MESOPOTAMIA Agency journalist Eylem Akdag was one of 33 women acquitted by an Ankara court today after facing spurious charges related to a demonstration against Turkey’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention.

Last year’s protest, organised by the Ankara Women’s Platform, was attacked by security forces and participants were subsequently put on trial in the Turkish capital.

They were charged with attending a banned protest under Law no 2911 on Meetings and Demonstrations, but lawyers argued that the prosecution breached their constitutional rights. 

Police were removed from the courtroom following objections from the women’s defence teams, who reminded the court that it was those officers who had beaten the women.

“Women were attacked by the security [forces], so the Security [Directorate] of Ankara is a side in this lawsuit. We do not want them to be in the courtroom,” lawyer Irmak Bakir said.

The court heard that journalists were prevented from filming the police violence, although footage did appear on social media.

Footage presented to the court had been edited by police, the lawyers said.

The charges against the women were thrown out, with the judge ruling them unconstitutional.

Turkey pulled out of the Istanbul Convention on March 20 last year, following a presidential decree.

The Council of Europe treaty obliges signatories to take measures to prevent violence against women and femicide. 

But it was opposed by conservative and religious groups, which claimed that the convention damages family values and promotes homosexuality.