for two hours. Then, when the Judge told him that was enough, "Bediuzzaman grew exceedingly angry, traced a circle in the air with his hand and jabbed his forefinger at the Judge, saying:

"I have the right to speak for eight hours. I'll speak for as long as I want." [^344]

[^344]:İbrahim Mengüverli, in Son Şahitler, iii, 123.

There were three lawyers who acted as defence lawyers for Bediuzzaman and his students at Afyon. One of these, Ahmet Hikmet Gönen, also a student of Bediuzzaman described the defence speeches of the Risale-i Nur Students. They all gave their own defences in the court, as well as writing petitions. Two were particularly noteworthy, Zübeyir Gündüzalp's and Ahmet Feyzi Kul's. The latter's, which continued for a full eight and a half hours, earned him the name of 'the Risale-i Nur Lawyer' from Bediuzzaman. [^345]

[^345]:Ahmet Hikmet Gönen, in Son Şahitler, iii, 178-9.

Bediuzzaman also insisted on his right to perform the prayers at the appropriate times when the court was in session. Several witnesses have described such occasions in their accounts. One was the above lawyer. Another was Mustafa Acet from Emirdağ. He described how during one hearing, the time for the prayers was passing, so presumably not having been allowed to leave the court earlier for five minutes, Bediuzzaman said angrily to the prosecutor:

"We're here in order to protect the rights of the prayers. We are not guilty of anything else!" And he immediately got and walked out. The usher hurried out after him, and he performed the prayers in the secretary's office. [^346]

[^346]:Mustafa Acet, in Son Şahitler, i, 28.

The trials aroused great interest country-wide, and numbers of people flocked to Afyon from all over. [^347] One of Bediuzzaman's students tells of one occasion when Bediuzzaman emerged from the court, a great mass of people moved forward to kiss his hand, "then in turn they started to kiss it. At that point the public prosecutor came out, and unable to stomach such a situation, roared at the police and gendarmes: 'Why are you permitting this?' Bediuzzaman was exceedingly angry at this, and said in a loud voice:

[^347]:İbrahim Mengüverli, in Son Şahitler, iii, 123.

'"What's this? What's this? I'll meet with my brothers if I want!' And he grew so excited his turban fell off. We picked it up off the ground and put it back on his head. Scared out of his wits, the prosecutor made off