Torture video airs in trial on Çeber killing
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hürriyet
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Nisan 17, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - An Istanbul court hearing the case of the controversial death of a political activist in jail was shown video footage of events that occurred while he was in detention.
Engin Çeber was arrested Sept. 28 for protesting police brutality in the case of Ferhat Gerçek. Gerçek, 19, was shot by police in 2007 while he was selling a leftist journal and was subsequently paralyzed. Çeber was held for one night in a police station, charged with resisting police and then put in Istanbul’s Metris Prison pending trial.
Çeber died Oct. 10 at the age of 29 after being hospitalized in a coma. An official medical report said Çeber sustained "severe blows" that caused fatal brain hemorrhage.
Çeber’s family filed a complaint that he was killed as a result of guard violence when he was in prison.
On Wednesday, the Bakirköy 14th branch of the Court for Serious Crimes, where the case is being heard, was shown a portion of eight DVD and 17 VCD recordings from the police station and prison. Çeber’s sister, Şerife, and mother, Kamile Tekin, broke down in tears when they saw the footage in court. Officials from Metris Prison were also present. Two video specialists and a lip reading specialist were also present at the session.
The footage showed Çeber, Özgür Karakaya, Cihan Gün and Aysu Baykal resisting officers by remaining seated while their fingerprints were being taken. They also resisted having their photos taken. In the video, Gün says he has been mistreated and points to his torn jacket. The rest of the footage was not available because the CD was defective. Footage from Metris Prison showed Çeber being taken to a hospital on a stretcher on Oct. 7 at 9 a.m.
’We can’t testify’
Two inmates who said they had seen Çeber being tortured said they did not want to testify. "My detention is continuing. I have worries. I am still talking to prison authorities and other inmates," said Aşkiner Koçak, one of the witnesses. The other witness, Hacı Koçak, refused to testify on similar grounds.
A total of 60 officials are standing trial in this case, and their lawyers sought their immediate release saying the video footage showed no mistreatment and there was no evidence. The court, however, said the accused should remain in custody and asked the experts to analyze the footage within a month. The hearing was set to reconvene June 8.
Meanwhile Çeber’s sister alleged that she was harassed by one of the prison guards who has not been detained as part of the investigation.
Following this accusation, chaotic scenes broke out in the courtroom and both sides hurled accusations at one other. The prison guard in question was taken to a police station and then to the prosecutor’s office, which decided to release him.
Çeber died Oct. 10 at the age of 29 after being hospitalized in a coma. An official medical report said Çeber sustained "severe blows" that caused fatal brain hemorrhage.
Çeber’s family filed a complaint that he was killed as a result of guard violence when he was in prison.
On Wednesday, the Bakirköy 14th branch of the Court for Serious Crimes, where the case is being heard, was shown a portion of eight DVD and 17 VCD recordings from the police station and prison. Çeber’s sister, Şerife, and mother, Kamile Tekin, broke down in tears when they saw the footage in court. Officials from Metris Prison were also present. Two video specialists and a lip reading specialist were also present at the session.
The footage showed Çeber, Özgür Karakaya, Cihan Gün and Aysu Baykal resisting officers by remaining seated while their fingerprints were being taken. They also resisted having their photos taken. In the video, Gün says he has been mistreated and points to his torn jacket. The rest of the footage was not available because the CD was defective. Footage from Metris Prison showed Çeber being taken to a hospital on a stretcher on Oct. 7 at 9 a.m.
’We can’t testify’
Two inmates who said they had seen Çeber being tortured said they did not want to testify. "My detention is continuing. I have worries. I am still talking to prison authorities and other inmates," said Aşkiner Koçak, one of the witnesses. The other witness, Hacı Koçak, refused to testify on similar grounds.
A total of 60 officials are standing trial in this case, and their lawyers sought their immediate release saying the video footage showed no mistreatment and there was no evidence. The court, however, said the accused should remain in custody and asked the experts to analyze the footage within a month. The hearing was set to reconvene June 8.
Meanwhile Çeber’s sister alleged that she was harassed by one of the prison guards who has not been detained as part of the investigation.
Following this accusation, chaotic scenes broke out in the courtroom and both sides hurled accusations at one other. The prison guard in question was taken to a police station and then to the prosecutor’s office, which decided to release him.