The Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Court of Cassation has demanded that the prison sentences given to Özlem Dalkıran, İdil Eser and Günal Kurşun be reversed and the prison sentence of Taner Kılıç be upheld.
In the trial over their attendance to a meeting on "digital security for the protection of human rights defenders" in İstanbul's Büyükada, the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office of the Court of Cassation has demanded that the prison sentences of Özlem Dalkıran, İdil Eser and Günal Kurşun for "aiding a terrorist organization" be overturned and that of Taner Kılıç be upheld.
At the final hearing of 'Büyükada trial' on July 3, 2020, the İstanbul 35th Heavy Penal Court ruled that Taner Kılıç, the former Amnesty International Representative to Turkey, should be sentenced to 6 years, 3 months in prison on charge of "being a member of a terrorist organization"; Günal Kurşun, İdil Eser and Özlem Dalkıran should be sentenced to 1 year, 13 months in prison on charge of "aiding a terrorist organization"; and Nalan Erkem, İlknur Üstün, Ali Gharavi, Peter Steudtner, Veli Acu, Nejat Taştan and Şeyhmus Özbekli should be acquitted of the offenses charged.
'No sufficient evidence'
As reported by Kemal Göktaş from Kısa Dalga, Mustafa Kurtuluş Deprem, the Prosecutor of the Court of Cassation, prepared a letter of notification after an appeal was lodged against the court ruling.
The prosecutor's letter of notification has demanded the reversal of the prison sentences given to Özlem Dalkıran, İdil Eser and Günal Kurşun in Büyükada case on the grounds that there is no sufficient and credible evidence proving that they aided the organization.
It has noted that "a ruling was given with deficient examination and research without considering the need to support this point with sufficient and credible evidence so that it could be accepted that they knowingly and willingly aided the organization without being a part of its hierarchy."
Prosecutor Deprem has further demanded that the prison sentence given to Taner Kılıç be upheld by the Court of Cassation.
The letter of notification prepared by the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has been sent to the 16th Penal Chamber of the Court of Cassation.
