Istanbul court rejects demand for release of Altan despite Constitutional Court ruling

ISTANBUL

The Istanbul 27th High Criminal Court has rejected journalist Mehmet Altan’s demand to be released from jail, resisting the Constitutional Court’s ruling that his imprisonment violated his constitutional rights.

The local court’s decision came after the Constitutional Court on Jan. 11 ruled that journalists Altan and Şahin Alpay must be released from jail.

Although the Constitutional Court’s decisions are legally binding for lower courts, the Istanbul 26th High Criminal Court resisted the higher court’s ruling, saying the verdict had not been yet published in the Official Gazette.

On Jan. 15, this time the Istanbul 27th High Criminal Court rejected Altan’s demand for release, which had been filed through his lawyers.