Prosecutors request acquittal in Turkey football fans coup trial

Turkish prosecutors on Friday asked for the mass acquittal of 35 football fans of the Istanbul club Besiktas who had been put on trial on widely-ridiculed charges of seeking to stage a coup in 2013 protests.

Fans from Besiktas's main fan group Carsi had played a leading role in May-June 2013 protests against then prime minister now President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

They had been charged with seeking to overthrow Erdogan's government in a coup and forming a criminal gang, with the trial starting on December 17.

The suspects, who risked being jailed for life if found guilty, were not remanded in custody.

But prosecutors said as the trial resumed Friday after a months-long adjournment that all the fans should be acquitted for lack of evidence.

"It is just ridiculous to think that a coup can be organised with just 35 people," said one of the group's lawyers Ersan Sen, quoted by the Dogan news agency.

It was not immediately clear when the judge will make his ruling.

The anti-government protests began in May 2013 in Istanbul over plans to redevelop Gezi Park on Taksim Square in the centre of the city.

But they then snowballed into a nationwide wave of anger against the Islamic-rooted rule of Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP).

At least eight protesters were killed and 8,000 injured in a bloody police crackdown.

Founded in 1903, Besiktas is still one of the top Turkish sides and its fans have long been known for staunchly leftist and anti-establishment views.

The T-shirts of the Carsi (pronounced Charshi and meaning marketplace in Turkish) fan cub are adorned with the circular anarchist symbol. The group likes to boast that it is "against everything".

The acquittal comes after an Istanbul court in April acquitted 26 leaders of Taksim Solidarity, an umbrella group who helped launch the mass protests.

Source: AFP