Student on trial for wearing Palestinian scarf stays in jail
Student on trial for wearing Palestinian scarf stays in jail
The fifth hearing at the trial of student Cihan Kýrmýzýgül ended with the boy sent to prison once again. He has been detained some 20 months ago. He is accused of being a member of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party). The "strongest" evidence is the Palestinian scarf he was wearing when he was taken into custody.
BDP co-chair Selahattin Demirtaþ on Wednesday participated to the demonstration in solidarity with the student.
"I am here - the BDP MP said - to turn myself in. The thousands of Kurdish politicians, students, activists currently in prison are accused of "crimes" and actions which I do everyday. Therefore - he added - if they are "criminals", than so am I".
Referring to the students currently in prison, Demirtaþ said that "The youth councils of the BDP are treated as terrorists by prosecutors, and intellectuals are thrown in prison."
It was the fifth hearing yesterday for Kýrmýzýgül. At the four previous hearings, the former prosecutor requested his release on “lack of evidence,” but the new prosecutor is asking for a prison sentence of up to 45 years.
The young student has been in prison for 20 months. The story is incredible and yet even more painful as details unravel. Cihan Kýrmýzýgül had just left his friend's house in February 2010. He was making his way home and stopped at the bus stop, unaware of what would have shortly after fallen upon him. Indeed in the same area, Çaðlayan, a group of people had thrown Molotov cocktails to an empty supermarket.
Eye witnesses to the incident told the police the youngsters were wearing keffiyeh, the traditional Arab headdress made from a square black and white piece of cloth.
Cihan Kýrmýzýgül was waiting for the bus and he was wearing a keffiyeh around his neck. Two plus two equals four and the police had their 'guilty'. The next thing the young university student waiting for a bus to take him home after a day spent with a friend knew was that he found himself in prison accused of having thrown molotov cocktails.
Indeed the police stated that he was arrested because "he might have been part of the incident".
The student was taken before the Beþiktaþ (Istanbul) 14th High Criminal Special Authority Court. The prosecutor demanded his release, but he was arrested on the grounds of allegedly having thrown a Molotov cocktail on 21 February. Kýrmýzýgül was brought to the Tekirdað No.2 F Type Prison.
The 23-year-old student is one of four children of a family that migrated from Adýyaman in south-eastern Anatolia to Adana on the eastern Mediterranean coast. He had won a place at the Galatasaray University Department of Industrial Engineering and he moved to Istanbul to attend the university.
When he was arrested 20 months ago Kýrmýzýgül was in his second year. He lost some 30 kilos while in prison and now he has to defend himself from the charge of being a "member of an organization" and "harming private property".
Some 500 high school and university students are currently on trial for “membership of a terror organization.”
BDP co-chair Selahattin Demirtaþ on Wednesday participated to the demonstration in solidarity with the student.
"I am here - the BDP MP said - to turn myself in. The thousands of Kurdish politicians, students, activists currently in prison are accused of "crimes" and actions which I do everyday. Therefore - he added - if they are "criminals", than so am I".
Referring to the students currently in prison, Demirtaþ said that "The youth councils of the BDP are treated as terrorists by prosecutors, and intellectuals are thrown in prison."
It was the fifth hearing yesterday for Kýrmýzýgül. At the four previous hearings, the former prosecutor requested his release on “lack of evidence,” but the new prosecutor is asking for a prison sentence of up to 45 years.
The young student has been in prison for 20 months. The story is incredible and yet even more painful as details unravel. Cihan Kýrmýzýgül had just left his friend's house in February 2010. He was making his way home and stopped at the bus stop, unaware of what would have shortly after fallen upon him. Indeed in the same area, Çaðlayan, a group of people had thrown Molotov cocktails to an empty supermarket.
Eye witnesses to the incident told the police the youngsters were wearing keffiyeh, the traditional Arab headdress made from a square black and white piece of cloth.
Cihan Kýrmýzýgül was waiting for the bus and he was wearing a keffiyeh around his neck. Two plus two equals four and the police had their 'guilty'. The next thing the young university student waiting for a bus to take him home after a day spent with a friend knew was that he found himself in prison accused of having thrown molotov cocktails.
Indeed the police stated that he was arrested because "he might have been part of the incident".
The student was taken before the Beþiktaþ (Istanbul) 14th High Criminal Special Authority Court. The prosecutor demanded his release, but he was arrested on the grounds of allegedly having thrown a Molotov cocktail on 21 February. Kýrmýzýgül was brought to the Tekirdað No.2 F Type Prison.
The 23-year-old student is one of four children of a family that migrated from Adýyaman in south-eastern Anatolia to Adana on the eastern Mediterranean coast. He had won a place at the Galatasaray University Department of Industrial Engineering and he moved to Istanbul to attend the university.
When he was arrested 20 months ago Kýrmýzýgül was in his second year. He lost some 30 kilos while in prison and now he has to defend himself from the charge of being a "member of an organization" and "harming private property".
Some 500 high school and university students are currently on trial for “membership of a terror organization.”
