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BELLEFONTE Jim and Evelyn Piazza looked disgusted and disappointed as they sat front row for Tuesdays portion of the preliminary hearings into the death of their son,Timothy.

And defense attorney Andrew Shubin, representing former Beta Theta Pi member Nicholas Kubera, posed a question to Detective David Scicchitano that later made Jim Piazza's jaw drop.

Hes also a victim, right? Shubin asked referencing the hazing his client underwent for pledging in 2016.

Centre County District Attorney Stacy Parks Miller called it a disregard for the Piazza's.

His son has been killed, his son is dead, Miller said in a public address referring to Jims emotions in the courtroom.

Defense lawyer argues Piazza wasn't forced to drink

Tuesdays preliminary hearing came to a close in the Centre County Courthouse with at least two days of cross examinations left for the defense.

The date has not been officially decided, but Judge Allen Sinclair alluded to the proceedings continuing into next month.

A recurring theme in the hearings was for the defense to address those former Beta Theta Pi members not charged in the case.

When prompted by Rocco Cipparone, attorney for Michael Bonatucci, Scicchitano read a text message that was sent to Piazza before the rush event.

The text message sent by Kordel Davis read: Get ready to get f***** up, stipulating that Davis expected Piazza to consume extreme amounts of alcohol that night.

MORE: List of all charges the 18 former BTP brothers face

Cipparone rhetorically asked Scicchitano to point Davis out in the courtroom Davis is not facing any charges for his involvement in the case.

According to video surveillance, Davis was forcefully dismissed by his fraternity brothers when he told them to call 911 for Piazza as seen in the video footage.

During cross examination, Scicchitano agreed with Cipparone that there was no evidence Bonatucci was in the house at the time of Piazzas fall and that he exercised his fifth amendment right to forgo speaking with police.

Michael Leahey, attorney for the Alpha Upsilon chapter of the fraternity, received portions of the surveillance video not shown in court through another lawsuit.

It was Leaheys notes on the video that gave Cipparone a good faith basis that his client left the Beta house around 11:10 p.m., noting that Bonatucci is not seen in any part of the video after that time.

The video footage showed during the first day of preliminary hearings confirmed Davis presence in the fraternity and that he had seen Piazza unconscious after his first fall down a flight of stairs.

Davis joinsPenn State Football Head Athletic Trainer Tim Bream as others the defense believes should be facing charges.

Davis testimony with Scicchitano was again referenced when Michael Engle began his cross examination.

Engle is representing former Beta Theta Pi member Gary DiBileo, who he argued during his cross examination wanted to call 911 after Piazzas first fall.

Scacchiano agreed in questioning that DiBileo did not witness Piazzas fall and is never actually seen on the video footage until after Piazza was brought upstairs.

DiBileo reportedly told police that when his roommate Greg Rizzo informed him of Piazzas fall, they advocated for medical attention to be sought for Piazza.

No such call was made though, as DiBileo said they deferred the task to the executive board of the fraternity.

Engle pointed out that much like Davis, Rizzo also left the decision to call for medial assistance up to the higher ups in the fraternity and was not charged.

Listening to discussion as to why the former fraternity members waited so long to call for help leaves Jim almost shaking in his seat.

"Tim Piazza's father Jim Piazza told me yesterday walking out of the courthouse there isn't a moment during these hearings that he doesn't think about Tim and think about how much he and his wife miss him," said Tom Kline, attorney for the Piazzas.

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Defense attorney of former BTP member says client also a 'victim' during Timothy Piazza preliminary hearing - The Daily Collegian Online

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President Erdogan tells BBC: EU wastes Turkey's time BBC News Turkey will find it "comforting" if the EU says it cannot be accepted as a member, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has told the BBC. Speaking to HARDtalk's Zeinab Badawi, he said Turkey was "able to stand on its own two feet". He also denied that the ... and more »

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President Erdogan tells BBC: EU wastes Turkey's time - BBC News

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Recep Tayyip Erdogan: Turkish President could face arrest in Sweden over 'genocide' lawsuit - The Independent

Despite their differences, however, the government and opposition leaders appeared to be taking great pains to prevent a major confrontation as the march reached its culmination. The rally on Sunday could have easily been prohibited under the state of emergency that has been in force since the coup attempt. Large numbers of police officers escorted the marchers but did not interfere.

