The 23 communists who had been imprisoned after being arrested in police raids in 8 different cities on September 8-12, 2006 were taken to court on February 28 for a second hearing.
The communist prisoners, of whom 13 are wanted to be sentenced to several times lifelong with the claim of being members and leaders of the MLCP and 10 of them to different sentences between 10,5 and 45 years of prison, entered the court house at Istanbul-Besiktas shouting slogans of saluting the dockyard strike at Tuzla and condemning the colonial and occupational land operation of the Turkish state in South Kurdistan. In their speeches held at the court, the communist prisoners once again condemned the fascist regime.
Seyfi Polat of the communist prisoners, who had said at the hearing on October 26, 2007 "I am proud to defend the MLCP", declared at this trial that this system could not be defended: "This system is stained with blood. The workers` blood flows like water for the sake of accumulation of capital at Tuzla." Polat continued and said about the land operation carried out in South Kurdistan: "The guerrilla has been fighting for its dignity and freedom, but the people`s children that were put on uniforms are sent to death for the existence of the fascist regime". He also added: "We as the MLCP consider the liberation struggle of the Kurdish people in the North, South, East and West, in all parts of Kurdistan, as just and legitimised. What is terror in fact is denying the existence of such a big people, assimilating and annihilating it. We call on our Turkish people to take the hand of the Kurdish people hold out for peace and brotherhood and fight for peace. The freedom of Turkish workers and labourers can only exist together with the freedom of the Kurdish people."
Ali Hidir Polat said in his speech: "Is fatherland the death of 18 dockyard workers within 7 months? Is it the murder of 6,422 workers because of accidents at the dockyards in the last 7 years or the 13,283 workers having become disabled because of accidents? Is fatherland the explosion at Davutpasa? Or is it the 3000 Tekel workers who were punched with truncheoons when resisting against the privatisation of TEKEL company? Or maybe the 207 peasants who will be effected by this sale?" and asked the question "What is the fatherland without the people?"
Atilim newspaper chief editor Ibrahim Cicek declared that this case is a case of conspiracy whose one end is hold by Dogan Media Holding and the other end by the dockyard bosses` organisation GISBIR . While Dogan Media Holding is censoring the newspaper Atilim, GISBIR tries to hinder the organisation of the workers by fighting Limter-Is .
Arzu Torun of the prisoners said that she had been sexually abused by a policemen when she was taken to the Heavy Penalty Court for the hearing on October 16, 2007 waiting in the court house`s corridor for the second hearing and filed charges. Soner Cicek told about the conditions in the f-type isolation prisons and declared that the prisoners demand the application of the Minister of Justice`s decree to ensure the gathering of 10 prisoners for 10 hours a week.
The third hearing will take place on June 6-7, 2008.