‘Constitution suspended’ under Turkey’s state of emergency: CHP head

ANKARA

The constitution has been “openly violated” under Turkey’s ongoing state of emergency rule, main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has said, blasting political influence over the justice system.

“We have come to a point where judicial bodies don’t even recognize each other, where a lower court can say: ‘I don’t acknowledge the Constitutional Court.’ We are living in a process where there is no law,” Kılıçdaroğlu said on Jan. 15, speaking at the CHP’s conference titled “Enough with the State of Emergency,” held in Ankara.

He referred directly to the recent decision of two local Istanbul courts to dismiss a Constitutional Court ruling that stated that the ongoing detention of two jailed journalists, Şahin Alpay and Mehmet Altan, violates their rights and the constitution.

“Article 153 of the constitution states that a Constitutional Court ruling is final. But now a lower court is saying: ‘I will not implement your ruling.’ This is the point where we have reached,” he said.

Kılıçdaroğlu added that state of emergency rulings should only include matters directly related to security, but many of the 31 decree laws issued so far since the July 2016 coup attempt have stepped far beyond these boundaries.

“The government has suspended the constitution and the Constitutional Court’s rulings. It this where we have reached?” he said.

The CHP leader also slammed the controversial recent state of emergency decree granting impunity to civilians who fought against pro-coup soldiers during the July 2016 military coup attempt, noting that the CHP had applied to the Constitutional Court about this article.