The second hearing of the case regarding the death of the stray dog Cabbar, who was shot and paralyzed in Sarıyer, Istanbul, on January 26, 2025, and died weeks later, was held today. The court postponed the hearing to January 5, 2027. On the other hand, the defendant argued at the last hearing that he shot at the ground to protect his wife and that the bullet might have ricocheted.
Speaking to Cumhuriyet after the hearing, Lawyer Hacer Gizem Karataş, Member of the Animal Rights Commission of the Istanbul Bar Association, said, "An extremely important issue has now been clearly revealed with the expert report entered into the file after the previous hearing. The expert examined the footage and revealed that there was no sign of Cabbar making any attack, tending to attack, or intending to attack. In other words, there is absolutely no dog attack. It is clear that the defendant used the claim that he was attacked only as a defense to get rid of the crime he committed." "It is visible," he said.
"However, what happened today was quite thought-provoking in terms of the course of the file," added Karataş, reminding that the Istanbul Bar Association's request for participation had been rejected before, and said, "Today, our colleagues presented many precedent decisions stating that the requests for participation in similar files were accepted. Despite this, the Istanbul Bar Association's request for participation was rejected once again." "In addition, we, as the lawyers of the animal volunteers, submitted our power of attorney and requested to participate in the case," said Karataş, adding, "The volunteers in question are the people who looked after Cabbar, had his chip procedures done, covered all his care and treatment expenses, cleaned his diaper after he was paralyzed, took care of him, fed him food with their hands, and witnessed the pain he experienced personally. Their request to participate was rejected by the judge on the grounds that these people, who followed Cabbar's struggle for life most closely and worked for him, did not suffer any material or moral damage." he said. Stating that the judge stated that he would ask the Istanbul Provincial Directorate of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry whether they would submit a petition to participate in the case, Karataş said, "However, the Ministry's attorney was not present at the hearing. There was only his power of attorney in the file. He neither attended the hearing nor submitted an excuse for not being able to attend. Moreover, there was no comprehensive petition in the file regarding the request to participate in the case."
Without an effective authority representing Cabbar and defending his rights; Pointing out that the process was proceeding in the presence of only the defendant and the defendant's defense counsel, Karataş said, "We clearly asked the following question at the hearing: Who will represent this animal? We requested that a criminal complaint be filed against the Ministry representative within the scope of negligence of duty because he did not attend the hearing and did not give any excuse. However, this request was not accepted either. All the demands we submitted and expressed today were rejected." Stating that they are waiting for the next hearing, Karataş said, "Let's see if the representative of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry will attend the hearing this time? Will he follow the file and take responsibility for the protection of Cabbar's rights?" posed the question. Stating that they have serious concerns that a fair decision may not be made, Karataş said, "Still, we will not give up fighting for Cabbar. We will follow the file to the end and continue to defend his rights and his quest for justice. Because people who can be the voice of Cabbar will not remain silent in this file."
