacuation corridor, is the lawsuit brought against 70 people.
Students are being judged for violating Law no. 2911 on Meetings and Demonstrations. In addition the prosecutor’s indictment includes an accusation against two students on the grounds of attempting to prevent police officers from fulling their duties.
Not in the footage, but in the police testimony
15 pages of the indictment prepared by the Public Prosecutor includes identification of 70 people and half a page of it is the summary of the event, which was copied and pasted from a police report. The justification of the lawsuit is included only half a page of the indictment.
The evidence of the accusations, excluding the violation of Law no. 2911, is the testimony of the police. Even though it doesn’t take place in video footage, a student is on trial due to “biting a police officer” based on a police statement.
Membership of civil society was asked during testimony!
Police testimonies included in the court file reveal that detained students were asked whether they were “members of non-governmental organizations, associations or trade unions”.
The medical report is the evidence of torture
On the other side, violence and torture against detained students was reflected in medical reports. According to the preliminary reports prepared by the forensic medicine outpatient clinic of Bakırköy Dr. Sadi Konuk Education and Research Hospital, most of the students had bruises on their bodies as result of police violence during detention. In addition some students had intense pain and edema in their wrists due to being subjected to rear-handcuffing according to the findings of the report.
Translation: Selma Koçak
Tags: human rights, education
