ANKARA - Drawing attention to the violations and irregularities in the hearing of the Kobané Case, lawyers demanded the recusation of the court board. Attorney Ruken Gülağacı said: "We are making our defences under arms."

 

The third session of the second hearing of the Kobanê Trial has started with the defences of the attorneys. There are 108 defendants from the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP); while 28 people have been arrested pending trial, there are judicial control measures on six and warrants against 75 people.

 

Explaining the violations at the first hearing, Ruken Gülağacı, attorney of former HDP Co-Chair Figen Yüksekdağ, said that these irregularities are all violations of a right to fair trial. Gülağacı said: "A preliminary proceeding report is taken as the basis of all legal proceedings. By claiming that 'you are not bound by the ECtHR decision' you showed your true colors. You said that you don't recognize the 90th article of the Constitutional Court and the ECtHR decision. You showed us that this will not be a fair trial in january, even before the hearing has started. This case is problematic due to the organized attempts against HDP and it not only being a legal disaster. We are holding this hearing in a penal institution!"

 

'WE HAVE GENDERMERIE SITTING AMONG US'

 

Gülağacı continued, "You shouldn't be holding this hearing under the shadow of guns. Code of Criminal Procedure says that in cases with a large number of defendants, a court can be arranged in the city. You must show us if you are acting duly, lawfully. You may not see it, but here we are making our defences under arms. We are being searched. Riot police sists bewtween our clients and us. We can't see our clients!" 

 

'YOU ARE IN PANIC'

 

Underlining that in the second session of the second hearing, the politicians have made their defence in Kurdish without any interpreters present, Gülağacı said: "I guess you did not understand their defence. You are in a panic because democratic politics is on trial here. You did not conduct a detention investigation on April 26. You say here "the main thing is the imprisonment of these people". For this reason the decision of continuation of detention was copied and pasted from another file. You have to evaluate each person individually. Everyone's situation is special. "Zeynep Ölbeci is under arrest without knowing how she was added to this file."

 

'WE DON'T SEE A JUDGE HERE IN FRONT OF US'

 

uray Özdoğan, the lawyer of HDP MYK member Berfin Özgül Köse and former deputy Emine Beyza Üstün, demanded a recusal.

 

Stating that the trial has turned into a theater and the court should not be a partner in it, Özdoğan said, “We are here to ensure the implementation of universal law principles. Our hope is that you, as a lawyer, take an attitude to apply universal legal values. We don't see a court board and a judge in front of us. We see a court board that is following orders. We want you to act like a lawyer and cut your ties with politicians. We demand your recusal because we see that you can't do it. 

 

'THIS HEARING WILL BE A SUBJECT OF ANOTHER TRIAL IN THE FUTURE'

 

Underlining that these hearings will be the subject of other trials in the future, Özdoğan said the minutes in this hearing are all proofs of it. Özdoğan said: "Someone may have initiated this trial, but your duty and responsibility is to act as a judge. Our objection rights are reserved for all documents and transactions in the file that we do not have access to yet. The documents are not in the online system (UYAP). You say that you have those in your room. How can my client access those documents in your room and spoil the evidence when even I can't access the documents I have a right to see."

 

 

'YOU ARE IN A HURRY'

 

Stating that the court board is in a hurry, Attorney of HDP former Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş and all prisoners, Hadi Cin said: "You are rushing the hearing. You refused to do a review of imprisonment, which you have to. Yes you were handpicked for this case. They gave you instruction on TV in front of Turkey. You said you didn't fear anyone. If that is true, file a criminal complaint against those who gave you instructions. It is an insult to this court board." The Chief Judge responded, "I'm sorry I didn't hear any of the things you said."

 

 

İktidar sözcülerinin Kobanê davasının ilk duruşması günü yaptığı açıklamaları hatırlatan Cin, “Tüm kamu önünde size talimat verdiler. Bu suç önce size karşı işlendi. Siz dediniz ki biz kimseden korkmuyoruz eğer korkmuyorsanız bugün ara kararınızda size karşı işlenen bu suça dair suç duyurusunda bulunursunuz” dedi.

Cin’in Kobanê davası ile ilgili iktidarın açıklamalarını hatırlattığı mahkeme başkanı ise şunu söyledi: “Üzülerek söyleyeyim söylediklerinizin hiçbirini izlemedim, duymadım.”

 

Cin said: "Officer Fahrettin (Fahrettin Altun) and Minister of Interior Soylu committed a crime for attempting to influence the fair trial, they gave you instructions in public. This crime is against you first. If you are not afraid, you will file a criminal complaint against this crime. I am reporting you from here. I am doing my duty."

 

The hearing was suspended until 14:00.