FESTUS OKEY TRIAL
Police Officer Faces 6 Years in Prison
At the 15th hearing of the trial related to the violent death of Nigerian refugee Festus Okey, the prosecutor demanded a prison sentence of up to six years for police officer Cengiz Yıdlız.
Okey was shot in the Beyoğlu (central Istanbul) Police Centre on 20 August 2007. The corresponding trial was postponed for four years because the court waited for documents to determine Okey's identity
The hearing was held before the 21st High Criminal Court at the Çağlayan Istanbul Courthouse on Thursday (17 November). Prosecutor Mehmet Nuri Gür demanded prison terms of between three and six years on charges of "negligent homicide" for un-detained defendant Yıldlız.
The request of Okey's brother for joint plaintiff status was rejected by court because the family relationship could not be ascertained unobjectionably. The case was adjourned to 13 December.
Okey has got official attorneys at last
The Immigrant Solidarity Network issued a statement before the Thursday hearing. The network criticized that the court waited for the identity documents of Festus Okey for years and years while nobody talked about the erasure of the camera footage belonging to the police station the murder happened at and not about the lack of evidence influencing the course of the trial either.
"The lawyers are going to submit to court the letter of attorney given by the family of Festus Okey. The prosecutor will present his final plea in this session. Finally, the official attorneys of Festus Okey and his family who cannot be rejected by court will counter the attitude demonstrated by the court as a manifestation of discriminatory and ignorant policies against immigrants.
It was said in the statement that the network was going to follow the Okey trial up since it was impossible to remain silent on the alarming discrimination applied against immigrants. The Immigrant Solidarity Network called for an investigation into the situation that caused Okey's death. They also demanded to identify the perpetrators and punish them.
Request for joint plaintiff status rejected
The Immigration Solidarity Network has been observing the trial since 4 November 2010. The request for joint plaintiff status made by the network was dismissed by court. Instead, an investigation was launched about the organization under allegations of "insult" and the "attempt to influence a fair trial".
One hundred individuals applied for joint plaintiff status and so did the Istanbul and Ankara Bar Associations, the Contemporary Lawyers Association, the Human Rights Association, the Helsinki Citizens Assembly, the Freedom to Earth Association and the Association for Solidarity with Refugees (Mülteci-Der). All of their requests were dismissed. (NV/VK)
