The Istanbul 39th Penal Court of First Instance acquitted 20 relatives of the disappeared people and human rights defenders who were charged with attempting to hold an illegal demonstration in 2023. The defendants attended an event to mark the 950th gathering of the Saturday Mothers/People.

The Court ruled on Friday that none of the defendants had committed any criminal offense and cleared all charges against them.

Speaking in court, a defendant, Cüneyt Yılmaz, recounted how police assaulted and detained them without any prior warning. "As we were walking towards Galatasaray Square, the police attacked us and took us into custody. We reject the accusations against us," Yılmaz told Mezopotamya Agency (MA).

Another defendant, Hünkar Hüda Tanrıverdi, said: "At the police station, they asked us, 'Who gave you permission to hold this demonstration?' But the right to peaceful assembly is protected by the constitution, and we don’t need anyone's permission for it."

Background

Several prominent figures from the Saturday Mothers movement, which has been seeking justice for those who disappeared in custody, mostly in Kurdish regions, since 1995, were among the defendants.

Among those acquitted were Ali Ocak, Ali Tosun, Besna Tosun, Cüneyt Yılmaz, Hanife Yıldız, Hasan Karakoç, Hatice Korkmaz, Hünkar Hüdai Yurtsever, İkbal Yarıcı, İrfan Bilge, İsmail Yücel, Leman Yurtsever, Maside Ocak, Meryem Pars, Mikail Kırbayır, Mukaddes Şamiloğlu, Selvi Gülmez, Oya Meriç Eyüboğlu, Saime Sebla Ercan, and Ümmügülsüm Aylin Tekiner.

The Saturday Mothers began in 1995, and is made up of relatives of people who were forcibly disappeared while in state custody. The group has held weekly protests in Istanbul’s Galatasaray Square, demanding that the government investigate the disappearances and prosecute those responsible.

In 2018, then-Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu banned the 700th-week demonstration at Galatasaray Square, and the police intervened, detaining several participants. Since then, authorities have prevented the group from holding demonstrations in the square, blocking access with police barriers.

The ban was challenged in the Constitutional Court, which ruled that the prohibition violated the group’s right to peaceful assembly. Despite the ruling, police once again intervened during the group's 950th-week demonstration in June 2023, detaining 20 participants. The case brought against them concluded with this week’s acquittals.