Muhsin Şentürk appointed as appeals court's top judge

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has appointed Muhsin Şentürk as the new chief public prosecutor of the Court of Appeals.

Şentürk's appointment comes after a 37-round presidential election held by the top appeals court that saw him emerge as one of the candidates. He exited the race with two rounds remaining.

The decision to appoint Şentürk as the chief public prosecutor on May 16 follows his tenure as the head of the court's third criminal chamber.

Notably, the chamber came to the public agenda after not implementing the Constitutional Court's decision regarding the continued detention of Can Atalay, who was elected as an MP while in detention last year.

Despite top court's ruling, Atalay's parliamentary status was revoked.

Şentürk, born in the capital Ankara in 1968, graduated from Ankara University's Faculty of Law and began his journey as a candidate judge in Ankara. He later served as an investigative judge in Kars and Sivas before joining the criminal chamber of the Court of Appeals.

The top appeals court selected Ömer Kerkez as the new head earlier this week. The election process had been mired in deadlock since the conclusion of former head Mehmet Akarca's four-year term at the end of March, with candidates failing to secure a majority vote until the 37th round.