Indictment of 3rd Airport Workers Accepted

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An indictment has been filed against the workers of the 3rd Airport in Istanbul, who protested their bad working conditions and occupational homicides, demanded to work under humane conditions and were taken into custody in an operation launched by the security forces.

The indictment prepared by the Gaziosmanpaşa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, Terrorism, Smuggling and Organized Crimes Investigation Bureau has been conveyed to the Gaziosmanpaşa Penal Court of First Instance.

In the indictment, the following charges have been pressed against the workers: "Resisting the fulfilment of duty", "violating the freedom to work and labor", "damaging public property" and "attending meetings and marches with weapons or instruments prohibited by the article no. 23."

The indictment has referred to 61 people, among whom are construction workers and unionists, as defendants. The workers will stand trial at the Gaziosmanpaşa 14th Penal Court of First Instance.

What happened?

After the workers of the 3rd Airport in İstanbul staged a protest against their bad working conditions and the occupational homicides that took place at the construction site of the airport in Akpınar, police and gendarmerie forces entered the construction site and intervened in the protests with pepper gas on September 14, 2018.

In raids conducted by the security forces, 537 workers in total were taken into custody and 31 of them were arrested by the courts, to which they had been referred. The Gaziosmanpaşa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has filed an indictment against 61 of these workers. (HA/SD)