Since 27 May 1995, the Saturday Mothers/People have gathered every Saturday at Galatasaray Square for a sit-in and press statement, demanding information about the fate and whereabouts of their relatives who were forcibly disappeared and calling for those responsible to be brought to justice. Police intervened in their 700th weekly gathering.
The 700th gathering, held on 25 August 2018, was banned by the Beyoğlu District Governorate. Police dispersed the gathering using pepper spray and detained numerous relatives of the disappeared. Commenting on the police intervention, then Minister of the Interior Süleyman Soylu said: “We did not allow it because we wanted to put an end to this exploitation and deception. Should we have turned a blind eye to motherhood being exploited by a terrorist organisation and used as a cover for terrorism?”
Following the decision to prevent the Saturday Mothers/People from gathering at Galatasaray Square, criminal proceedings were brought against them before the Istanbul 21st Criminal Court of First Instance. They were charged with “participating, while unarmed, in an unlawful meeting or demonstration and failing to disperse despite a warning” under the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations.
Before the first hearing on 25 March 2021, a press statement was delivered outside the Istanbul Courthouse in Çağlayan. Because of the large number of people attending, the hearing was held in the courtroom of the Istanbul 33rd Assize Court rather than the Istanbul 21st Criminal Court of First Instance. At the start of the hearing, the defence requested the defendants’immediate acquittal, but the court rejected the request. After hearing the defendants and their lawyers, the prosecutor submitted an opinion on the merits, requesting that the remaining witnesses be heard and the defence submissions be completed.
The second hearing on 12 July 2021 was marked by considerable tension. The presiding judge repeatedly interrupted the defendants and their lawyers while they were speaking. Objections to these interruptions led to a dispute, after which CHP Member of Parliament Mahmut Tanal was denied entry to the courtroom. The defence filed motions for the recusal of the presiding judge, but the requests were rejected and the hearing continued. As tensions persisted, the presiding judge left the courtroom. The defendants, their lawyers, and those attending the hearing in solidarity also left. The court’s interim rulings were then read out in an empty courtroom.
The hearing on 24 November 2021 was moved to an Assize Court courtroom, but there was still not enough space for the defendants, their lawyers, and members of the public attending the proceedings. Citing the risks posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the defence requested an adjournment, arguing that the hearing could not be conducted safely in the designated courtroom. The defence also noted that the motions for the recusal of the presiding judge had not yet been finally determined. It further requested that a criminal complaint be filed against the public officials alleged to have subjected demonstrators to torture during the protest that gave rise to the proceedings. The court rejected all of these requests without giving reasons, leading to a dispute between the judge and defence counsel. The defence lawyers then left the courtroom, and the hearing was adjourned.
Before the hearing on 23 March 2022, orders to compel appearance were issued for all defendants who had not yet given their statements. As a result, most of the defendants attended the hearing. At the start of the hearing, the defence again requested their immediate acquittal, but the court rejected the request. The defence also asked the court to remove from the case file reports on the defendants submitted by the Anti-Terror Departments of the Provincial Police Directorates, arguing that the proceedings did not concern an offence under the Anti-Terrorism Law. The court decided to consider the request at a later stage. It also excused defendants who had already given their statements from attending future hearings and ordered that those who had not yet done so be summoned by SMS.
Before the hearing scheduled for 21 September 2022, police surrounded the Saturday Mothers/People, their lawyers, and human rights defenders who had gathered in support, on the grounds that their planned press statement had been banned. Sixteen people were subsequently taken into custody. At the hearing, defence lawyers said that they would not present their defence in protest against the detention of their colleagues. The presiding judge said that this would be treated as an exercise of their right to remain silent.
After the discussion, the hearing was adjourned to 3 February 2023 at 2:00 p.m. The hearing did not take place because the presiding judge was on leave. Instead, the court decided on the basis of the case file, without holding a hearing, to adjourn the proceedings to 7 July 2023. That hearing was also adjourned, this time to 3 November 2023, because the presiding judge was again on leave.
At the hearing on 3 November 2023, the court continued to hear statements from the defendants. It maintained the judicial control measure imposed on Cihan Gülünay and ordered that the remaining defendants who had not yet been heard should give their statements.
At the hearing on 5 April 2024, the court heard the remaining human rights defenders who had not yet given their statements.
The hearing on 13 September 2024 was held in the courtroom of the Istanbul 27th Assize Court rather than the Istanbul 21st Criminal Court of First Instance because of the limited capacity of the original courtroom. The court ordered the proceedings against the two defendants whose statements had not yet been taken to be severed. It then sent the case file to the prosecutor for an opinion on the merits.
The hearing scheduled for 10 January 2025 was adjourned because the presiding judge was on leave.
At the final hearing on 14 March 2025, the court acquitted all defendants. Human rights defenders, representatives of civil society organisations, and members of parliament also attended the hearing in solidarity. No appeal was lodged, and the acquittals became final.