Attack on columnist Demirağ: The overview of a tangled legal process

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After he was attacked in front of his house on May 10, 2019, Yeniçağ newspaper's columnist Yavuz Selim Demirağ took legal action against the assaulters. A new development has occurred in the trial.

It was on October 15, 2021, 888 days after the attack, when defendants Adem Y., Emrah Y., Ali A., Furkan Ç., Necmettin İ. and Orhan Ç. stood trial for the first time. Another decision of non-jurisdiction has now been given for the file after it was sent to the 36th High Criminal Court.

From the civil court to the high criminal court

The first hearing of the trial over the attack on columnist Yavuz Selim Demirağ was held at the Ankara 54th Civil Court of First Instance on October 15, 2021. Facing up to 20 years, 10 months in prison on the offense charged, the defendants were defended by 22 lawyers at court.

While the defendants dismissed the allegations of attack, Yavuz Selim Demirağ said, "The images are obvious. I apparently did not beat myself up. I cannot tolerate lies while everything is so apparent."

A lawyer of the defendants was, in fact, ordered out of the courtroom for constantly interfering with his statement. Demirağ's lawyer Erhan Tokatlı said that what was the case there was not actual bodily harm, but an attempted killing and requested that the case be transferred to a high criminal court. Accepting the request, the court gave a decision of non-jurisdiction.

First court said it was an 'attempted killing'

In justifying its decision, the civil court of first instance indicated that "the defendants came together before the incident; they followed and attacked the victim together after he went out of the vehicle; the sticks used in the incident were in the nature of weapons capable of killing; they hit the victim in the head with several deadly blows; during the incident, they uttered expressions like, 'Kill the fag,' which demonstrates their intention..."

The court stressed that the attack was in the nature of an attempted killing and concluded that a high criminal court, an upper court, is authorized to judge, collect and evaluate evidence and rule in the case.

Court on duty confirmed the lack of jurisdiction

The decision was first sent to the 33rd High Criminal Court on Duty. The lawyers of Adem Y., Emrah Y., Ali A., Furkan Ç., Necmettin İ. and Orhan Ç. objected to the file being sent to the high criminal court.

The high criminal court on duty rejected these objections and ruled that the court case should be heard by a high criminal court. In its decision, the court said, "...in line with the prosecutor's opinion as to the accusations and definitely..." The decision was given unanimously.

Both intimidation and 'no intention'

In line with this decision, the prosecutor's office sent the case file to the Ankara 36th High Criminal Court. However, without even holding a hearing, the high criminal court has given a decision in complete contrast with the one given by the Ankara 54th Civil Court of First Instance.

The court has indicated that Demirağ did not die in the attack and "there was no intention of killing" and has given a decision of non-jurisdiction. In justifying this decision, the high criminal court has said:

"As it is understood that after battering him (Demirağ) with sticks, they ran away without resuming their actions even though there were no obstacles to their actions and there was no hostility between the complainant and defendants that would require killing..."

Even though the court has defined the attack as "targeting the journalist and activities of journalism", the court has still concluded that there was no intention of killing and was an actual bodily harm:

"...a decision of non-jurisdiction is to be given as it is concluded that the defendants carried out the act of injury in some form of intimidation due to the program that the complainant presented, their intention was not killing and they openly acted with an intention of injury."

Following this decision, the file has been sent to the Ankara Regional Court of Justice, the upper court. The court of appeals will now be awaited to solve the related jurisdictional dispute. As of today (January 19), Yavuz Selim Demirağ has been awaiting justice for 985 days.

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(HA/SD)