11 people face prison sentence for cutting trees to see Leander's Tower

* Photo: Pixabay

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11 people face up to 7 years in prison on charge of "harming planted trees, saplings or vine shoots" on the grounds that they allegedly had the trees at a park in İstanbul's Üsküdar cut without permission.

The İstanbul Anadolu Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has completed the investigation against the people who cut trees with a saw across the Leander's Tower (Kız Kulesi, also Maiden's Tower) in mid-March.

The indictment has cited the Üsküdar District Municipality as the "aggrieved party" and 11 people as "suspects".

According to the indictment, defendants and siblings Fatma Gamze S. and Mehmet Alp S. decided to have the trees at a park along the Harem Coastal Road in Salacak Neighborhood in İstanbul's Üsküdar cut on the grounds that they were blocking their view from home and disturbing them. The two asked Özden Ö. for help to have the trees cut.

The indictment has moved on to recount that Özden Ö. then made a deal with Şevki C. to make him cut the trees for money via defendants Davut Ç., Vedat Ç. and Oğuzhan Ö. According to the indictment, on March 16, Şevki C. came to the scene of the incident with Muhammed C., Selçuk Ö. and Melisa B. and three trees were cut with a chainsaw on that day.

Upon tip-offs, the defendants who fled the scene were caught after a while and five chainsaws were seized during the search.

The indictment has noted that on March 21, six more trees were cut in the same place and a person named H.K. reported the incident a day later, saying that s/he had seen the trees being cut.

Defendant Muhammed C. gave his statement about the incident and said that he was called from a private number. According to the defendant, the person on the phone told him, "There are trees across the Leander's Tower, they block the front of my house. Would you cut them for 750 lira?" Muhammed C. accepted this offer and cut the trees, he said in his statement.

In the ensuing investigation, it was detected that trees were cut at two different dates and it was indicated that defendants Şevki C, Melisa B., Selçuk Ö. and Muhammed C., acting together, undertook the cutting.

Noting that defendants Oğuzhan Ö., Vedat Ç., Davut Ç. and Özden Ö. also mediated for the committal of the crime for gain, the indictment has said that Sedat Ç., Fatma Gamze S. and Mehmet Alp S. decided to have the trees cut and made this happen by giving money.

The indictment has demanded that seven defendants be sentenced to 1 year, 3 months in prison each for "harming a planted tree, sapling or vine shoot" and four defendants be sentenced to 7 months, 15 days to 3 years, 6 months in prison for "assistance to crime."

The indictment has been accepted by the İstanbul Anadolu 62nd Criminal Court of First Instance. The trial will begin in the upcoming days. (HA/SD)