Emine Akman Released
The 7th hearing of Emine Akman case - a communications major in Marmara University who has been charged with “being a terrorist organization member” and “keeping or transferring explosives” and a prison term up to 21 years - has been held in Istanbul’s Çağlayan Courthouse this morning. Emine Akman has been arrested on August 14, 2011.
Prior to the hearing, activists from Solidarity Initiative with Jailed Students (TÖDİ) attempted to make a statement on the steps of the courthouse - an attempt that was blocked by the police.
In return, the police suggested that activist make their statement in the empty area adjacent to the court - a suggestion that activists refused this time.
While the initiative protested the police blockage, applouding activists entered the courthouse after a statement that demanded freedom and justice to Emine Akman.
Emine Akman did not perform a defense at the hearing, as she did so in Kurdish the previous hearing. Hüseyin Boğatekin, her lawyer, did the defense on the essence. The court announced its decision following the defense.
Although sentencing Akman to 3 years and 1 month and 15 days of prison for being “an illegal organization member”, 4 years and 2 months of prison for transferring explosives, Istanbul 5th High Criminal Court released university student Emine Akman, considering her 21 month arrest period. The court also issued a 6 days of judicial fine penalty, judiciary control measures and international travel ban.
What happened?
On14 August 2011 a group of protestors attacked a supermarket in Ataşehir, Istanbul with molotov cocktails and put barricades on the street. The group, allegedly 25 people, dissembled after police arrived to the scene.
Police attacked and detained Akman, a pedestrian on the street who was walking to meet a friend nearby the area. Akman was charged with “committing a crime for an organization while not being a member” and jailed at Bakırköy Woman and Juvenile Prison.
Akman complaint that she was put through insults and harassment under police detention. “I was subjected to torture,” she said. A court dropped charges despite a report confirmed by Turkey’s official Forensics Institute.
The only evidence that Akman might be involved in the incident was a photograph. On the first hearing, Akman’s lawyer requested the court to send the photograph to Forensics Institute for identification - a suggestion that was rejected by the court.
On the forth hearing, the prosecutor announced the indictment, charging Akman for 11 years of prison.
During 21 months of prison, Akman’s life has been interrupted, as she failed 3 of her online courses due to lack of internet access in prison. She also started taking philosophy courses through distance learning at Anadolu University.
In a letter she wrote to bianet, she claimed that she was considered ‘absent’ in the exams that she attended from prison and she would only lose a semester if that mistake was fixed. She also claimed that some officials explained the reason why she was not taken to oral exams: “Because I was reportedly posing a treat to campus security!”
On the fifth hearing of the trial, the court accepted her request to defense in Kurdish and the additional time to find a translator.
On the sixth hearing, she had her defense in Kurdish. (AS/BK/BM)