Turkish top court rules intel report not sufficient to block public appointment

Turkey's top court ruled that an intelligence information note cannot by itself hinder the appointment of a public servant, Anka News Agency reported on Sep. 10. The case concerned the application of İdris Ertaş who was denied a public appointment on accusations of being linked to the PKK based on an intelligence note without any sound evidence.

Friday September 10 2021 04:03 pm

Duvar English

Turkey's Constitutional Court ruled that the Turkish government's failure to appoint public servant İdris Ertaş because of an intelligence information note was illegal, Anka News Agency reported on Sep. 10.

Ertaş had succeeded in the Public Servant Election Exam (KPSS) of 2016, but was denied an appointment based on a state of emergency decree that banned the appointment of anyone who was "detected to have acted against national security."

Ertaş was accused of partaking in activities organized by the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), deemed a terrorist organization by Ankara, the United States and the European Union (EU).

Ertaş later sued the Culture and Tourism Ministry on the grounds that his appointment was blocked without good reason, and that the relevant intelligence information note against him is not based on any sound evidence.

"There's no documentation or information about where or whom the information note was sent by," Ertaş said, adding that the note didn't specify what actions he was accused of.

The top court ruled that the lack of evidence against Ertaş hindered his right to defend himself, and that lower courts had failed to establish the facts.

Ertaş's right to a fair trial was violated, the top court ruled, sending a copy of its ruling to lower courts for a retrial.