"Military Authority has Damaged Judiciary Independence"

The Modern Lawyers' Association (CHD) Istanbul branch organised a panel to open the judiciary year, entitled, "Is the Judiciary Independent? Who does the Judiciary Interfere with and Why?" Topics of discussion were the independence of judges and a state ruled by law.

Kolcuoglu: Independence not reflected in government programmes 

The panel was opened by Kazim Kolcuoglu, the president of the Istanbul Bar Association. He bemoaned the fact that although opening speeches of the judiciary year and party declarations always talked about the independence of the judiciary, this was not reflected in the government programmes.

He also criticised the death of Nigerian refugee Festus (Fastos) Okey while in custody at the Beyoglu police station and the preparations for a new constitution which were being made behind closed doors.

Giving Okey's death as an example, Kolcuoglu said that amendments to the Law on Police Duties and Authorities had encouraged torture and similar maltreatment. Several lawyers had had first hand experience of this.

Parla: Unprofessional preparation of constitutional draft

Prof. Dr. Taha Parla, the head of the Political Science and International Relations Department at Bosphorus University, denounced the work on a new constitution as "piecemeal and not serious". He also gave examples of cases in which military authorities had interfered with the judiciary, such as the ongoing Semdinli trial: "We have to oppose the fact that the army, which is an institution of law enforcement, steps forward with a second judiciary system."

He added that the position of the High Commission of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) was problematic in the new constitution draft.

Göktürk: Without quality, independence is useless

Retired State Security Court Prosecutor Mete Göktürk criticised that decisions of the HSYK were not audited by the judiciary; he gave the example of former Van prosecutor Ferhat Sarikaya, who was barred from working as a prosecutor or even lawyer again by the HSYK after his involvement in the controversial Semdinli case. There was still a need for an institution which would monitor judiciary investigations.

Göktürk added that the quality of the judiciary was vital. He said, "The judiciary is becoming universal. I wonder how many judges can follow a meeting in a foreign language. The quality of judges must be raised."

Mavioglu: Festus Okey is not the first

Journalist Ertugrul Mavioglu, who is still on trial in a case that began in the time of the 1980 military coup, said that the death of Festus Okey, who is said to have died "from an accidental bullet when trying to take a gun away from a police officer", had evoked a sense of "deja vu". He reminded the audience of the deaths of Zeki Yumurtaci in 1981 and Cenap Dizdaroglu in 1984.

Önder: "Hurt" by CHP support of police law

Director Sirri Süreyya Önder, whose film Beynelmilel ("International") dealt with the military coup of 1980, said that he was sent to prison at the age of sixteen for protesting against the Maras Massacre. He was referring to events in 1978, when over a hundred, mostly left-wing and Alevi people were killed by nationalists. Önder called the MPs of the Republican People's Party (CHP) "fascist", and the party's support for the amendments to the police law "hurtful".

Kozagacli: Indirect interference

Selcuk Kozagacli, the general secretary of the CHD, said that there were different ways of interfering with the judiciary. He gave as an example the Semdinli case: When the Van Heavy Penal Court was attempting an investigation into the bombing of the bookshop in Semdinli, it was warned, "Your life is not safe". This was really another way of saying, "You cannot investigate here". (EÖ/AG)