'Time to go to jail again if I want to vote!'

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We are heading towards elections. The countdown has almost started. I was also very happy that I would be able to vote years later, but it did not last long. I had to forget about it, at least for now.

Right to vote, after years

As you know, I was released after 6 years and 7 months of prison sentence on November 29, 2022. I did not have the right to vote since October 1, 2019, when my verdict was upheld by the Court of Cassation. This is the case for all verdicts whose verdict is upheld for crimes other than negligent ones.

The Supreme Election Council (YSK) defines the ones who have the right to vote and when after being convicted of a crime, which includes me. Although I am released on probation, I have the right to vote.

Tutelary an obstacle

Some will know, for those of you who do not know, let me explain. A tutelary is assigned for you when your verdict is upheld. After this, you cannot carry out official procedures by yourself because you are under tutelage.

We applied to the Yüksekova Criminal Court of Peace for the cancellation of the tutelage together with my lawyer. I asked the secretariat, just out of curiosity, "How long will it take?"They answered, "Usually in three weeks." So I will be without a tutelary in the new year in 2023. I was so happy, I will be having yet another "freedom."

I got out of jail but I have to prove it!

More than one month had passed when I went to the court and asked again. The secretariat told me how the procedure worked. "After we take your petition, we ask for a letter confirming that you have been released from prison. And after that, the tutelary is canceled with the decision of the judge."

I was just going to say, "I should be released since I am speaking to you, not?" but I swallowed my words fearing the process may last longer. It turned out that the prison had also confirmed that they released me, but my file was being kept waiting at the judge's desk.

Nothing changed

The judge will take a look and I will be freed from the tutelage. However, days passed by, and the judge did not do this. I went again, and the lawyers again, but nothing changed.

By the way, my tutelary is abroad and cannot come and accompany me for official procedures. And I am not able to carry out any official procedures either.

I am out, officially I am in jail!

The most important thing is that I cannot change my residential address. My residential address is the Van High-Security Prison. You may laugh but I am out, but I am officially in jail.

In the meantime, police officers called me twice and said, "Your accommodation is in prison."

The first was a few weeks ago. The officer told me that they were calling me from the police station. "We called for your residential address. Where do you live? You have to change your address." they said. Of course, I passed it to the judge's field.

Police officers show great interest

Again weeks passed by and my father called me last Thursday. He said, "Police officers are here, they came to the village. They ask about you." I talked to one of the police officers on the phone, so I could understand what they want. They told me, "Your accommodation is in the village, but you are not in the village. Can you give us your address information? For us to be able to reach you, you need to change your residential address."

I told them something like "Why haven't you visited the judge instead, you would not need to go all the way to the village."
Some understand the great interest that the officers show as a message to say "We are here." They may be right; in that case, we are here, humbly we are writing.

Not "diyanet," bianet!

They then asked me for my home and work addresses in İstanbul. The officer asked me where I worked. I said, "At bianet." He asked me for the address. I told them that they could easily find using the Internet. He asked me if they should write "Presidency of Religious Affairs/Diyanet?" I was just about to laugh but stopped myself, of course. I said, "Not Diyanet, bianet!"

To the prison to vote?

So let us come back to the issue of voting. When the voter lists were announced, I checked the website of the YSK. I was listed at the prison.

Now I feel I am at a dead end. In these elections where even one vote is seen as so important, I want to be able to cast a vote. I was not able to change my residential address because of the dear hard-working judge.

Will the judge allow me to vote? Will I be able to change my address? Is there anything else that I can do, I do not know.

Or else do I have to go to jail in order to be able to vote? (NT/PE)