Cyprus-Forum.com

[Nikitas]

The three day remand period must be up by now. Have the boys been freed? Have they been tried? Anyone know?

[zan]

These young men are courageous to speak up. But they were wrong to use vandalism to get their message out. That is of course the only crime they have committed... the crime of vandalism. And that is the only thing they should be charged for. They should be treated as if they had written just about anything such as 'Kilroy was here'. I'm happy to see that even the younger generation seem to be fed up with the Turkish oppression. I wish these lads all the best of luck and I certainly hope they will receive a fair trial. The world is watching!

Its like a traffic cop stopping you for a mere crack in your headlight. Then they charge you for everything under the sun.

Why have they done it at such a sensitive time??? Has someone put them up to it??? The talks are on us and this happens. Why???
Questions that need to be answered. If they are just kids messing around then fine. Menderez (Spelling?) was shot for running away at a sensitive time in the UK. I would just like to know what this is all about.

[Tim Drayton]

The three day remand period must be up by now. Have the boys been freed? Have they been tried? Anyone know?

They were due to appear in court yesterday (Thursday). If I can sniff anything out, I will keep you posted - or perhaps Iceman knows. I think Afrika is right in saying that if the authorities try to turn this into a political trial it will backfire on them. I bet they were given a small fine for vandalism.

[DT.]

From experience, it is possible to keep people in custody with no trial for months in the north.

[iceman]

The three day remand period must be up by now. Have the boys been freed? Have they been tried? Anyone know?

They were due to appear in court yesterday (Thursday). If I can sniff anything out, I will keep you posted - or perhaps Iceman knows. I think Afrika is right in saying that if the authorities try to turn this into a political trial it will backfire on them. I bet they were given a small fine for vandalism.

Hi Tim
The boys were released on bail until they appear on court with charges...Below is the link to the related article on Kibris newspaper,i'll appreciate if you can translate..


http://www.kibrisgazetesi.com/popup.php ... c_Haberler

[Tim Drayton]

Asil Nadir’s mouthpiece <i>Kıbrıs</i> carries two reports about this case today. Here are my translations. The first is a report on the court proceedings themselves, and the second summarises a statement issued by the United Cyprus Party concerning the case.

http://www.kibrisgazetesi.com/popup.php ... c_Haberler

Four young people in their twenties named Çetin Edip, Aziz Şah, Özce Nizam and Kan Yektaoğlu, detained by the police for writing slanderous statements such as “occupying Turkish army sod off” targeting the Security Forces Command on the walls of a number of buildings in the capital of Nicosia in August and September, were yesterday taken for a bail hearing before Nicosia District Court Penal Case Judge Fügen Ulutekin.
Judge Ulutekin, taking into consideration that based on the evidence presented the investigation had been completed, released the four accused on condition that a personal bail bond applicable to a TRNC citizen in a manner to be approved by the registrar of 10 thousand New Turkish Lira each be signed, appearance be made on a weekly basis at their nearest police station, and a ban be imposed on travelling abroad until they are sentenced.
The young people were greeted as they were brought to the court for the bail hearing with applause by their families and relatives who had assembled in the court grounds.
Assistant Inspector Oral Ordu, who serves in the Prosecution Branch Section attached to the Nicosia Directorate of Police and who is responsible for investigating the case, explained in the evidence under oath that he presented to the court that the accused named Çetin Edip, Aziz Şah, Özce Nizam and Kan Yektaoğlu were wanted for writing slanderous slogans targeted at the Security Forces Command on the walls of a number of buildings in Nicosia in August and September and they were arrested following their apprehension in the course of writing slogans on a wall in Dr. Burhan Nalbantoğlu Street on 8 September.
Ordu, stating that the accused were guilty of the offences of “writing slanderous statements” and “willful damage”, indicated that the accused had confessed to committing the offences.
Ordu, stating that the investigation had been completed, moved that such bail conditions as the court deemed fit be applied to the accused until such time as they were sentenced.
Judge Ulutekin, taking into consideration that based on the evidence presented the investigation had been completed, released the four accused on condition that a personal bail bond applicable to a TRNC citizen in a manner to be approved by the registrar of 10 thousand New Turkish Lira each be signed, appearance be made on a weekly basis at their nearest police station, and a ban be imposed on travelling abroad until they are sentenced.
The young people complied with the bail conditions and were released.

http://www.kibrisgazetesi.com/popup.php ... c_Haberler

United Cyprus Party (BKP) executive committee member Abdullah Korkmazhan said in a statement that bail conditions of 10 thousand New Turkish lira and a ban on foreign travel had been imposed on the young people and noted that three of the young people were studying abroad and that “the significance of the situation emerges when it is considered that in similar cases such stern measures have not been taken.”
Korkmazhan, saying that “The group which the regime, which has arrested the young people on flimsy grounds and applied psychological torture to them in an attempt to intimidate them, is essentially trying to intimidate is the progressive movement which is organising and developing outside the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) which is under its control”, claimed that the conduct of the police in detaining the young people and throughout the process “once more demonstrates that there is no democracy or law in the TRNC, contrary to what some would allege.”
Korkmazhan, claiming that responsibility for these acts rests with “Republic of Turkey military and civilian bureaucrats, local collaborators and the clique dominating the Republican Turkish Party/United Forces (CTP/BG) which approves what has happened with its silence”, said “We violently condemn these groups.”

[Tim Drayton]

Iceman, I have already been working on this and the result you see above.

Nikitas, what is your opinion as a lawyer? In my view, under any jurisidiction where the rule of laws applies, under circumstances where:

1. the investigation has been concluded, and
2. the accused have confessed their guilt

this is an open and shut case and all that remains is to pass sentence. They have been released on bail. Pending what?

[DT.]

Iceman, I have already been working on this and the result you see above.

Nikitas, what is your opinion as a lawyer? In my view, under any jurisidiction where the rule of laws applies, under circumstances where:

1. the investigation has been concluded, and
2. the accused have confessed their guilt

this is an open and shut case and all that remains is to pass sentence. They have been released on bail. Pending what?

Pending a meeting of the finest TC Public Relation minds.

[Nikitas]

Tim,

In modern legal systems confession is not enough. There must be objective corroboration of the offence.

The intriguing aspect is that the graffiti which said "occupying Turkish army sod off" has been deemed slanderous. I guess the slander is based on the word "occupying" which would bear a LOT of philosophical and semantic speculation! The phrase "sod off" is not slanderous by any standard.

[Tim Drayton]

Also ... what did they confess to? Writing the graffiti they were caught red handed putting up, or to comitting slander?