HDP questions legitimacy of top judicial board decree, ban on rallies

The questions were filed by Meral Danış Beştaş, an Adana deputy for the HDP on June 7. Beştaş said the Supreme Council of Judges and Prosecutors’ (HSYK) 2016 Civil and Administrative Judiciary Main Decree released on June 6 had ensured that “judicial independence” existed on paper only, saying the decision was irregular and lacked objectivity.

Addressing prohibitions against HDP rallies, Beştaş asked whether “it was the duty of governors to ensure security at rallies or ban HDP rallies.”

With the judicial decree, the HSYK relocated 3,228 judges and prosecutors in the civil jurisdiction and 518 judges and prosecutors in the administrative jurisdiction.

“The news that was made public is as follows: judges and prosecutors who are known to make to decisions for the government have been promoted and those who have made decisions against the AKP [Justice and Development Party] have been exiled,” Beştaş said, addressing Bozdağ.

“For example, while it is mentioned that Karşıyaka judge and YARSAV [Judges and Prosecutors Union] Vice President Murat Aydın, who filed a court case to the Constitutional Court about the abolition of the article covering insults against the president, was assigned to Trabzon, it is also mentioned that those who have filed a court case or conducted an investigation ex officio about criticisms that were made about the president … were promoted,” she said.

“Likewise, it is also worthy of attention that judges and prosecutors who ruled in cases that were closed to public attention like the illegal wiretapping investigation, the Poyrazköy case and the Dec. 17-25 probe [the now-dropped Dec. 17 and the Dec. 25, 2013, graft cases] were relocated,” she added and asked whether Bozdağ’s ministry played any role in the decision that contradicted the HSYK’s primary mission to create a fair, trustworthy and objective decision mechanism.

Beştaş also asked whether Bozdağ agreed with the decision that the HYSK had exiled judges and prosecutors who issued decisions against the government and promoted those who made decisions in favor of the government.

On the issue of the banned HDP rallies, Beştaş asked Ala the reason behind the stated justifications about HDP demonstrations being prohibited and whether there were attempts to circumscribe the HDP’s political activity with the proscriptive decisions.

“Are these proscriptive decisions being personally made by the governor’s offices or has your ministry provided central instructions on this front? Are the governor’s offices making their decisions within the framework of these instructions?” she asked.