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The Constitutional Court has issued the detailed ruling in the case of Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, who was stripped of MP status and sent to prison in April due to "terror propaganda."
The top court ruled on July 1 that Gergerlioğlu's "right to be elected and to engage in political activities" and "the right to personal liberty and security" were violated. He was released on Tuesday (July 6) and is expected to reclaim his MP status.
In the detailed ruling published in the Official Gazette today, the court cites its ruling in the case of main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) deputy Enis Berberoğlu, who was also released from prison in January and reinstated as an MP shortly after.
Gergerlioğlu was convicted of "terror propaganda" for retweeting a post by a news portal about a statement by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in 2016.
The local court overlooked the fact that "the terror organization's statement had already been announced to the public," the top court noted.
"It has not been determined that any investigation was initiated or measures were taken regarding this report. The report that the applicant was punished for sharing it is still online.
"Therefore, considering that the report has not been subject to any charges since it was published in 2016, it is understood that the situations assumed by the courts regarding the punishment of the applicant are not actually present.
"In this respect, it has been concluded that the intervention in the applicant's freedom of expression is not in compliance with the requirements of the democratic social order.
"Because of the stated reasons, the Constitutional Court has ruled that freedom of expression was violated."
The Constitutional Court also ruled that the local court should give a new ruling that eliminates the reasons that made the top court conclude that Gergerlioğlu's legislative immunity and freedom of expression were violated.
What happened?Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Kocaeli MP Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu was sentenced to 2 years, 6 months in prison on the charge of "propagandizing for a terrorist organization" on February 21, 2018, because of a social media post from the year 2016. The conviction was upheld by the 16th Penal Chamber of the Court of Cassation on February 19, 2021. Speaking shortly after this ruling was handed down, Gergerlioğlu said that the verdict was "political", adding, "Strip searches, abductions, tortures... Some people got disturbed by us talking about all these." He also made an application to the Constitutional Court. However, the final ruling of the court was read out at the Plenary Session of the Parliament on March 17, 2021, and he was stripped of his MP duty. He refused to leave the parliament in protest of the decision, starting a "justice watch." During his protest, he was detained at the parliament as part of a new investigation on March 21 and released on the same day. Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu was detained from his house on April 2, 2021; he was arrested and sent to prison shortly afterwards. The Constitutional Court rejected an application against the revocation of his parliamentary mandate on March 31. |
(HA/VK)
