The retrial of 30 members of the Confederation of Public Workers’ Unions (KESK), who were convicted of “terrorist organization membership” due to the protests they participated in in Izmir, was concluded after the Constitutional Court’s decree of violation. Izmir 12th Assize Court issued a verdict of acquittal for all the defendants as a result of the trial that lasted for 13 years.
What had happened?
KESK executives and members were arrested in 2009 on the allegation that they were “illegal organisation members” and a lawsuit was filed against them. In the trial, 30 defendants were sentenced to various sentences and the decision was upheld by the Supreme Court. Evaluating the application, the Constitutional Court stated that the meetings and demonstrations attended by the defendants could not be a reason for the charge of membership of an armed organization alone and ruled that the trial be reopened.
15.10.2021
bianet.org