The trial of the Cologne social worker Adil Demirci for terrorist charges in Turkey continues today.
Demirci (33) has been in custody in Istanbul since April. The prosecutor accuses him, among other things, membership in the left-wing Marxist-Leninist Communist Party. The MLCP is considered a terrorist organization in Turkey.
It is currently the only such trial against a German, in which the defendant is personally in court. Other Germans accused of terror charges were allowed to leave in the past few months while their absenteeism continues, most recently in Hamburg at the beginning of January.
At present, four Germans are likely to be detained for similar reasons in Turkey. Two were sentenced to prison in late 2018. Adil Demirci and the author, lawyer and former employee of the Turkish secret service MIT, Enver Altayli, remain in custody. There is no indictment in Altayli’s case.
Demirci’s lawyer Mustafa Pekoz expects Demirci to be released today. „There is no serious evidence in the file that justifies a continuation of the detention,“ he said. At the first hearing at the end of November, co-defendants were also released and charged with similar offenses.
As in the November hearing, a delegation of trial observers will arrive from Germany again. Among them are the SPD member Rolf Mützenich and the journalist and writer Günter Wallraff.
Demirci’s brother, Tamer Demirci, told the dpa that the family was „very excited, but also confident.“ The trial of his brother was a political trial and the aim of such proceedings was to spread fear among government critics. „We do not want to bow to that,“ said Tamer Demirci. His brother is optimistic.
