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At the sixth hearing of the Gezi retrial, the court board is expected to hand down its ruling. Following the statements of defendants, the lawyers of the defendants have taken the floor to make statements.

Arrested in the Silivri Prison for 1,634 days, Osman Kavala as well as Mücella Yapıcı, Çiğdem Mater, Ali Hakan Altınay, Mine Özerden, Can Atalay, Tayfun Kahraman and Yiğit Ali Ekmekçi had their sixth hearing in the Gezi trial at the İstanbul 13th High Criminal Court today (April 22).

Osman Kavala was once again not brought to the courtroom, but attended the hearing from prison via the Audio and Visual Information System (SEGBİS). The other defendants were present in the room. 

200 people including representatives from the European Commission, consuls or representatives from European countries, MPs from Turkey, representatives from NGOs and journalists followed the hearing.

The rights defenders on trial are making their last defenses as to the accusations brought against them by Prosecutor Edip Şahiner on March 4.

Altınay: There is not a single piece of evidence

The hearing began with the statement of Hakan Altınay, one of the defendants. He briefly said the following in his last statement:

"I read the prosecution's statements and I was horrified. The prosecution's view repeatedly ignores the many previous judicial decisions, and the most fundamental facts.

"The prosecution claims that I am the chair of the advisory board and the board of directors at Açık Toplum foundation, and I am on the board of directors at Anadolu Kültür foundation. I am not present on both of them.

"For many years, different court delegations have been saying 'we could not find a crime'. I have no duty in these two institutions, I have no signing authority, but still these allegations are being made. It is so easy to lose your mind. How do we determine the truth?

"The prosecutors and judges who tapped my phones were tried for being a member of FETÖ [which is held accountable for staging the July 15 coup] and sentenced. I do not consent to the evidence.

"Who did I incite to crime, which crime tool did I defend? No one can make such accusations without evidence. There is not a single piece of evidence that could be the subject of a criminal case."

Yapıcı: A page of honor in history

Taking the floor afterwards, defendant Mücella Yapıcı said:

The Gezi resistance is the most democratic, creative, egalitarian and most inclusive peaceful mass movement in the history of this country. It has become a symbol of talking and making decisions together and protecting all kinds of life.

"Accusations based on imaginary scenarios, groundless accusations like terrorism, coups and manipulation of foreign powers coupled with the coercion of the judiciary, whose impartiality has become quite questionable, cannot change the historical reality of the Gezi Resistance.

"Though the prosecution claims desperately and repeatedly, there is no internal or external chief, leader, top organization or financier. That is not possible. This claim is against the flow of all events, against logic.

"The Gezi Resistance took place on a very legitimate and constitutional basis, within the framework of democratic rights and freedom of expression, that is the truth. You also know this, because you could not find or create a single evidence or proof to the contrary.

It was not the Taksim Solidarity or the social media calls of individual participants that made the Gezi resistance grow bigger, but the police brutality and the statements of the government at that time, that increased social tension.

"If the events are examined objectively, it is clear that the process evolved very spontaneously, and by itself. In the midst of all that uncertainty and unknowns, it would have been impossible to foresee or organize any instantaneous social reaction, let alone planning beforehand.

"For this reason, considering the forced scenario created to defame the Gezi resistance, we feel obliged to explain again what Taksim Solidarity was, and what happened at that time. Taksim Solidarity is a non-hierarchical structure formed by professional organizations, trade unions, associations and political parties who were against the plan for the Taksim square.

"Taksim Solidarity voiced the feelings of those who wanted to make their voices heard during the Gezi Resistance.

"None of the decisions taken by Taksim Solidarity were taken behind closed doors, we wouldn't do it anyway. No funds were used during Gezi Resistance; none of us had the slightest amount of funds in our pockets. The Gezi Resistance cannot be explained away with funds or money. During the Gezi Resistance, all needs were met in a collaborative fashion.

It is not Taksim Solidarity or these three people who brought together such dissimilar people with such different worldviews together in pluralistic demands; it was the political power at that time.

"The disproportionate use of force against the people was the main provocation. Didn't we learn later that all the police chiefs and managers who directed and administered police in those provocative interventions were members of the Fethullahist gang?

"It is clear that the police chiefs, those who put them in these positions and those who say 'I gave the order' are primarily responsible for the increasing social reactions not only in Taksim but throughout Turkey.

"We reject this lawsuit! We will see the days when those who ruthlessly caused these deaths and injuries of our friends are brought to justice.

"We are aware that you want to make people forget that Gezi is a song that will be part of every resistance on the side of labor, on the side of the poor, on the side of nature, on the side of the oppressed, on the side of the marginalized, on the side of women, on the side of peace.

"Your efforts to defame the Gezi Resistance, which is a page of honor in the history of the country, and the cry for democracy and freedom that is the guarantee of the future of this country, is futile.

"The democracy that will come to this country takes it strength from the echoes of the voices in Gezi, which you were not able to suppress, despite all the oppression and violence."

Özerden: We face the allegations we refuted

Taking the floor afterwards, defendant Mine Özerden asked whether there was any difference between the indictment of which they were previously acquitted and the indictment of the current case.

Özerden noted that prosecutor Şahiner "put forward a summary of the allegations that they had refuted one by one at the previous hearings" of the first Gezi trial which ended in their acquittal. She said:

"It is claimed that I was an intermediary in funding the Gezi Resistance. Such a thing is out of the question. If I had enough money, I would buy the necessary quality gas masks and distribute them to everyone."

