'Civil authorities can't interfere with trial of a police officer,' appeals court rules

Photo: AA/File

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An appeals court has announced its verdict with regards to the stay of the trial of a police officer who ran over a 51-year-old woman with an armored vehicle, causing permanent disabilities to her.

In its verdict, the First Administrative Litigation Chamber of the Gaziantep Regional Court of Justice strassed that Law No. 4483 on the Trial of Public Officials cannot constitute an obstacle to judicial authorities, the Mesopotamia Agency (MA) reported.

In April 2018, police officer S.G. ran over Suphiye Yakut with an armored vehicle in the Dargeçit district of Mardin, a predominantly Kurdish-populated province in the country's southeast.

After the Dargeçit Sub-governor's Office did not allow an investigation against the officer, attorneys of Yakut had filed an appeal.

The appeals court ruled that the case should continue.

NOTE: Sixteen people, including nine children, lost their lives after being run over by armored vehicles belonging to security forces and public institutions between January 1, 2018 and September 10, 2021, according to the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV/HRFT).

The procedures stipulated by Law No. 4483 should not be used in a way to prevent people from appearing before investigation and judicial authorities, which are to make the assessment of their criminal responsibilities, the appeals court noted.

Documents in the case file proved that the police officer was the primary negligent party and the case file included sufficient information and findings for an investigation, the court stated.

The appeals court revoked the decision of the Sub-governor's Office, stating that whether the officer has criminal responsibility can be determined by a trial.

"A precedent"

With the verdict, the role of civil authorities in similar cases has been clarified, lawyer Tahir Demir told MA.

"The court clearly tells civil administrators that they cannot interfere with a trial," he said. "This is a trial that was stopped by the intervention of a civil administrator ... at the decision phase."

"In this sense, we can say that this verdict is a precedent for similar cases. We hope that the trial process will continue lawfully and the policy of impunity for law enforcement officers ends with this verdict."

What happened?

Suphiye Yakut, 51, was permanently disabled after being run over by an armored vehicle in Dargeçit, Mardin, on April 22, 2018.

A case was filed against police officer S.G., who was driving the vehicle, for "recklessly causing injury."

An expert report said the officer was "completely at fault" and "maneuvered carelessly."

In their opinion as to the accusations, the prosecutor demanded a sentence for the officer, in line with the expert report.

The court board was replaced after the 12th hearing of the case at the Midyat Heavy Penal Court.

After that, the prosecutor withdrew their opinion and demanded the court request permission for an investigation from the Dargeçit Sub-governor's Office.

The sub-governor's office did not permit an investigation, and the trial was stopped. Attorneys of the family appealed the decision. (AS/VK)