University Students Acquitted on 301 Amid MoJ Approval for Trial

10 protestors are acquitted on charges on "insulting Turkishness" as defined on Article 301 of the penal code despite a Ministry of Justice approval for their trial.

All university students, they were taken under custody during a protest in 2007, against the police operation to prisons on December 19th, 2000, which left dozens of political prisoners refusing to move to high security F-type prisons.  

Following harsh criticism from rights defenders as well as international organizations, the government had introduced an amendment to law and required MoJ approval for trials on Article 301 to proceed.

Acquitted during the final hearing yesterday, students Ali Haydar Güneş, Esma Yavuz, Sabit Çiçek, Şahin Kösedağı, Nadide Toker, Ali Bozkına, Can Aydemir Sezer, Atilla Aka, Esra Sönmez and Nihal Samsum faced two years in prison if convicted.

They were accused because of using phrases like "murderer state" and "veterans of December 19". Their lawyers argued that participating in hunger strikes and condemning the prison operations as a "massacre" wouldn't constitute a crime.

Minister of Justice Mehmet ali Şahin recently approved a request of trial for author Temel Demirer, saying "I won't let anybody to blame my state as murderer". Demirer was protesting the neglect of state officials, which allegedly gave way to the murder of journalist Hrant Dink.(EÖ/AGÜ)