The legal standoff ended abruptly on February 25, 2004. Gun arrived at the Old Bailey facing charges that carried up to two years in prison. Her defense team prepared an unprecedented defense: necessity. They argued Gun acted to prevent an illegal war that would cost thousands of lives.
To prove necessity, the defense demanded full disclosure of the confidential legal advice given to Prime Minister Tony Blair by Attorney General Lord Goldsmith. Those documents tracked how Goldsmith shifted his legal opinion on the invasion's legality in the weeks leading up to the assault.
The British government faced a choice: prosecute Gun and release classified legal cables, or abandon the indictment. The prosecutor announced within 30 minutes that the Crown was offering no evidence. The judge dismissed the charges. Gun walked out of the courtroom free, but she and Yasar found normal life in Britain impossible to sustain. She remained unemployable in governmental and corporate translation sectors, and her family had grown weary of constant security interest.
