Court Convicts Student for Throwing Egg at EU Minister

A court in the Aegean province of İzmir sentenced university student E.Ç. to five months behind bars for throwing an egg at European Union (EU) Minister and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bağış. The court then suspended the sentence, however.

E.Ç. had thrown an egg at EU Minister Bağış while he was delivering a speech during the commencement of Danish artist Nina Hole's work, the "Burning Statue," at Ege University on Dec. 8, 2011.

Student A.D. had also shouted "Piss off AKP (Justice and Development Party;) universities belong to us" during the incident.

Law enforcement officials consequently took E.Ç. and A.D. under custody. Authorities later released A.D. after he testified at the prosecutor's office, while E.Ç. was released pending trial.

The prosecutor had requested up to five years of imprisonment for E.Ç. on the charge of "intentionally injuring a civil servant" on the assumption that the egg constituted a "weapon." He also laid the charge of "insult" against A.D. with a demand for two years in prison for the student, according to a news story that appeared on the website of the broadcasting station CNNTürk.

"My protest [represents] an individual act against the political pressure exerted by the AKP. I wanted to criticize the AKP's policies and its pressure on universities across Turkey. I did not act on behalf of any organization," A.D. said.

E.Ç. also said he had thrown the egg randomly without picking any targets and that the lights at the place of the incident were quite dim.

"My aim behind the act [was to protest] the AKP's policies across Turkey  and in relation to universities. I did not act against the person or the character of Minister Bağış. The fact that the egg struck this person is merely a coincidence. I threw the egg in reaction to his party and the ideology he advocates. I never thought the minister would be injured. I reject the charge of intentional injury," he said.

The court then sentenced E.Ç. to five months in prison on the charge of "intentionally injuring a civil servant" but then suspended the sentence. A.D., on the other hand, was acquitted. (EKN)