Observing the Kobanî case

In a hall the size of a football field with the capacity for over 1000 seats, we listen to the defense of Ayla Akat Ata. She is amongst one of the many accused, and a former MP. For tweeting in Kurdish, she is accused of Kurdish terrorist propaganda. She is also accused of many other things that were merged together in her file, even though she has no connection to them. Her lawyers go through slide by slide of scanned documents and photos to share what they believe should be removed from her case. 

Not all defendants are in Ankara, and only 3 or 4 are in court today. Others can follow online. Our translator explains how this court room is actually within a prison were some are held. This court room is only used for this case, and it continues almost every day. They bring different groups on different days as observers to show solidarity. As it takes around an hour to drive to the court from Ankara, there is no access for any demonstrations or protests outside.

Regarding how the defendants are housed, they explain how often they are placed far from their families. Demirtaş for example is 26 hours by bus away from Diyarbakir where his family lives. This means they can only visit him once every 3 or 6 months. The defendants are only allowed to be visited by their family and lawyers. Additionally, 2 other people can apply to visit, but they would have to go through a bureaucratic security check which is never successful. The defendants are facing a collective 3000 years in prison.

When the defendants turn to face us, some 30 metres between us they smile, they wave, show peace with their fingers or raise their fist, they shout “Hoşgeldiniz. Teşekkürler.” and “Hoch die internationale Solidarität!”. It is impossible to follow everything that is being said during the case, and we are not here to. We are here to show solidarity and remind them that the international community is supporting and paying attention.