Top Turkish court chair accepts ‘long-standing, deep-rooted disagreement’ with AYM regarding Atalay’s release

The Court of Cassation head Mehmet Akarca on Jan. 5 acknowledged that there was a “deep-rooted disagreement” between them and the Constitutional Court (AYM) regarding the release of TİP MP Can Atalay. Akarca said the root of the disagreement went back five or six years, before Atalay's case.

Saturday January 06 2024 10:50 pm

Duvar English

The Court of Cassation (Yargıtay) head Mehmet Akarca on Jan. 5 stated that there existed a “deep-rooted disagreement” between them and the Constitutional Court (AYM) regarding the release of Workers’ Party of Turkey (TİP) MP Can Atalay, which went back five or six years, according to reporting by the Anadolu Agency.

Akarca answered journalists’ questions during an official visit to the Governor’s Office in Turkey’s Aegean Afyonkarahisar province. He responded to a question about the “dilemma” about the AYM’s latest ruling on Can Atalay by saying that the disagreements with the AYM were not specific to, and went furher back than the Atalay case.

“We indeed have seriously deep-rooted disagreements with the AYM for five or six years, stemming from interpretive differences in individual application and the current state of the Consitution,” stated Akarca.

What happened?

The top appeals court on Jan. 3 dismissed the second AYM ruling that found rights violations in Atalay’s imprisonment, calling it “unlawful.”

Turkish main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Özgür Özel announced that the party would hold a rally in the capital Ankara on Jan. 14 to protest the Court of Cassation’s latest refusal to comply with AYM’s rights violation ruling.

Atalay received an 18-year prison sentence for allegedly "attempting to overthrow the government of the Republic of Turkey" during the 2013 Gezi Park protests.

His release was expected as he was elected as a TİP deputy from the southeastern Hatay district in the May 14 elections and obtained legislative immunity.