Persecuted members of supreme courts held in solitary confinement in Turkish prisons
Dozens of judges and prosecutors, who are former members of Turkey’s supreme courts such as the Court of Cassation, the Council of State, the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK), have been persecuted by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government led by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Today, most of these jurists are still held in solitary confinement in prisons across Turkey.
The first victims of Turkish government’s massive post-coup witch-hunt campaign, which was launched against alleged members of the Gülen movement in the aftermath of a controversial military coup attempt on July 15, 2016, have been the members of the judiciary in Turkey. In the early hours of July 16, 2016 morning, thousands of judiciary members were detained during the police raids against their houses.
Mehmet Yılmaz, vice president of the Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK, which replaced HSYK), had confirmed this massive post-coup witch hunt campaign by saying that “We dismissed 2,740 members of the judiciary from their duties at 01:00 a.m. on July 16, 2016.” Yılmaz also said in an interview to the pro-government Akşam daily on April 6, 2018 that “4,100 members of the judiciary have been dismissed, so far.”
It is known that more than 2,000 members of the judiciary were arrested and put behind the bars in the wake of the July 15 military coup attempt. According to the reports in Turkish media, the prosecutors issued detention warrants for 2 members of the Constitutional Court, 140 members of the Court of Cassation, 48 members of the Council of State and 2,700 judges and prosecutors. All of these jurists, whose involvements into the military coup attempt were impossible, were detained by police and sent by courts to prisons in accordance with the liquidation lists which were prepared much before July 15, 2016 coup bid.
According to a survey conducted by the Stockholm Center for Freedom (SCF), all of the jailed members of the Court of Cassation and all of the first class judges have been held in solitary confinement in the jails. Many of them have been subjected to ill-treatment, thus several of them lost their lives as much more of them are suffering severe psychological problems.
According to data compiled by the SCF, judge Ekrem Ertuğrul, the former head of 9th Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation and its members judge Hamza Yaman, judge Ahmet Toker; and judge Çetin Şen, former member of the Court of Cassation have been kept in Keskin Prison in Kırıkkale province.
Judge Mehmet Kara, the former head of 4th Chamber of Law at the Court of Cassation has also been kept in solitary confinement in Keskin Prison. Judge Önder Aytaç, another former member of the Court of Cassation and judge Salih Sönmez, the former member (for replacement) of the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) have been kept in the Sincan Prison in Ankara province. Judge Ali Sancar, a member of the 16th Chamber of Law at the Court of Cassation has also been held in the solitary confinement for about 2 years.
Judge Ekrem Ertuğrul, the former head of the 9th Chamber at the Court of Cassation, who was tried by the same 9th Chamber of the Court of Cassation as the court of first instance, said during in a hearing on March 29, 2018 that “I have been held in a solitary confinement for 622 days. I refuse all the claims against me.”
Judges Kasım Davas, Bülent Olcay, Fatih Cihangir and Hüseyin Solak, who are former members of the Council of State, have also been held in solitary confinement in the Keskin Prison in Kırıkkale province. The Keskin Prison is one of the prisons where the greatest number of jurists were imprisoned. One hundred two judges who are former members of the Court of Cassation and the Council of State have been kept in this prison.
Judge Kasım Davas was also the former deputy undersecretary of the Prime Ministry as current President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was still prime minister. Judge Bülent Olcay had come to the agenda after he hang his robe to a window in his room at the Council of State building to protest the AKP government’s attempts to control the judiciary.
Judges Alparslan Altan and Erdal Tercan, who were members of the Constitutional Court (AYM), were arrested after the July 15 coup bid and they have been held in solitary confinement in the Sincan Prison in Ankara province since then.
Judge Nezibe Özer, a former female member of the HSYK, has been kept at the Bakırköy Women’s Prison in İstanbul. Female judge Neslihan Ekinci, who was in the same prison, was later referred to a prison in Tekirdağ province. It is known that judge Ekinci, who has been kept in solitary confinement, has been suffering from severe psychological problems. Her daughter Rana Ekinci tried to publicize the trauma experienced by her mother several times.
