On the anniversary of Gezi Park protests, 14 had been detained and 11 were arrested. Their crime was to carry a picture of 'the Girl with the Red Scarf'. During the trial, all have been released.
[mks_dropcap style="letter" size="52" bg_color="#ffffff" txt_color="#000000"]A[/mks_dropcap]yşe Deniz Karacagil, or as she has come to be known 'the Girl with the Red Scarf, was an
activist who had been detained during popular Gezi Park protests in 2013, in the city of Antalya during a manifestation. She had been accused of terrorism, for wearing a red scarf and arrested, pending trial. She was taken to court on October 2
nd, 2013 and was put on trial demanding 24 years to 98 years prison sentence for 'membership to terror organisation, resist to arrest, opposition to laws on meetings & demonstrations'. She spent 4 months and 6 days in Alanya Prison but eventually was released, pending trial.
During the prison time she has served, her ideas have developed in another direction and when she was released, she decided to go to Qandil Mountain in Northern Iraq. In an interview to Cumhuriyet Daily, Karacagil had explained her dreams of end to all violence and establishment of a solid siblinghood among all nations of Middle East, some day.
Karacagil was killed during an assault by YPG forces against the city of Raqqa under ISIS control in Northern Syria, on May 29, 2017. Her father wrote an eulogy on his social media account saying “I have said farewell to my dear daughter Ayşe Deniz as a revolution-martyr as she fell fighting in Raqqa against Jihadist & fascist ISIS. I salute you with fists of stars”.
On the anniversary of Gezi Park protests on May 31, 2017 thousands gathered in Istanbul's Istiklal Avenue, to march to the Gezi Park for a commemoration of the social movement and those who have fallen. A group were holding photographs of Ayşe Deniz Karacagil, with a note saying 'From Gezi to Raqqa, the fighters are writing an epic!' During the police intervention into the commemoration, 14 were detained and 11 were arrested, all pending trial.
At the Istanbul Çağlayan Courthouse, 13
th Criminal Court there was a trial on September 11
th 2017. The defendants made references to the life of Karacagil, the girl with the red scarf, and to her struggle against ISIS in Raqqa. The court has ruled for release of all 11, however the trial is not over yet.