DİYARBAKIR - Serhat Güzel and Vedat Bayram who were held responsible from the death of two police officers without any concrete evidence have been released from prison after 5 years and 2 months imprisonment.

 

Serhat Güzel and Vedat Bayram, who were detained due to the death of two police officers as a result of the armed attack on September 28, 2015 in Seyhan district of Adana, were arrested on October 10, 2015. In the lawsuit filed against Güzel and Bayram at the Adana 2nd Heavy Penal Court both men were sentenced to 22 years 6 months in prison. Güzel and Bayram were acquitted in the case, which was held again at the Adana 2nd High Criminal Court, after the Supreme Court overturned the decision of the local court, because no concrete, convincing and conclusive evidence was obtained regarding the accusation. Güzel and Bayram were released from İzmir Ödemiş M Type Closed Prison where they were detained following the decision.

 

PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL VIOLENCE

 

Serhat Güzel (25), who was behind bars for 5 years and 2 months told about the violations of rights they experienced in the prison. Stating that he was detained in İstanbul when he went for a visit, Güzel said he was subjected to physical and psychological violence in the İstanbul Security Directorate. Güzel told that the violence continued in Adana Security Directorate where he was taken by the police. 

 

NO CONCRETE EVIDENCE

 

Stating that they were both handed life sentence without any concrete evidence agaisnt them, Güzel said: "We weren't surprised when we were sentenced to life in prison because we knew the decision was political. The only thing I felt when they read us the verdict was anger. I decided to resist and prepare myself to very poor conditions. I didn't feel anything else."

 

Stating that they didn't get their hopes up when the Supreme Court reversed the judgment, Güzel said they did not expect to be released until the final hearing.

 

Defining their long imprisonment without any evidence as the collapse of the legal system, Güzel underlined that the decisions taken by the courts are political and they ignore the presumption of innocence. Güzel said: "They already considered us guilty because we were Kurdish. The press wrote about us as terrorists before court decisions which eventually effected the court decision. We were guilty before the court made a decision."

 

HUNGER STRIKE ACTION

 

Pointing out that the real reason for the violations of rights in prisons is the isolation in Imralı, Güzel said, "No problem will be solved in prisons before the problem of isolation is solved.  Güzel emphasized that the main demand of the prisoners on hunger strike is an end to the isolation imposed upon PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan, and warned that if the demands are not met, the actions will turn into indefinite and non-rotating hunger strikes and then eventually into death fasts. Güzel said, "The prisoners are ready for this. They are very determined and their morale is high. Therefore their decisions are precise."

 

 

MA / Cengiz Özbasar