Judges Ahmet Kaya, Ahmet Berberoğlu, Mahmut Şen, Hüseyin Serter, Ömer Köroğlu, who were also members of the HSYK, have been held in solitary confinement in Keskin Prison in Kırıkkale province.
Judge Teoman Gökçe, a former HSYK member, was also held in solitary confinement for months, lost his life in prison. Judge Gökçe died on April 2, 2018 in Sincan Prison in Ankara after a heart attack.
Seyfettin Yiğit was another jurist who lost his life suspiciously in the prison. Prosecutor Yiğit, who was detained in Bursa province as part of a witch hunt targeting alleged members of the Gülen movement just after the July 15, 2016 coup bid, was arrested and put into a H Type Prison in Bursa. Prosecutor Yiğit was found dead in his ward on September 15, 2016. According to the official claims, he committed suicide by hanging himself in the window of a toilet in the prison. But his daughter Ayça Yiğit said that “This is not a suicide, but a murder. He is not a person to commit suicide.”
Judge Mustafa Babayiğit, the former Head of Department at Personnel Directorate of the Turkish Ministry of Justice, who suffers from thyroid cancer, has been held at Kandıra Prison. Judge Babayiğit’s wife Songül Babayiğit, who is also a judge, has been held at Tokat Prison.
İbrahim Ethem Kuriş, former Chief Prosecutor in Ankara, was held in a solitary confinement for month in the notorious Silivri Prison in İstanbul province. Prosecutor Kuriş, who has lung cancer and had undergone brain surgery twice, was released after 9 months in solitary confinement.
There are also jailed judges and prosecutors whose psychological health were disrupted such as Judge Neslihan Ekinci, a former Deputy Secretary General of the HSYK, who have been kept in solitary confinement for more than a year.
Judge Zafer Turanlı, the former member of the Court of Cassation was referred to the Bakırköy Mental and Neurological Disease Hospital due to his severe psychological problems. Former prosecutor Zeki Vatan, who has been held in Gaziantep L Type Prison, also reportedly uses strong medicines due to his psychological problems.
Another name undergoing severe psychological problems in adverse prison conditions is former judge Atilla Rahman. Rahman, who was arrested on July 19, 2016, was first sent to Kırıklar F Type Prison. Atilla Rahman, who had frequent psychological problems here, was transferred to the Menemen Prison in İzmir together with other imprisoned judges and prosecutors. Atilla Rahman’s psychological problems have become even more intense here. The prison doctor referred him first to the hospitals in İzmir province. Judge Rahman, who experienced a psychological breakdown when he returned to the prison, was referred to the Manisa Psychological and Neurological Disease Hospital this time. Judge Rahman was sent back to prison after being kept under observation for 15 days at this hospital. According to the information SCF has received, he continues his life in prison by using high doses of sedative medicines.
Judge Fatih Cihangir, a former member of the Council of State, also requested his release on April 22, 2018 during a hearing before the General Assembly of the Court of Cassation by stating that he has suffered psychological problems.
It was learned that jurists Mehmet Aslan and Fahrettin Kaya, who were held in Prison No 1 in Şanlıurfa province, have also psychological problems and taken medicines. Aslan had applied to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) for his release, but the ECtHR had rejected his request.
It was also reported that judge Ercan Güler, who was held in Malatya Prison, has been suffering psychological problems.
Judge Hasan Hüseyin Özese and Hüsnü Çalmuk, who were among the judges of Ergenekon case, have been held at Bolu T-type Prison. Prosecutors Mehmet Ali Pekgüzel and Murat Yönder, who were among the prosecutors of Ergenekon investigation, have been held in the Sincan Prison in Ankara.
