ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkey’s Pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) on Monday announced having resorted to the country’s Constitutional Court to appeal the decision to strip jailed parliament member Can Atalay of his parliamentary status.
During a parliamentary session on Tuesday, Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag read a decision from the country’s Supreme Court inside the parliament, stripping Workers’ Party of Turkey (TIP) MP Atalay of his parliamentary status. The decision sparked an uproar among the members of the legislature.
The DEM Party stated on X that it “filed a complaint to the Constitutional Court after TIP MP from Hatay province was stripped of his parliamentary status,” referring to the decision as a “political coup.”
In the complaint, the DEM Party stated that the decision to strip Atalay of his parliamentary status was “null and void,” requesting the court to annul the decision in accordance with the country’s constitution.
In the parliamentary elections of May 2023, the DEM Party, then known as the Green Left Party, was TIP’s ally in the Labour and Freedom Alliance.
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.
Although the DEM Party has filed its complaint with the Constitutional Court, the subordinate Supreme Court has previously refused to comply with its ruling on the Atalay case.
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.
Following Tuesday’s decision, Atalay stated on his personal X account, which is run by his lawyers that “Despite the Constitution’s clear provisions, which leave no room for doubt, they ‘dropped’ the membership of the elected MP for Hatay [province].”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip 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.
