The lawyer who said 'I reject the president and member of the court who serve with religious symbols' was asked to be punished for two crimes!

The detained defendant Alperen Demirdiş and his lawyer attended the hearing at Ankara 11th High Criminal Court. After the document in the case file was read, Demirdiş, who was given the floor, stated that he did not accept the accusations made against him and argued that his words remained within the scope of defense immunity.

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

THE PROSECUTOR WANTED THE DEFENDANT TO BE PUNISHED

Announcing his opinion on the merits after the defendant's statements, the prosecutor demanded that Demirdiş be punished for "abuse of office" and "publicly insulting the religious values adopted by a segment of the public".

Demirdiş, who requested time to defend against the opinion, also requested that the prosecution be expanded. The defendant's lawyer argued that the indictment was not sufficiently descriptive and requested acquittal.

Announcing its interim decision, the court decided to give Demirdiş time to prepare his defense against the opinion and postponed the hearing to 22 October.

WHAT HAPPENED?

The incident took place at a hearing at Ankara 1st High Criminal Court on May 14, 2024. It was recorded that Demirdiş, the lawyer of a defendant who is on trial for "trafficking or supplying drugs", took the floor at the hearing 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."

In the indictment prepared by the Ankara West Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, it was stated that Demirdiş requested a recusal judge, stating that the head of the court panel and the member judge could not attend the hearing while wearing a headscarf. It was stated that the judge's wearing of a headscarf is not among the "situations in which the judge cannot look" regulated in Article 22 of the Code of Criminal Procedure No. 5271 and the "reasons for the judge's rejection" in Article 24.

A prison sentence of 6 months to 2 years was requested for Demirdiş for "abuse of office" and a prison sentence of 6 months to 1 year for "publicly insulting the religious values ​​adopted by a segment of the public".