Hundreds of thousands of protesters arrived in Istanbul for the end of the three-week March for Justice. Led by Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the head of the main opposition party, they protested the government's recent crackdown on dissenters.

In a symbolic gesture, but also perhaps in an effort to manage the crowds, Mr. Kilicdaroglu walked the last two miles to the rally on his own. A former civil servant, Mr. Kilicdaroglu, 69, has captured the imagination of many supporters with his mild manner and his insistence on a peaceful march, in the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi.

This is not an anti-government protest, Samet Akten, communications director for the march, said in a statement on Sunday. It is important to recognize the exceptionally peaceful nature of this process as well as its very specific goal. We will be expressing a collective, nonpartisan desire for an independent and fair judicial system, which has lately been lacking in Turkey.

Though the government allowed the march and rally to proceed despite security concerns and its evident criticism of Mr. Erdogans authoritarian leadership, it is the largest sign of opposition since the failed coup last July, which resulted in the deaths of 249 people.

Politicians, including members of the C.H.P., rallied behind the president after the coup attempt, but differences over the scale of his crackdown have since emerged. Mr. Erdogan has ordered the arrests of 50,000 people accused of links to the coup plotters, and organized a referendum that granted him greater powers, including over the judiciary.

In an interview with the German weekly Die Zeit last week, Mr. Erdogan insisted that the judiciary in Turkey was independent and defended the widespread arrests, saying many of those detained, including journalists, face terrorism charges.

If it turns out that they are innocent, the judiciary will release them, he said. But if they are guilty, the judiciary will rule accordingly.

Sundays rally passed without incident. Mr. Kilicdaroglu commended his supporters for completing the march peacefully and thanked the security forces for their management of the crowds.

But he was forthright in his accusations against Mr. Erdogans government, calling on him to immediately lift the state of emergency and release two hunger strikers who are seriously ill. He also urged judges to resist government pressure or resign. I am telling him directly from here, Your justice will not crush us, he said.

He presented a 10-point statement demanding that changes in the constitution be reversed, that last years coup attempt be fully investigated and that journalists, members of Parliament and army privates be released and civil servants reinstated.

Justice is a right, we want our right back, he said. We millions here demand a new social contract.

Dursun Cicek, a C.H.P. member of Parliament and a former political prisoner, said the rally marked the opening of a campaign by opposition parties to challenge Mr. Erdogans government ahead of the presidential election in 2019. If they change, then O.K., he said. But if they dont change, we will gain power in a democratic way.

Mr. Erdogan, who was at the Group of 20 meeting in Hamburg, Germany, last week, and met with Rex W. Tillerson, the United States secretary of state, in Ankara on Sunday, did not react to Mr. Kilicdaroglus challenge.

Supporters of Mr. Erdogan were largely absent from the rally. Some workers watched in silence. Drivers complained that roads were sealed off for the march.

God sees everything, one driver said.

Supporters of the C.H.P. said they welcomed the call for action. I am really happy that finally we have heard this is the beginning, and from the street, Ogun Gidisoglu said. Referring to Mr. Kilicdaroglu, he said, He has unleashed us.

But some said they feared that the success of the march would lead to arrests of their leaders in coming days.

Mahmut Tanal, a senior C.H.P. member of Parliament and a member of the parliamentary human rights commission, said it was a risk they were prepared for. I am one of their targets, he said. If they try and arrest me, I will welcome them.

Our aim was to raise awareness and serve a wake-up call for justice, Mr. Tanal said. I think we have succeeded.

An article on Monday about a protest march in Istanbul referred incorrectly to Die Zeit, a German newspaper that published an interview with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Die Zeit is a weekly, not a daily.

A version of this article appears in print on July 10, 2017, on Page A7 of the New York edition with the headline: March for Justice Ends 3-Week Protest in Turkey.

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'March for Justice' Ends in Istanbul With a Pointed Challenge to Erdogan - New York Times

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