Opinion announced about the lawyer who rejected the headscarved judge

At the hearing at Ankara 11th High Criminal Court, the detained defendant Demirdiş and his lawyer were present.

After reading the documents in the file, the presiding judge promised the defendant to make his defense.

Demirdiş stated that he had no intention of the accusations made against him and that he did not accept the accusations, and that his words in the file were within the scope of defense immunity.

Arguing that the damage element was not fully disclosed in the indictment, Demirdiş stated that he could make a detailed defense if the damage element was disclosed.

Following the statements, the public prosecutor announced his opinion on the merits and demanded that the defendant be punished for the crimes of "abuse of office" and "publicly insulting the religious values ​​adopted by a segment of the public".

Alperen Demirdiş, the defendant who was promised to be released from custody, requested time and extension of the prosecution to defend against the opinion on the merits.

The defendant's lawyer also stated that the indictment was not informative and that there was no explanation in the indictment about how his client's statements at the relevant hearing disturbed the public peace and requested his client's acquittal.

After the statements, the court made its interim decision and accepted the defendant's request for time to defend against the opinion on the merits and postponed the hearing to 22 October.

From the indictment

In the indictment prepared by the Ankara West Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, at the hearing held at the Ankara 1st High Criminal Court on May 14, 2024, Demirdiş, the lawyer of the defendant detained in the "drug trafficking or supply" file, took the floor and said, "The Republic of Turkey is a secular state of law. The independence of the court is guaranteed in the Constitution. I reject the president and member of the court who serve with religious symbols." It was stated that he used the expressions.

In the indictment, which recorded that Demirdiş requested a recusal on the grounds that the president of the court panel and the member judge could not appear at the hearing wearing a headscarf, it was stated that the judge's wearing of a headscarf was not among the situations listed in the 22nd and 24th articles titled "situations that the judge cannot look at" and "reasons for the judge's rejection" in the Code of Criminal Procedure No. 5271.

In the indictment, Demirdiş was asked to be imprisoned for 6 months to 2 years for the crime of "abuse of office" and for 6 months to 1 year for the crime of "publicly insulting the religious values ​​adopted by a segment of the public".