Leaders of Beşiktaş’s Çarşı supporters' group released after detention over Gezi protest

ISTANBUL

Members of Beşiktaş’s leading supporters' group Çarşı face charges of organizing acts of violence. Two Çarşı members were arrested for carrying guns, daily Radikal reported. DAILY NEWS photo, Selahattin SÖNMEZ

Three members of of Beşiktaş’s famous supporters' club, known as Çarşı, were released on bail June 19, after being detained over Taksim Gezi Park protests.

Meanwhile, two members of the group, Halil İbrahim Erol and İbrahim Halillulah, who were detained in the same police operation, were arrested for carrying guns.

The arrests bring the total of those arrested during the three-week long Gezi Park protests to six.

Some 28 other demonstrators who prosecutors sent to court with demands for their arrest have also been released.

A total of 94 demonstrators were facing charges of provoking violence during the recent unrest, as growing numbers adopted a silent form of protest inspired by the “standing man.”

The suspects, including 20 members of Çarşı, faced charges of organizing acts of violence and inciting illegal protests. Some members of Çarşı were allegedly spotted in clashes with police. The prosecutor responsible for the critical political investigations such as the alleged coup case Ergenekon, Muammer Akkaş, also asked if they had received 25,000 Turkish Liras for attending the protest on the basis of an alleged telephone conversation between two suspects which was denied by the suspects. 

“Who provided the gas masks?” was another question that did not satisfy the prosecutor. The prosecutor also asked if Çarşı members planned to raid the Prime Minister’s Office in Istanbul’s Beşiktaş district.