Defendants who attacked İmamoğlu with stones receive reduced sentences for ‘good behavior’

Emrullah Bayrak/Gazete Duvar

Erzurum 7th Criminal Court of First Instance on July 17 sentenced all 28 defendants tried in the case related to the stone-throwing attack against Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu's rally in eastern Erzurum province before 2023 general elections.

While the minimum sentence started at 6-month prison time, the court also granted defendants reductions in time for “good behavior.” For some defendants, the pronouncement of the verdict was also postponed.

The prosecutor asserted that the suspects did not know each other and came to the scene separately, that "there was no unity of opinion and action between them" and that "they did not act in an organized manner."

The prosecutor demanded jail sentence from two to nine years for the defendants on the charge of "attempted intentional or simple injury with a weapon."

Plaintiff lawyers emphasized that the police did not take necessary precautions and added that there were serious indications that the stone attack organized with probable intent

Reiterating their demand to expand the prosecution, the lawyers said, "This is not merely an assault case. It is akin to the 1993 Madımak Massacre. While there were no fatalities, the motives behind this attack on democracy must be uncovered. Attempted murder is at issue here."

They asserted that a sentence proposed by the prosecutor would not satisfy the public and noted, "A mere intentional injury penalty will not contribute to democracy."

The court panel noted that the minimum sentence started at 6-month and indicated that many issues would be explained in detail in the reasoned judgment.

What happened?

A group of people threw stones at the election bus of main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Istanbul Mayor and vice presidential candidate İmamoğlu while he was addressing citizens during a rally in the eastern province of Erzurum on May 7, a week before general and presidential elections.

The prosecutor of the case stated in the indictment that at the moment when İmamoğlu started to speak, "the group approached the area, shouted slogans, and some of them threw lighters, water bottles, stones and similar materials despite the warnings and prevention by the police.”

The defendants claimed in their defense that they threw not stones but “flowers, pine cones, plums, and Turkish delight.” 

However, according to the expert report, no such evidence was found, and it was stated that sidewalk stones were removed for at least seven minutes, accompanied by swearing. The 48-page report identified individuals in the footage shouting “Allahu Akbar” while throwing stones to İmamoğlu and his supporters, injuring at least 17 rally attendees.

(English version by Can Bodrumlu)