Turkish court acquits members of football fan group Çarşı 11 years later

Furkan Karabay / Gazete Duvar

An Istanbul court on Dec. 23 acquitted the 35 members of the football fan group Çarşı who were charged in connection with the Gezi Park protests. 

Defendants and their lawyers attended the hearing, in which members of Beşiktaş’s fan group faced charges of “attempting to overthrow the government of the Republic of Turkey and preventing it from fulfilling its duties.”

Former Beşiktaş Gymnastics Club President Hasan Arat, who had attended the previous hearing on November 4 but later resigned from his position, did not appear in court due to health issues. The prosecutor presented the final opinion, requesting the acquittal of all 35 defendants.

After hearing the final defense statements, the court acquitted all defendants. Defendant Volkan Eroğlu condemned the 11-year-long attempt to associate the Çarşı group with terrorism, saying, “We are a fan group that follows Atatürk’s principles.”

Defendant Emre Işık asked, “Who will compensate for our 11 years of suffering?” Another defendant, Arda Mutlu Doğan, remarked, “We have been on trial for 11 years. We’ve grown old, and so have you. We are not traitors; we are patriots.”

Defense lawyer Devrim Alparslan criticized the trial as baseless, describing Çarşı as a group committed to social causes, “Yes, Çarşı is an organization—a health organization that donates blood, an environmental organization opposing nuclear energy, a human rights group that defends players against racist attacks, and an educational group that supports rural schools.”

Lawyer Ömer Kavilli called the case politically motivated, stating, “This case should never have been filed. It was brought to curry favor with appease the government.” 

He continued, “Those who labeled our clients ‘terrorists’ have now vanished. The claim that Çarşı is an armed organization aiming to overthrow the government is a lie.” 

“Even if we assume it were true, and a government collapses because of a slogan, let it collapse. End this theater and affirm their innocence as you did in the first ruling. Çarşı is innocent, and no one can tarnish that,” the lawyer stated. 

The court unanimously acquitted all defendants of charges related to “attempting to overthrow the government of the Republic of Turkey and preventing it from fulfilling its duties.”

During the hearing, it was noted that Murat Bircan, a judge who had been a candidate for parliament membership under the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and presided over the Gezi trial, listened to the defenses with a phone in one hand and prayer beads in the other.
The Gezi Trial.

The Çarşı group members had previously been acquitted of charges including “attempting to overthrow the government,” “violating the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations,” and “forming, leading, or joining a terrorist organization.” However, the prosecutor’s appeal led the Court of Cassation’s 16th Criminal Chamber to overturn the decision on March 18, 2021.

The chamber ordered the case to be merged with another Gezi Park-related file at the court. The merged case later included the trial of Osman Kavala and journalist Can Dündar.

On February 21, 2022, the court separated the Çarşı trial from the others, citing the lack of detained defendants and the completion of all defense statements.

The Istanbul 13th Heavy Penal Court Court had accepted an indictment against the Çarşı members in 2014, accusing them of trying to overthrow the government.

The indictment had sought aggravated life sentences for the 35 protesters and also accused them of “membership in an armed group,” “resisting officers of the law,” “staging demonstrations in violation of the law” and “possessing unlicensed weapons.”

All the 35 members had been cleared of charges in a 2015 verdict, but the Court of Cassation overturned the acquittals six years later.

The anti-government Gezi Park protests began in May 2013 in Istanbul over plans to redevelop Taksim Square in the center of the city.

They then snowballed into a nationwide wave of anger against the ruling AKP.

(English version by Ayşenaz Toptaş)