A photograph shows a portrait of the Workers’ Party of Turkey (TIP)’s jailed MP Can Atalay during a swearing-in ceremony at the Turkish parliament in Ankara on June 2, 2023. Lawyer Can Atalay, elected as a MP in the May 14 parliamentary election, has not been released despite legislative immunity and the issue has became a legal crisis in the country. His parliamentary seat was revoked on January 30th. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP)
Imprisoned Turkish Worker’s Party (TİP) lawmaker Can Atalay’s parliamentary seat was revoked in the Turkish Grand National Assembly fueling further legal crisis in the country over the case.
On January 30th, the Grand National Assembly Speaker’s Office read the verdict regarding Can Atalay, who was sentenced to 18 years in the Gezi Park Trial, revoking his parliamentary seat.
Opposition lawmakers protested Deputy Speaker Bekir Bozdağ for reading out the decision, some throwing a Constitution leaflet at him while others approaching the lectern.
Bozdağ'a anayasa kitapçığı fırlatıldı
TİP Hatay Milletvekili Can Atalay’ın milletvekilliğinin düşürülmesiyle ilgili kararın okunduğu sırada kararı okuyan Meclis Başkanvekili Bekir Bozdağ’a anayasa kitapçığı fırlatıldı.https://t.co/1RYZKE8WRt pic.twitter.com/vetgG57Mqx
— PolitikYol (@politikyol) January 30, 2024
Yazıklar olsun!
CAN ATALAY Hatay halkının iradesi ve Meclis’teki temsilcisidir.#CanAtalay ‘ın milletvekilliğinin düşürülmesi #Hatay halkının iradesinin yok sayılmasıdır.
Hatay’ı deprem değil, Anayasayı yok sayanlar CANlarımızı öldürdü!
Biz Hataylılar bunu, bu… pic.twitter.com/gz80AIzmVw— Gökhan Zan (@GokhanZanResmi) January 30, 2024
After being elected as a lawmaker at May 2023 elections, the continuation of Atalay’s detention was brought to the Constitutional Court’s attention. The Court ruled that Atalay’s right to be elected was violated and requested the release of the TİP parliamentarian by the local court.
The 13th Heavy Penal Court in Istanbul, deviating from the Constitutional Court’s decision and not issuing a release order, sparked controversy by referring the case to the Court of Cassation. The Court of Cassation’s resistance to the Constitutional Court’s decision and even filing a criminal complaint against the members of the Constitutional Court led to a deepening judicial crisis.
Gezi Park Trial where business person Osman Kavala was also sentenced to life in prison, is considered to be a politically biased case fueling debate on ruling Justice and Development Party’s influence over judiciary in the country.
You can read how did the crisis unfold from here “Legal standoff: Turkish courts lock horns over release of lawmaker Atalay”
Revoking parliamentary membership
Resisting the Constitutional Court’s decision for the second time, the Constitutional Court sent the file to the Parliamentary Speaker’s Office for the reading of the judgment concerning Atalay to revoke his parliamentary membership.
All eyes turned to the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly, Numan Kurtulmuş.
The Parliamentary Speaker’s office did not read the decision about Atalay in the General Assembly, keeping it on hold.
However, it was reported that in a meeting between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli, who strongly reacted to the Constitutional Court’s decision, this issue was also discussed. It was reflected in the backstage that the two leaders reached an agreement on reading the decision in the General Assembly.
Despite the Constitutional Court’s decision, the actions of both the local court, the Court of Cassation, and the Parliamentary Speaker’s Office in reading the decision may become the subject of a new Constitutional Court application.
After this decision, Atalay may reapply to the Constitutional Court, stating that the process of revoking his parliamentary membership is illegal.
