Constitutional Court gives third ruling of right violation for Şahin Alpay

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The Constitutional Court has concluded that the rights of journalist Şahip Alpay have been violated. While this last ruling marks the third ruling of right violation given by the supreme court for the journalist, the related application was about his release to house arrest in 2018.

The detailed ruling of the Constitutional Court was published in the Official Gazette today (January 7). According to the detailed ruling, "the precondition of a strong sign of criminal activity, which was a prerequisite for imposing the judicial control measure in the form of not letting the person leave his or her residence, was not met" in Alpay's case

Concluding that the right to personal liberty and security guaranteed by Article 19 of the Constitution is violated, the Constitutional Court has ruled that Alpay shall be paid 20,000 lira in non-pecuniary damages.

CLICK - Second ruling of right violation for Alpay

In a unanimous decision on March 16, 2018, Turkey's Constitutional Court concluded, for the second time, that the right to personal liberty and security as per the Article 19 of the Constitution and the right to a fair trial as per the Article 36 were violated on the grounds that the first Constitutional Court ruling of right violation had not been implemented.

In a ruling handed down on the same day, Şahin Alpay was released from prison after being arrested for 20 months.

'Despite lack of strong criminal suspicion'

The recent Constitutional Court ruling has underlined that after Alpay was released to house arrest, "his deprivation of liberty did not end and the violations and its consequences were not eliminated by the courts."

Referring to the local court's imposition of house arrest on Alpay as a judicial control measure following the second ruling of right violation, the Constitutional Court has noted, "...it is not possible to say that a strong sign indicating the committal of the crime was put forward with new facts."

"Considering that the applicant's deprivation of liberty was not ended despite the ruling of right violation given due to the lack of strong signs suggesting that the crime was committed," the Constitutional Court has concluded that the Article 19 of the Constitution has been violated.

The ruling of the supreme court has also referred to a previous ruling of right violation given for Esra Özkan Özakça.

CLICK - Non-pecuniary damages for unlawful house arrest

"Given the nature, implementation and characteristics of the measure, it needs to be concluded that its restrictive effect on freedom of movement is far beyond freedom of travel in terms of its degree and intensity and, hence, it constitutes an intervention in the right to personal liberty and security."

What happened?

Şahin Alpay, a former columnist of the Zaman newspaper, which was closed by a Statutory Decree, was standing trial for "coup-plotting" and "membership in a terrorist organization" in the Zaman newspaper case. Taken into custody in the first wave of detentions on July 27, 2016 after the coup attempt on July 15, Şahin Alpay was arrested shortly afterwards.

The Constitutional Court gave a ruling of right violation for Alpay and Mehmet Altan, also an arrested journalist, and ruled that they should be released. However, the first instance courts did not recognize this ruling.

Alpay's attorneys made an application for the second time. The second ruling of right violation was given for Alpay on March 16, 2018. On the same day, the İstanbul 13th Heavy Penal Court ruled that he should be released on the condition of house arrest. (AS/SD)