Heart patient Ismail Sever, aged 58, was arrested on the allegation that he might have assisted members of the Kurdish youth organization Patriotic Youth Union of Kurdistan (YCWK). The court, which found no evidence supporting the accusation, cited the fact that Sever’s two daughters are in the guerrilla and that he reads the Yeni Yaşam newspaper as grounds for his arrest.
Sever was detained during a police raid on his home in Istanbul’s Esenyurt district on 30 October. His detention and subsequent arrest have once again revealed the judiciary’s tendency in Turkey to “act in accordance with the will of the government.”
Reading Yeni Yaşam and ANF deemed a crime
Police, who detained Ismail Sever without presenting any concrete evidence and solely based on “presumption,” claimed that reading news from the websites of Yeni Yaşam and ANF constituted a crime. In the indictment prepared by the prosecutor’s office, Yeni Yaşam newspaper was described as “a publication operating under the influence of the so-called separatist terrorist organization, several issues of which have been banned or confiscated.”
Beyond news websites, the prosecutor’s office also attempted to criminalize Sever’s membership in the Association for Solidarity and Assistance with Families Who Lost Their Relatives on the Anatolian Side (ANYAKADER), an organization founded by families of guerrillas who lost their lives within the ranks of the Freedom Movement. The indictment further emphasized that ANYAKADER was the successor of YAKAY-DER, which had previously been shut down by decree, highlighting this as supposed evidence against Sever.
If your daughter is a guerrilla, you are a member too
The fact that Ismail Sever’s two daughters were among the guerrillas was also included in the case file as supposed evidence of “membership in an organization.” The prosecutor added to the file a photograph of Sever’s daughter who was martyred while fighting among the guerrillas and emphasized the presence of his two daughters in the movement as a way to make the case appear substantial.
In addition, the prosecutor presented a photo in which Sever was making a victory sign as further evidence, describing this hand gesture, originating in England during World War II, as “a sign used by individuals sympathetic to the organization.”
Sending money to relatives in prison presented as a crime
The prosecutor also added to the file the charge of “financing organization members,” which has recently drawn public outrage as the external extension of the isolation policies imposed by the state in prisons. Ismail Sever’s act of sending money to his relatives in prison was portrayed as “providing financial support to members of an organization.” In recent years, dozens of people have been arrested under this pretext, accused of sending money to their children, spouses, relatives, or friends in prison, following laws designed to enforce the government’s isolation policies and to leave prisoners completely cut off from society.
Sever was brought before the 13th High Criminal Court, a court already notorious for disregarding the rulings of the Constitutional Court. Despite the absence of any concrete evidence in the file, the court ordered his arrest once again on the same allegations of “membership in an organization.” Sever had previously been imprisoned and released on identical charges, only to be detained again by the Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court on the very same grounds.
Enemy law is being applied
Lawyer Veysel Demirkaya, who is handling the case, said the decision was made in line with the concept of “enemy criminal law” and stated: “The detention order issued by the Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court is clearly rooted in the understanding of enemy criminal law. The criminalization of acts of social solidarity, and the redirection of society’s collective suffering back toward those who have already endured it, is unacceptable both legally and morally.
Our 58-year-old client, Ismail Sever, has been arrested on the allegation of participating in youth organizations. Yet, given his age, health condition, and lifestyle, he simply lacks the dynamism to engage in such activity. This accusation demonstrates that the law is being detached from reality in order to fabricate an abstract perception of threat.”
Lawyer Demirkaya also recalled that Sever had previously been tried and released on the same charges in another court, emphasizing that the current decision is incompatible with the principles of justice. Sever continued: “Indeed, my client was previously detained and tried on identical allegations by the Istanbul 23rd High Criminal Court and was released. Despite this, his file was transferred to the 13th High Criminal Court under the pretext of the same old charge of ‘providing financial support to the organization,’ and he has been arrested once again. This situation clearly violates the principles of proportionality and legal security.
As is well known, according to Article 153 of the Constitution, the Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court is bound by the rulings of the Constitutional Court. By disregarding this constitutional obligation, the detention order it has recently issued is inconsistent with both reason and law. Our client suffers from serious health problems. Therefore, his immediate release is imperative, both for the preservation of the rule of law and for the protection of human dignity.”