Lawyers demand release order for Can Atalay after supreme court decision

Friends and colleagues of lawyer Can Atalay, a convict in the Gezi Trial who was elected MP from the Turkey Workers' Party in the May 14 elections but was not released from prison, held a protest at Çağlayan Courthouse, calling for the prompt implementation of the Constitutional Court's (AYM) violation decision regarding Atalay.

Gathering in front of the Themis Statue inside the courthouse, the lawyers marched to the C Gate of the building amid applause.

"The decision is final"

First, attorney Muzaffer Değirmenci, a member of Can's Friends, spoke during the protest. Değirmenci referred to the words of the Minister of Justice, Yılmaz Tunç, who said, "The necessary will be done according to the reasoned decision," and stated that there was no need to wait for the reasoning, as the Constitutional Court's decision is final and binds all administrative and judicial authorities without reservation.

Değirmenci expressed that Atalay should have been released immediately after being elected as a member of parliament, but he has been unjustly deprived of his freedom for five and a half months. He continued:

"Unjustly deprived of his freedom"

Değirmenci reminded that despite the widespread legal violations, the Constitutional Court has determined the validity of their demands and ruled that their colleague and Member of Parliament, Can Atalay, had his 'right to be elected' and 'personal freedom and security' violated.

"Constitutional Court decisions are final and bind all judicial authorities without reservation. Everyone is obligated to comply with the Constitutional Court's decision. Therefore, there is no need to wait for the reasoned decision for execution. The court should immediately issue a release order within the scope of the Constitutional Court's decision," he said.

"The court should issue a release order at once" 

Following Değirmenci's speech, Atalay's lawyer, Akçay Taşçı, recounted the ongoing process and stated, "Without subjecting us to further legal misconduct, the 13th Heavy Penal Court must issue a release order."

"It was necessary for the Court of Cassation to make this decision without the need for an individual application to the Constitutional Court," said Taşçı, highlighting that the Court of Cassation ignored precedents in this regard and may have made one of its worst decisions in history.

"Despite all this, the Constitutional Court issued a violation decision yesterday, but since yesterday, we cannot ascertain whether the decision has reached the court. We know that the decision has arrived here, and we demand that the court issue a release order without subjecting us to further legal misconduct," he concluded. (RT/PE)