‘Woman in red’ applies to Constitutional Court for rights violation

Burcu Purtul Uçar – ISTANBUL

REUTERS photo

An academic who became known as the “woman in red” during the outset of the Gezi Park uprising in 2013 after a police officer pepper sprayed her along with a group of peaceful protesters has applied to the Constitutional Court on grounds her rights had been violated and demanded 30,000 Turkish Liras for non-pecuniary damages. 

Ceyda Sungur, an academic currently employed at Istanbul Technical University’s Architecture Department and known as the “woman in red,” applied to the Constitutional Court to appeal the ruling of an Istanbul court, which had sentenced Fatih Z., the police officer who had pepper sprayed Sungur, to 20 months in jail but suspended the execution of the sentence.

In her application, Sungur mentioned Istanbul’s 3rd Court of Serious Crimes had declined her appeal about the verdict and she had exhausted all internal authorities. 

Istanbul 73th Penal Court of First Instance said in its June 10 ruling the suspect had been sentenced to 10 months for exceeding his authority to use force and committing the crime of “injuring people.” The court also sentenced the officer to 10 months for “malpractice” for spraying tear gas at people in the vicinity, including Sungur, without issuing any warning and for kicking them. The officer, however, will not actually serve any time in prison, as the court suspended the execution of the sentence and ordered him to plant 600 trees and tend them for six months.