DISMISSED MP BERBEROĞLU
Complaint filed against judges who defied Constitutional Court decision
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The attorneys of Enis Berberoğlu, who was stripped of MP status in June due to a prison sentence, have submitted a petition of complaint to the Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK) against court boards that refused to implement a Constitutional Court decision about the politician.
After Berberoğlu was dismissed as an MP, the top court ruled in September that his right to be elected was violated and he should stand retrial.
However, the İstanbul 14th Heavy Penal Court refused to implement the decision, concluding that there was no ground for a retrial.
After the court rejected an objection by Berberoğlu's attorneys, the file was sent to the 15th Heavy Penal Court, (upper court), which also defied the top court ruling.
As a result, Berberoğlu's reinstatement as an MP is prevented.
He was handed a prison sentence in February 2018 for "disclosing confidential information" in the trial over a news report on Cumhuriyet newspaper that allegedly revealed weapon-loaded trucks belonging to the country's intelligence agency.
In the petition of complaint, Berberoğlu's attorneys accused both court boards of misconduct by not recognizing the Constitutional Court's decision after an individual application by their client.
They filed a criminal complaint against the judges for "misconduct by using an authority that was not granted to them in the legislation, preventing the complainant's right to access to the court, and, in this context, the right to a fair trial, and depriving the complainant of his authority."
What happened?Over a news report on "MİT Trucks" published on Cumhuriyet newspaper, Enis Berberoğlu was sentenced to 25 years in prison on the charge of "disclosing information that has to remain confidential for the security of the state or domestic or foreign political interests for purposes of political and military espionage." Following this ruling handed down by the İstanbul 14th Heavy Penal Court, Berberoğlu was arrested on June 14, 2017. The ruling of the local court was reversed by the 2nd Penal Chamber of the İstanbul Regional Court of Justice, the court of appeals, on October 9, 2017. In its related ruling, the court of appeals noted that "the elements of the crime 'disclosing confidential information for purposes of espionage' would not arise if it was admitted that the secret had been disclosed before." However, the İstanbul 14th Court of First Instance found this ruling of reversal contrary to both due procedure and the law and returned it. Reexamining the file, the court of appeals ruled that Berberoğlu should be sentenced to 5 years, 10 months in prison, but this time not for "espionage," but for "disclosing information that has to remain confidential for the security of the state or domestic or foreign political interests." With this ruling, the court also ruled that Berberoğlu should remain behind bars. The Public Prosecutor of the İstanbul Regional Court of Justice appealed against this ruling. Requesting that Berberoğlu be penalized on the charge of "espionage," the prosecutor sent this request to the Court of Cassation. The petition demanded that Enis Berberoğlu, who was still behind bars at the time, be penalized on charge of "disclosing information that has to remain confidential for the security of the state or domestic or foreign political interests for purposes of political or military espionage." After Enis Berberoğlu was reelected as an MP from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) on June 24 General Elections in 2018, he applied to the Court of Cassation and requested the stay of the execution of his prison sentence. This request was rejected on July 20. However, on September 20, 2018, the Court of Cassation accepted the request of stay of execution on the grounds of Berberoğlu's legislative immunity and ruled that he should be released. The finalized ruling on Berberoğlu was read out at the General Assembly of the Parliament on June 4, 2020, and he was stripped of MP status. He was detained and arrested the next day. On the same day, he was released from prison as part of novel coronavirus (Covid-19) measures. |
(HA/VK)