Lawyer Ümit Ö, who was tried for allegedly bringing drugs to his clients in prison in Istanbul, was sentenced to 23 years, 5 months and 7 days in prison for “bringing prohibited items into a penal institution or detention center” and “manufacturing and trafficking narcotic or stimulant substances.” The defendant, who attended the hearing at the Anadolu 10th High Criminal Court via SEGBİS, requested acquittal and release; he asked the court to take into account his prolonged detention, the loss of close family members and the financial losses he had suffered because of his profession. The prosecutor requested that he be punished, stating that the offenses had been committed as part of a chain. According to the indictment, Ümit Ö gave a convict at Maltepe No. 2 L-Type Closed Penal Institution drugs containing 100 lira; the substance was found on the convict after the meeting. It was stated that investigations involving other convicts were continuing.
Why it matters
This case shows that the responsibility borne by lawyers during entry into penal institutions and meetings with convicts is also assessed under criminal law, irrespective of their professional status. The court’s combined sentence for two separate offenses demonstrates that the allegation was not confined solely to internal disciplinary proceedings but was considered together with the allegation of drug trafficking. However, the outcome of the investigations involving other convicts and whether the scope of the case will expand remain open questions. The conviction despite the defendant’s requests for acquittal and release makes it necessary for the written judgment to explain the grounds on which the court assessed the evidence and determined that the offenses had been committed.