THE CASE OF ELECTED MP CAN ATALAY

Can Atalay is a human rights lawyer who has defended many political prisoners, journalists, and victims of mining catastrophes, among several other major court cases in the recent history of Turkey. Atalay is elected as a Member of the Parliament from the Workers’ Party of Turkey (TİP) to represent the Province of Hatay on the May 14th, 2023, General Elections in Turkey. He was elected while his was imprisoned since 2022 based on politically charged “Gezi Park Trials” after being unjustly convicted of “attempting to overthrow the government”.
Upon the elections he received his mandate, has been officially registered as an MP in the records of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM), and then elected as a member of the Human Rights Commission of the parliament.
According to the parliamentary immunity he should have been released and able to take his oath, however his arbitrary detention continued, and then a long lasting judicial procedure started to let Can Atalay free.

SUMMARY OF THE LEGAL PROCESS

Following his election, Atalay was not released from the prison, and he made his individual application to the Constitutional Court, the highest judicial authority in the country. On October 25, 2023, the Constitutional Court ruled that Can Atalay's “right to be elected and to engage in political activity” guaranteed under Article 67 and his “right to liberty and security of person” guaranteed under Article 19 of the Constitution had been violated, and that his retrial, stay of execution and release should be ordered.

However, the 3rd Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation sparked a new crisis by deciding that the Constitutional Court's decision “should not be complied with and a criminal complaint should be filed against the members of the Constitutional Court”.

A second application was made to the Constitutional Court due to the non-implementation of its ruling on Can Atalay, and the court ruled on December 21, 2023 that the decision was in violation, and ordered once again the retrial, stay of execution, and the release of Can Atalay.

However the 3rd Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation still ruled for the second time that there was no judiciary need to comply with the Constitutional Court's decision.

5 MONTHS OF UNEXPLAINED REASONING

Starting in October 2023 and lasting until the end of January 2024, the events were presented by the government as a “difference of interpretation” between the Constitutional Court and the Court of Cassation.

Although different tendencies within the government that existed until this date did not disappear, a decision was finally made by their side and implemented: By the session of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey on January 30, 2024, the letter of the 3rd Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation was read and Can Atalay's parliamentary seat was revoked.

After the revocation, applications were made to the Constitutional Court on behalf of Can Atalay and the Workers' Party of Turkey (TİP), as well as on behalf of CHP and DEM Party, requesting the annulment of the parliamentary disqualification.

The Constitutional Court convened on February 22, 2024 and rendered its decision, however this decision was put on hold without any reasoning until it was published in the official gazette on August 1, 2024. 

DE FACTO SITUATION

The reasoning of the Constitutional Court's decision on the revocation of Can Atalay's parliamentary seat clearly states that the Parliament and the Court of Cassation have created a “de facto situation” by going beyond the law and the Constitution, that the compliance with the Constitutional Court's decisions is a constitutional obligation and binding for all institutions, and therefore, since there is no finalized court ruling on Can Atalay, he is still a member of parliament, and the Parliament’s January action to strip Atalay of parliamentary status is “null and void”. In short, The Constitutional Court says that there is no legal basis for Can Atalay to be in prison. 

After the Constitutional Court's ruling, following a call by TİP Chairperson Erkan Baş, all opposition parties called with a joint signature for an extraordinary meeting of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey to discuss the issue on August 16. At the session on that day, a tension was created with a planned physical attack by AKP members to the TİP deputy Ahmet Şık during his speech, and finally the Constitutional Court's ruling was not read out. Hence the Parliament declared that it did not recognize the Constitutional Court and its decisions.

Lately another call was made for a second extraordinary meeting, however the President of the Grand Assembly, Numan Kurtulmuş directly rejected the call.

At the final stage, Can Atalay applied to European Court of Human Rights as well, and ECHR requested the defense of Turkey.

OUR DEMANDS

The continuing unlawful detention of Can Atalay, the elected representative of Hatay, severely violates his right to liberty and security of person (ICCPR, Art. 9 and ECHR, Art. 5), his right to run and be elected in free and fair elections (ICCPR, Art. 25(b)). Moreover, Atalay’s unlawful and illegitimate detention violates the people of Hatay’s most basic democratic rights to vote and be democratically represented (ICCPR, Art.25(b)).

We demand all obstacles to the elected Parliamentarian Can Atalay’s participation in legislative activities to be removed immediately.

We demand and invite all constitutional actors to respect the Constitution and fundamental democratic rights of the electorate and the elected representative.

For further information

Case of Can Atalay

Gezi Park Trial

Calls for Freedom of Can Atalay

Can Atalay Case Files

Contact

  • International Relations Committee of TİP:
    E-mail: [email protected]
  • Phone and direct messaging (WhatsApp and other platforms): +905334942992