Prosecutor Süleyman Pehlivan, who is former prosecutor of Balyoz (Sledgehammer) case, has been kept in Keskin Prison in Kırıkkale, while prosecutor Nihat Taşkın, who had also taken role in Balyoz case, has been held in İskenderun T Type Prison.
Some other judges and prosecutors who are reportedly kept in solitary confinement in Turkish prisons are as follows:
Silivri Prison in İstanbul: Ertuğrul Ayar, Servet Sağlam, Mahmut Baltacıoğlu, Burhan Alıcı, Muhsin Durmaz, İbrahim Kır, Oktay Acu, Güray Batur, Yusuf Memiş, Muzaffer Özdemir, Mehmet Bahadır, Lütfullah Sami Özcan, Türker İkibaş, Mustafa Köylü, Remzi Gemici, Metin Kukul, Mustafa Altun
Sincan Prison in Ankara: Serkan Kızılyel, Suat Sonay, Yılmaz Erdem, Miktat Başaran, Mustafa Aydın.
Keskin Prison in Kırıkkale: Ali Kaya, İbrahim Günenç, Mine Kaya, Muharrem Karayol, Muzaffer Karadağ, Mustafa Akarsu, Dursun Murat Cevher, Mehmet Çelik, Bekir Sözen, Hüsamettin Uğur, İdris Berber.
Gaziantep L Type Prison: Mehmet Arslantaş, Hüseyin Uğurlu, Hüseyin Baş, Hüseyin Görüşen, Davut Bülbül, Nevzat Yörük, Salih Dağ, Mehmet Emin Kurt, Ömer Yıldırım, Selami Candemir, Hasan Kanlı, Emrullah Aycı.
Hilvan Prison in Şanlıurfa: Tuğrul Hançerkıran, İlkay Aydın, Onur Gündem, Ahmet Kırtepe, Mustafa Aslan, İsmail Turgut Kıldan.
Adana Prison: Mustafa Çolak, Taha Ekim, Şehmuz Akçakaya, Özlem Akçakaya.
Bolu Prison: Yener Yavuz, Yılmaz Şengül, Bahattin Akman, Habib Atasoy, Celaleddin Dönmez, Tahir Kaplan.
Osmaniye T Type Prison: Fatih Taş, Metin Akdemir, Nihat Hırka, Emin Aydın.
Düzce Prison: Atilla Aslan, Osman Kılınçaslan
Kandıra Prison: Yakup Navruz, Seyfullah Çakmak, Rasim İsa Bilgen
Akşehir Prison in Konya: Eren Şenli, Mesut Arkuntaş
Samsun Prison: Naim Karaağaç
Yavuzeli Prison: Ümit Sade
Kahramanmaraş Prison: Durdu Kavak.
Gebze Prison: Ayşe Neşe Gül.
Denizli Type D Prison: Faruk Büyükkaramuklu
Trabzon Prison: Adem Yazar
Van Prison: Hidayet Erkeç
Turkey survived a controversial military coup attempt on July 15, 2016 that killed 249 people. Immediately after the putsch, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government along with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan pinned the blame on the Gülen movement.
Fethullah Gülen, who inspired the movement, strongly denied having any role in the failed coup and called for an international investigation into it, but President Erdoğan — calling the coup attempt “a gift from God” — and the government initiated a widespread purge aimed at cleansing sympathizers of the movement from within state institutions, dehumanizing its popular figures and putting them in custody.
Turkey has suspended or dismissed more than 150,000 judges, teachers, police and civil servants since July 15. On December 13, 2017 the Justice Ministry announced that 169,013 people have been the subject of legal proceedings on coup charges since the failed coup.
Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu announced on April 18, 2018 that the Turkish government had jailed 77,081 people between July 15, 2016 and April 11, 2018 over alleged links to the Gülen movement.
from Stockholm Center for Freedom https://stockholmcf.org/persecuted-members-of-supreme-courts-held-in-solitary-confinement-in-turkish-prisons/
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