By Mark Baber
December 17 – Members of Besiktas’ Carsi supporter group, Turkish opposition groups, human rights campaigners and rival supporters gathered outside an Istanbul court chanting “Stand against fascism” as 35 members of the ultra group went on trial for participating in the demonstrations against the redevelopment of Gezi Park, one of Istanbul’s last areas of greenery.
According to an indictment the football fans were guilty of seeking to occupy President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Istanbul office near the team’s stadium “to create the appearance that a weakness of authority had emerged in the country” and of drawing foreign media to the protest areas.
The fans allegedly “tried to create an image evoking government changes in some Middle Eastern countries known as the Arab spring and aimed to overthrow the legally established government of the Turkish republic using illegal methods.”
The evidence of the fan’s coup attempt includes photos of members of the group holding up a banner saying “Shut up Tayyip,” and receipts showing they bought pizza and meatballs for those attending the Gezi Park demonstrations.
The 35 defendants and their defence solicitors, many of whom wore Besiktas shirts to court, heard the judges delay the hearing until April 2nd and lift a travel ban in the case in which prosecutors are seeking life sentences for all the defendants.
The Carsi ultras were in the forefront of the May 2013 Gezi Park demonstrations which were met with violence by security services and which spiralled into widespread anti-government unrest. Some of those on trial were arrested at the time, whilst others were arrested in September 2013 as part of a clampdown which has seen 6,000 anti-government activists, politicians and journalists charged in 97 different trials.
Previous social campaigns by the Carsi group have included a blood donation drive, building schools; a campaign against nuclear power; strong support for anti-racism campaigns and efforts to rescue stray animals.
Erdogan has described the Gezi demonstrators as traitors and said that the demonstrations represented a coup attempt.
Members of Turkey’s main-opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), on the other hand, ripped up copies of the indictment in front of the court house and Umut Oran, a CHP lawmaker representing Istanbul said: “Turkey and the AKP made history by alleging that fans of a sports club sought to topple the government. This is an insult to our intellect, those who thought this up should immediately get their heads checked.”
Haluk Koc, deputy chairman of the CHP told reporters: “The government is damaging democracy by allowing any sign of opposition to be the subject of a court case because of its own paranoia. The contribution made by Turkey to the list of world’s most ridiculous court cases will never be forgotten.”
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