Parliament Elects Controversial Former Judge As Ombudsman

Former appeals court judge Ömeroğlu became Tukish Parliament's first public ombudsman after a secret ballot on Tuesday evening.

The ombudsman position has been established in 2010 with the objective of address public criticism related to Turkish parliament's law making procedures.

The election of Ömeroğlu generated criticism among Turkey's intellectuals and human rights activists as the former appeals judge was a member of the supreme council ratifying Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink's verdict  which found him guilty for "humiliating Turkishness" according to Article 301. The verdict also triggered a series of life threats that led to Dink's assassination in 2007.

A total of 35 candidates competed for the post, with only three--Yavuz Erkmen, Halime Nuray and Mehmet Nihat--being selected for further processing by a Turkish parliament commission.

With the main opposition party's protest, the selection process was completed on the round 4. Ömeroğlu outnumber his competitors with 258 out of 279 votes in a secret ballot. The public ombudsman will serve a term of four years.

Criticism from CHP

Deputies from the main opposition party CHP raised their concerns in terms of Ömeroğlu's election.

"The law related to the election of ombudsman only favor the government. They almost assigned the ombudsman," Akif Hamzaçebi said.

Reminding that he was one of the defendant attorneys in Hrank Dink case, Sezgin Tanrıkulu said the election of an appeals judge as ombudsman, if not now, would cause new controversies in the future. (BK/AS)