RIHA - Writer Mehmet Serhat Polatsoy was imprisoned for a period of time on the grounds of "bomb sack", however he was sentenced to 7 years and 6 months in prison on the grounds of a digital "report" found on an outsider during his imprisonment. 

 

A lawsuit was filed against writer-journalists Mehmet Serhat Polatsoy, Doğan Sayin, Mehmet Ekrem Polatsoy, Şahin Tanrıkulu, Ahmet Geçgel, Müslüm Halhallı and Ayhan Oruç on the grounds of a "bomb sack" allegedly found on 30 April 2013 on the road of Şevran neighbourhood in Pirsûs (Suruç) district of Riha (Urfa). 7 people were charged with "disrupting the unity and integrity of the state", "terrorist organization membership", "possessing dangerous substances without permission" and "terrorist organization propaganda".

 

BOTH ACQUITTAL AND PUNISHMENT

 

Urfa 2nd Assize Court sentenced Mehmet Serhat Polatsoy to 7 years and 6 months for "terrorist organization membership",  5 years 6 months and 20 days for "possession of dangerous substances without permission" and 25 thousand TL fine. Polatsoy was acquitted on the other two counts. 

 

The court sentenced Mustafa Ekrem Polatsoy, Dogan Sayin, Şahin Tanrıkulu and MÜslüm Halhallı to 15 years each for "supplying weapons to terrorist organization". Ahmet Geçgel and Ayhan Oruç were acquitted on the same charge. 

 

The 4th Criminal Chamber of Antep Regional Court of Appeals rejected the appeal filed by the lawyers of the defendants on 12 December 2022. The lawyers of the case then appealed the decision to the Court of Cassation. The 3rd Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation overturned the sentence given to Mehmet Serhat Polatsoy for "unauthorised possession of dangerous substances". The Court of Cassation upheld the verdicts given on other articles. 

 

The sentence given to Polatsoy was based on a digital document in a USB stick found on a person outside during his arrest. The text on the digital document was accepted as Polatsoy's "self-criticism report" and used as a justification for the sentence.

 

BOTH SECRET AND OPEN WITNESS!

 

Commenting on the Court of Cassation's decision, Polatsoy described the events as "a second conspiracy". Stating that there were three people who testified against him in the file, Polatsoy said, "One of them was a person named Midya Necip. The other was a person named Ayhan Oruç, who was shot down. Ayhan was my friend from the neighbourhood. Ayhan testified both under his own name and under the identity of a secret withness named 'Abuzer'. At the first hearing, Ayhan said, 'The statement I gave at the police station does not belong to me'."

 

Polatsoy added that Oruç also said, "I am the secret witness codenamed Abuzer in the indictment, I was psychologically disturbed. All the statements I gave both under the code name 'Ayhan' and 'Abuzer' are lies and false. I am undergoing psychological treatment." Polatsoy said, "I was released in the hearing held in August 2014. I attended all the hearings. The Supreme Court of Appeals had nullified and exposed the conspiracy of the Urfa Security Directorate. The Court of Cassation, which overturned the conspiracy regarding the explosives, upheld the 'membership of an organisation' sentence. The Court of Cassation had made a rather forced approval. The justified verdict states 'Considering the self-criticism report he wrote to the organisation while in prison and the entire file scope...'."

 

'NOT A SINGLE CONCRETE EVIDENCE'

 

Pointing to the "self-criticism report" on the USB stick that was used as a justification for the sentence, Polatsoy said, "I was writing a report in prison and this report was seized by the security forces during a road check. There is no such self-criticism that I wrote, it never happened. First of all, it is not my handwriting that is presented as evidence. Let's leave that aside, what is presented as evidence is a digital data. How can a 'terrorist organization membership' sentence be approved based on a digital data? It boggles the mind. I am not a member of any organisation. However, I am a sociologist who adheres to the ideas of Mr Abdullah Öcalan, the architect of democratic confederalism. I am a Kurdish patriot, a socialist."

 

MA / Emrullah Acar