LAWYER KAZAN COMMENTS ON CONSTITUTIONAL COURT RULING ON KAVALA

‘AKP Has Captured Both Supreme Election Council and Constitutional Court’

Examining the application of imprisoned businessperson and rights defender Osman Kavala after two years, the Constitutional Court has ruled by a majority vote that there is no violation of rights committed by his arrest.

Evrim Kepenek

‘AKP Has Captured Both Supreme Election Council and Constitutional Court’

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

"If the Constitutional Court has ruled that there is no violation of rights in Osman Kavala's arrest, then, it comes to mean that none of us is legally safe. This ruling does not comply with the law."

The above remarks have been made by lawyer Turgut Kazan after it has been announced that the Constitutional Court has rejected the individual application of imprisoned businessperson and rights defender Osman Kavala, who appealed to the court in December 2017 on the ground that there is a violation of rights committed by his arrest.

CLICK - 'Constitutional Court Should Give a Judgement Without Fear, Considering its Prestige'

Convening today (May 22), the General Assembly of the Constitutional Court evaluated Kavala's allegations that "the measure of arrest is not lawful, the access to the investigation file has been restricted, the review of his arrest was conducted without appearing before the judge/court."

Rapporteur referred to violation of rights

Though it was previously reported that the rapporteur examining the case file of Kavala detected a violation of rights, the Constitutional Court has ruled that the rights of Kavala have not been violated by his arrest.

The verdict has been given by a vote of 10 members against five and on the ground that "his human rights have not been violated by his arrest"

Kazan: We will struggle for the state of law

Speaking to bianet regarding the verdict of the Constitutional Court, lawyer Turgut Kazan has emphasized that by rejecting the application of Kavala, the court has once again showed that it does not act like a legal institution:

"One or two people form the Constitutional Court and a number of people from the Supreme Election Council (YSK) are arrested. They are facing dozens of years in prison. It means that the [ruling] Justice and Development Party (AKP) has taken both the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Election Council captive. Everyone should see this.

"We will struggle to make Turkey a state of law again. Having your photographs taken with leaders in Samsun does not mean anything. We will continue struggling for law and judiciary."

What happened?

In raids conducted on November 16, 2018, Prof. Dr. Betül Tanbay, Prof. Dr. Turgut Turhanlı, Anadolu Kültür's Deputy Board Chair Yiğit Ekmekçi, Board Member Ali Hakan Altınay, General Coordinator Asena Günal, film producers Çiğdem Mater and Meltem Aslan, civil society employees Yiğit Aksakoğlu, Filiz Telek, Bora Sarı, Yusuf Cıvır, Ayşegül Güzel, Hande Özhabeş were detained.

Hande Özhabeş, Prof. Dr. Turgut Tarhanlı, Asena Günal ile Bora Sarı and Meltem Aslan were released at night after testimonies. Prof. Dr. Betül Tanbay, Yiğit Ekmekçi, Hakan Altınay, Yusuf Cıvır, Ayşegül Güzel and Çiğdem Mater were released on November 17.

Yiğit Aksakoğlu, who was doing civil society studies at the Bilgi University, was arrested. Anadolu Kültür Board Chair Osman Kavala was arrested without an indictment November 1, 2017 and March 4, 2019. An 657-page bill of indictment was completed on February 20 and sent to 30th Heavy Penal Court.

The indictment charges all the 16 defendants with "attempting to overthrow the government of the Republic of Turkey or preventing it from performing its duties" upon the Turkish Penal Code Article 312/2.

The other charges are, damage to property, qualified form of damage to property, Holding or handing over dangerous material, damaging places of worship and cemeteries, violation of the Law No. 6136 on Firearms and Knives Qualified looting (Turkish Penal Code Article 149), qualified bodily injury (Turkish Penal Code Article 86), violation of the Law No. 2836 on the Conservation of Cultural and Natural Property.

The 16 defendants are alleged to be the "head executives" of the Gezi Park protests are Osman Kavala, Yiğit Aksakoğlu, Ali Hakan Altınay, Mücella Yapıcı, Ayşe Pınar Alabora, Can Dündar, Çiğdem Mater, Gökçe Yılmaz, Handan Meltem Arıkan, Hanzade Hikmet Germiyanoğlu, İnanç Ekmekçi, Mehmet Ali Alabora, Mine Özerden, Can Atalay, Tayfun Kahraman, and Yiğit Ali Ekmekçi. The bill of indictment was accepted by the court on March 4. The first hearing will be held on June 24.

While Osman Kavala's application to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has not been concluded, Yiğit Aksakoğlu's attorneys appealed to the Constitutional Court.

(EMK/SD)

Turgut Kazan Osman Kavala Constitutional Court

Evrim Kepenek

@kepenekevrimm

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