The indictment seeks aggravated life sentences for the protestors. It also accuses the protestors of “being members of an armed group,” “resisting public officials,” “staging demonstrations in violation of the law” and “possessing unlicensed weapons.”
Some of the protestors were arrested in June of last year but later released upon appeal pending trial.
Among the protestors are leaders of the well-known Beşiktaş fan group, Çarşı. The Çarşı group was a formidable force throughout the protests.
The Gezi Park protests in İstanbul began peacefully in May of last year against a government plan to replace a park in the central Taksim Square with a replica of an Ottoman-era military barracks. In response to a heavy-handed police crackdown the protests erupted into violent clashes with police and spread across the country. The demonstrations brought together large groups of protesters who accused then-Prime Minister and now President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of growing authoritarian tendencies over his 10 years in power and attempts to impose his conservative religious values on a country governed by secular laws.
During the Gezi Park demonstrations, 12 people were killed. In addition, more than 10 people suffered eye injuries.
The indictment was prepared by an anti-terrorism prosecutor and accepted by a high criminal court in İstanbul. The document is 38 pages long. A total of nine police officers appear as plaintiffs in the indictment.
According to the indictment, the Gezi Park protests began with “good will” -- that demonstrators wanted to show their reaction to a number of issues in the country -- but the protests deviated from their purpose when marginal groups joined demonstrators. The indictment stated that the marginal groups wanted to topple the government through anti-democratic means by provoking demonstrators against the government.
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