Mater: I have never read such a script in my life

After Özerden, Çiğdem Mater spoke:

"2 years after the trial where we had been acquitted, we were faced with the same indictment. I indicated it several times before and we submitted it to the court with documents. The prosecutor's office either did not see the documents or continued to believe in its own truth.

"I am a filmmaker. Some films may be made, some films remain as projects. Cinema is an expensive art. You cannot do this if you cannot find financing. The prosecutor's office alleged that our film was left half finished because the Gezi park protest did not succeed.

"In his indictment, the prosecutor said that we shot a film, he then talked about this and could not find the film. He has never asked me. But if he had asked me, I would have told him that we made films on not successful stories but to leave a witness to history.

"I cannot understand what kind of a timeline is envisioned for Gezi protests in the prosecutor's opinion as to the accusations. There is no temporal overlapping... It was alleged that I attended a meeting at Garaj İstanbul. I did not attend that meeting; I was in İzmir at the time. I presented the evidence as to my tickets to the file, but the prosecutor apparently did not see them. It was said that I turned my office into an infirmary. It is a house.

Based on a meeting that I did not attend, the prosecution office is assuming my intent, and not only that, but also is accusing me of a crime. The legal system of a country cannot do this to its citizens. You can't do this to us ... You cannot act against the Constitution, which you are legally and morally bound by and which you are obliged to defend. As a filmmaker, I read several scripts, but I have never read such a text with such a surprising end."

Atalay: This trial is a political activity

Speaking after Mater, Can Atalay said:

"This is not a trial activity. I do not know you and the judges on the board and I do not have a personal issue, but as someone who is tried under a heavy penalty, I have to say that this is a political activity.

"As the accused we ask that a little respect is shown to us. If you don't respect me, then respect your profession. Mr Edip, you don't have to answer me, but you should answer to yourself.

"You did not bring the Turkish Penal Code from the house of your venerable family. You have to obey this law.

"We will fight together, we will win together. The prosecutor's opinion says "surrender" to us, but actually it is you who should surrender."

Kahraman: You can't make a coup while getting beat up

Defendant Tayfun Kahraman also read the joint statement with Can Atalay and Mücella Yapıcı. In addition, he briefly said:

"As professional chambers, we have to use lawsuits to fight, since a participatory management approach does not exist. But the lawsuits did not help either.

At the beginning we trusted the judiciary when we opened our lawsuit. I together with Mücella Yapıcı and Can Atalay wrote our petition and submitted it to the administrative court.

"We operated within the scope of our duties regarding the Taksim pedestrianization project and the Artillery Barracks. We started to explain the matter to the public. When we were subjected to violence, the conscience of the society took action.

"We are faced with an indictment and opinion based entirely on interpretation. This indictment and opinion do not answer any of the questions to which it cannot find an answer, it simply expresses the allegations.

"There was a decision not to use any funds. If we had used such a fund, our professional chambers would have opened an investigation against us. Although the allegations ignored them, Gezi became the place for citizens who felt a lack of representation.

"Protesting government policies is not overthrowing the government. You can't make a coup while getting beat up. We were beaten up. Today, I am being accused of making a coup because I was beaten up.

"You cannot bring all this together with any money in the world. Taksim Solidarity has only been an interpreter for the masses, and has expressed this in all its meetings with the government."

While Kahraman was making his statement, the court board recessed the hearing. It will continue at 1.45 pm local time in Turkey.

Kavala: Not evidence, but perception

After defendants Tayfun Kahraman and Ali Yiğit Ekmekçi made their statements after the recess, Osman Kavala, who has been behind bars for 1634 days, took the floor via video conference:

"After the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) decision, it was decided that the case be resolved quickly. Unnecessary merged court files were separated. The second indictment expired.

"The second indictment was prepared so that I could be arrested. In order to do this, thousands of people who participated in the Gezi protests are being tried to be defamed.

"Since the Gezi protests took place in front of the public, the conspiracy theory that these protests were a coup attempt was not accepted,and the government did not adopt this conspiracy. Otherwise, why would the Prime Minister meet with those who want to overthrow him?

"No evidence could be shown towards the claim that Gezi was directed from the outside. The claim that I directed the protests spread to 80 provinces is not plausible.

"It is nonsense to claim that I met the financial needs of Gezi, when I went there only with pastries and masks bought from the pharmacy.

"I have been accused of mentoring the protesters. As someone who has worked in non-governmental organizations for 30 years, I share my views with the public and politicians.

"As stated also in the indictment, I attended meetings with government officials, too. No evidence has been shown regarding my support for any criminal act.

"The prevention of the destruction of this park, the cessation of the construction, and keeping the park as it is, a park, has been in the public interest.

"This claim is based on the perception that Soros was the person behind the Arab Spring, not on any evidence obtained as a result of any research. And this is how it was incorporated in the indictment.

"I had no contact with Soros apart from the meetings where he assessed the work of the foundation during his visits to Turkey.

"The fact that he has not spoken to any foundation members other than me and that Soros is not among the defendants in this lawsuit shows that the people who wrote these allegations do not believe them also.

"The fact that a person believed to have played such an important role in the July 15 coup attempt has not been questioned is, in my opinion, a serious neglect of duty - and that is against the nature of the prosecution profession.

"Spending 4.5 years of my life in prison is a nonrecoverable loss for me. The only consolation for me is the possibility that my experiences will contribute to a better understanding of the acute problems in the judiciary."