Fenerbahçe chairman Yıldırım’s appeal to prosecutors rejected

ISTANBUL

The 13th Istanbul High Criminal Court ruled June 23 for the retrial of several convicted suspects, including Aziz Yıldırım. DHA Photo

Turkey’s Constitutional Court has rejected Fenerbahçe chairman Aziz Yıldırım’s individual appeal on a “rights violation.” The decision was released in the Official Gazette July 2, making the ruling official.
Yıldırım, who is the highest-profile figure in Turkey’s gripping football match-fixing case, has applied to the top court, claiming his rights were breached because his claim against a prosecutor was not considered at the Supreme Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK).

However, the Constitutional Court rejected the decision, saying one cannot apply to the judiciary bodies regarding HSYK rulings.

The decision, however, is not linked with Yıldırım’s appeal for a retrial of the case. “The process on our application to the Constitutional Court on a ‘retrial’ is ongoing,” a statement released from the Istanbul sports club has said.

The 13th Istanbul High Criminal Court ruled June 23 for the retrial of several convicted suspects, including Yıldırım, in the match-fixing case that has shaken the country’s football scene.

The court has accepted the retrial of the suspect’s for charges of being a member of a criminal organization, while it rejected Yıldırım’s demand for a retrial on the grounds that the investigation was part of a plot against the convicted suspects.

Earlier this year, Yıldırım’s six-year, three-month prison sentence for match-fixing was approved by the Supreme Court of Appeals.

The match-fixing case, which became public on July 3, 2011, is based on the claims that some matches in the 2010-2011 Super League campaign were manipulated.