Gülmen, Özakça Not Released in 1st Hearing Held Without Defendants

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The first hearing in the trial of academic Nuriye Gülmen and teacher Semih Özakça who were discharged from their positions through a statutory decree and went on a hunger strike to be reinstated to their jobs but were arrested during their hunger strike, was held today before Ankara 19th Heavy Criminal Court without the defendants.

The prosecutor of the trial Acun Karadağ demanded that all public lawsuits brought against Özakça and Gülmen be examined and that their detention be extended on the grounds that they had not made their statements yet.

The court rejected the request of release and ruled that the defendants who have been on a hunger strike for 190 days and are behind bars since May 23, remain further in detention on remand.

The next hearing will be held on September 28 before Sincan Prison Campus.

1,030 attorneys attended the hearing

1,030 attorneys attested a power of attorney to the court and approximately 200 attorneys observed the hearing.

Republican People's Party (CHP) MPs Sezgin Tanrıkulu, Ali Şeker, Mahmut Tanal, Orhan Sarıbal and Democratic Peoples' Party (HDP) MPs Mithat Sancar, Filiz Kerestecioğlu and Mahmut Doğrul were among the observers.

Attack on attorneys

The chief judge did not allow the 15-20 attorneys who were outside the courtroom, enter the courtroom upon which the police attacked on the attorneys outside the courtroom.

Gülmen, Özakça were not brought to courtroom

Gülmen and Özakça had on a posting they shared on their social media account on September 4, that they would attend the hearing.
Yet Republican People's Party MP Barış Yarkadaş stated that the gendarmerie refused to bring them to the courtroom with an excuse saying "We don't have enough personnel, if we bring them, they will cause them to escape".

With this regards, a statement was presented to the court in the hearing that Özakça and Gülmen were not brought to the court "for health and security reasons".

Their attorneys were detained ahead of hearing

Earlier on September 12, 10 attorneys were taken into custody from People's Law Office that was representing Gülmen and Özakça.

People's Law Office issuing a statement on the issue on its Twitter account and said:

"They want to leave Semih and Nuriye without legal representation. [...] That is why they are taking their attorneys in custody two days before their hearing". (EA/BK/DG)