Atalay successfully ran for a seat in the legislature from jail in May’s parliamentary elections. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison as a part of the Gezi Park trial in 2022.
Following his electoral triumph in Hatay province, Atalay petitioned Turkey’s Supreme Court to release him on the basis of his parliamentary immunity to prosecution. The court rejected his petition in July.
In October, the Turkish Constitutional Court ruled in favor of Atalay’s release and ordered the Supreme Court to reverse its decision. The Supreme Court responded by issuing a statement accusing the Constitutional Court of “exceeding its legal authority” and filed a criminal complaint with the chief public prosecutor’s office against its members, pushing the country to the verge of a judicial crisis.
The Supreme Court rejected another Constitutional Court decision about the Atalay case in December.
On Tuesday, the Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag, read a statement from the Supreme Court regarding Atalay’s removal from the legislature at the Turkish parliament. This prompted a backlash from opposition MPs, who stormed the podium where Bozdag was reading the decision, resulting in the suspension of the parliamentary session.
“An unlawful procedure, not an irregular one, is taking place. We are witnessing the completion of a coup attempt that undermines the constitution,” said Erkan Bas, the leader of TIP party, who stressed that the party does not recognize a decision by a court which does not recognize the authority of the Constitutional Court.
While the MPs were protesting Bozdag’s reading of the Supreme Court decision, Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) opposition MP Aysu Bankoglu threw a copy of Turkey’s constitution at the minister.
Leaders and lawmakers of other opposition parties also reacted to the controversial decision.
“The will of the people has been trampled once again. A system in which the will of the people is not recognized is not and cannot be democratic,” said Meral Danis Bestas, pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democracy and Equality Party (DEM Party) lawmaker.
Ali Babacan, leader of the opposition party DEVA, addressed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in his intervention, stating that the Turkish president enjoys his position thanks to the times the Constitutional Court sided with him in the past, “Thanks to you [Erdogan], we are not even a state of law anymore," he said on X, tagging Erdogan.
Erdogan in October sided with the Supreme Court in its row with the Constitutional Court. He later said during a televised speech that he was not a party to the controversy but an “arbitrator,” and claimed the crisis was a sign the country needs a new constitution.
