An Istanbul court Tuesday acquitted a group of Turkish football fans, accused of trying to overthrow the government during the 2013 Gezi protests.
The 35 suspects were linked to a fan group called Çarşı, known to be diehard fans of the Istanbul football club Beşiktaş. The accused, all males, were aged between 21 and 55.
The Istanbul court decided on Tuesday that Friday there was no sufficiently certain and tangible evidence against the 35 suspects to charge them on the aforementioned allegations, as a result of which the defendants were acquitted.
The court, however, sentenced two of the 35 defendants to 2.5 years imprisonment for possession of an "illegal substance."
The 2013 Gezi Park protests began as an environmental demonstration in Istanbul and quickly evolved into a nationwide anti-government protest over plans to replace Gezi Park in Istanbul with a shopping mall.
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