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Turkish Appeals Court Overturns Acquittal in Gezi Trial

Riot police officers run after demonstrators on Istiklal Street in central Istanbul July 13, 2013, to disperse hundreds of protesters who gathered to march to Gezi Park. (Reuters)
Riot police officers run after demonstrators on Istiklal Street in central Istanbul July 13, 2013, to disperse hundreds of protesters who gathered to march to Gezi Park. (Reuters)
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Turkish Appeals Court Overturns Acquittal in Gezi Trial

Riot police officers run after demonstrators on Istiklal Street in central Istanbul July 13, 2013, to disperse hundreds of protesters who gathered to march to Gezi Park. (Reuters)
Riot police officers run after demonstrators on Istiklal Street in central Istanbul July 13, 2013, to disperse hundreds of protesters who gathered to march to Gezi Park. (Reuters)

A Turkish appeals court on Friday overturned the acquittal of nine people, including philanthropist Osman Kavala, in a case related to nationwide protests in 2013, according to court documents seen by Reuters.

The case had ended with the surprise acquittal of nine defendants last February due to insufficient evidence. The trial was followed closely by Turkey’s Western allies and rights groups, who said it was symbolic of what they saw as a crackdown on dissent under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The total of 16 defendants in the case were accused of organizing and spreading the 2013 Gezi protests. The cases of seven defendants who did not attend the hearings were separated and their trial continues.

Court documents showed the appeals court had ruled on Friday to overturn the acquittal and sent the case back to the lower court.

Among the reasons for overturning the acquittal, the court said some evidence had not been included in the reasoning for the verdict, and that a second case against Kavala should also be considered while ruling in the Gezi case.

The demonstrations in 2013 saw hundreds of thousands march in Istanbul and elsewhere in Turkey against plans approved by then-premier Erdogan to build a replica Ottoman barracks in the city’s Gezi Park.

Critics say Turkey’s judiciary has been exploited to punish Erdogan’s perceived opponents. The president and his AK Party say the courts make independent decisions.

Among those acquitted last year was philanthropist businessman Kavala, who was accused of financing the protests. He has remained in jail over charges related to a failed coup attempt in 2016 despite the European Court of Human Rights calling for his release.

After the acquittal, Erdogan said the protests were a “heinous attack” aimed at the state. He said the court had “set out to acquit (Kavala) with a maneuver”, adding that the second arrest order must be respected.

All defendants in the Gezi trial deny the charges. Kavala also denies the charges related to the coup attempt.

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UN Chief and Pope Call for Nations to End the Use of Antipersonnel Land Mines

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during a press conference at the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, 21 November 2024. (EPA)
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during a press conference at the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, 21 November 2024. (EPA)
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UN Chief and Pope Call for Nations to End the Use of Antipersonnel Land Mines

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during a press conference at the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, 21 November 2024. (EPA)
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during a press conference at the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, 21 November 2024. (EPA)

The UN head, Pope Francis and others called Monday for nations to end the production and use of land mines, even as their deployment globally grows.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a message to delegates at the fifth review of the International Mine Ban Treaty, also known as the Ottawa Convention, that 25 years after it went into force some parties had renewed the use of antipersonnel mines and some are falling behind in their commitments to destroy the weapons.

“I call on states parties to meet their obligations and ensure compliance to the convention, while addressing humanitarian and developmental impacts through financial and technical support,” Guterres said at the opening of the conference in Cambodia.

“I also encourage all states that have not yet acceded to the convention to join the 164 that have done so. A world without anti-personnel mines is not just possible. It is within reach.”

In a statement read on behalf of Pope Francis, his deputy Cardinal Pietro Parolin said that antipersonnel land mines and victim-activated explosive devices continue to be used. Even after many years of hostilities, “these treacherous devices continue to cause terrible suffering to civilians, especially children.”

“Pope Francis urges all states that have not yet done so to accede to the convention, and in the meantime to cease immediately the production and use of land mines,” he said.

The treaty was signed in 1997 and went into force in 1999, but nearly three dozen countries have not acceded to it, including some key current and past producers and users of land mines such as the United States, China, India, Pakistan, South Korea and Russia.

In a report released last week by Landmine Monitor, the international watchdog said land mines were still actively being used in 2023 and 2024 by Russia, Myanmar, Iran and North Korea. It added that non-state armed groups in at least five places — Colombia, India, Myanmar, Pakistan and the Gaza Strip — had used mines as well, and there were claims of their use in more than a half dozen countries in or bordering the Sahel region of Africa.

At least 5,757 people were killed and wounded by land mines and unexploded ordnance last year, primarily civilians of whom a third were children, Landmine Monitor reported.

Landmine Monitor said Russia had been using antipersonnel mines “extensively” in Ukraine, and just a week ago, the US, which has been providing Ukraine with anti-tank mines throughout the war, announced it would start providing Kyiv with antipersonnel mines as well to try and stall Russian progress on the battlefield.

“Antipersonnel mines represent a clear and present danger for civilians,” Guterres said in his statement. “Even after fighting stops, these horrifying and indiscriminate weapons can remain, trapping generations of people in fear.”

He praised Cambodia for its massive demining efforts and for sharing its experience with others and contributing to UN peacekeeping missions.

Cambodia was one of the world's most mine-affected countries after three decades of war and disorder that ended in 1998, with some 4 million to 6 million mines or unexploded munitions littering the country.

Its efforts to rid the country of mines has been enormous, and Landmine Monitor said Cambodia and Croatia accounted for 75% of all land cleared of mines in 2023, with more than 200 square kilometers (80 square miles).

Prime Minister Hun Manet joined the calls for more nations to join the Mine Ban Treaty, and thanked the international community for supporting Cambodia's mine clearance efforts. He said they have reduced land mine casualties from more than 4,300 in 1996 to fewer than 100 annually over the last decade.

“Cambodia has turned its tragic history into a powerful lesson for the world, advocating against the use of anti-personnel mines and highlighting their long-term consequences,” he said.