Turkish Deputy PM slams judge on trial ban

ANKARA

Deputy PM Bozdağ says he hopes that neo-Nazi trial will include Turkish media representatives.

As long as the German Chief Judge resists allowing the Turkish media access to cover a neo-Nazi murder trial in which most of the victims were Turkish, the final ruling by the court will be destined to remain controversial, the Turkish deputy prime minister said yesterday.

“This is not the act of an impartial chief judge. Thus, we hope he will include Turkish media representatives at the hearing on April 17. Otherwise, everyone will be of the opinion that the judge is biased,” Bekir Bozdağ said, speaking at a meeting with the Diplomatic Correspondents’ Association.

If Turkish media are kept out, whatever decision the court reached would be treated with suspicion, according to Bozdağ. “If the court is open to the public, if they don’t have any concerns about the proceedings, the chief judge should allow in the Turkish media representatives,” he said. “But, unfortunately, the attitude of the chief judge is not in accordance with the state of law, that attitude casts a shad ow on the impartiality of the court,” Bozdağ added, expressing his hope that the chief judge would change his mind.

The Munich superior regional court said on March 25 that the 50 reserved courtroom seats for the media had been allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Meanwhile, EU Minister Egemen Bağış has asked the Turks living in Germany to claim their rights. Çağatay Kılıç, head of the Turkey-Germany Inter-parliamentary Friendship Group, will travel to Germany to attend the hearing, Bağış said.