Court orders three years in jail for machete-wielding attacker of Gezi protesters

ISTANBUL

An Istanbul court on May 11 ordered three years in jail for a man who attacked Gezi protesters with a machete in Istanbul in 2013, Doğan News Agency has reported.

The court made its decision on four suspects including the machete-wielding attacker, Sabri Çelebi, over attacking protesters during the Gezi Park protests, stating that the man injured four people with a sharp object.   

On August 2013, Çelebi had been arrested for chasing and kicking Gezi protesters as well as wielding a machete near Istanbul’s Taksim Square on July 6, 2013. A prosecutor’s indictment demanded up to 27 years in prison for the assault.

One of the other suspects, Murat Ertik, was sentenced to nine months in jail on grounds of injuring one person. The other two suspects were released by court.

In his hearing, Çelebi, who participated from prison via the voice and video informatics system (SEGBİS), said he did not attack anyone. 

“I did not attack anyone. They attacked us. We responded in an act of self-defense,” he said.  

On March 3, Çelebi was arrested for threatening a Libyan businessman, daily Habertürk reported. 

The unnamed Libyan businessman had appealed to prosecutors, claiming that Çelebi threatened him last week. 

“After we met he said he wanted a luxury car from Dubai. So I imported a Lincoln car from Dubai. We agreed on $110,000 as a price but he did not give the money. He took the car and started to threaten me,” the Libyan man said in his complaint.