A dispute between two top Turkish courts over the case of jailed parliamentary deputy Can Atalay triggered concerns about the rule of law on Thursday, with the MP’s lawyer describing an appeals court move as a “judicial coup attempt”.
The top appeals court, or Yargitay, took the unprecedented step of making a criminal complaint against Constitutional Court judges on Wednesday, arguing that their ruling last month in favour of releasing Atalay was unconstitutional.
The row coincided with the European Commission’s release of its annual report on Turkey’s long-stalled EU membership bid, criticising its “serious backsliding” on democratic standards, the rule of law, human rights and judicial independence.
Atalay, 47, was sentenced to 18 years in prison last year after being convicted of trying to overthrow the government by organising nationwide protests in 2013, along with Turkish philanthropist Osman Kavala and six others.
All defendants denied the charges regarding the protests, which they said developed spontaneously in what was the biggest popular challenge to President Tayyip Erdogan in his two decades in power.
“The Court of Cassation (Yargitay) has committed a crime by not recognising the Constitutional Court decision. This is a judicial coup attempt,” said Atalay’s lawyer Ozgur Urfa.
