The Istanbul 61st Criminal Court of First Instance acquitted 109 of the 110 people on trial for participating in the Saraçhane protests. In its ruling, the court emphasized that the right to assembly and demonstration had been violated, citing Article 34 of the Constitution of the Republic of Turkey and Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The ruling stated that the actions were peaceful in nature and did not constitute a crime. Only one defendant’s case was separated in the trial. The Saraçhane protests began in March following the arrest of Ekrem İmamoğlu and lasted for days.
October 31, 2025
MLSA Turkey
