TÜRKİYE ORTA ASYA HABER KKUORDİNATÖRÜ

WORLD TURKISH NEWS / NORDIC MONITOR Politicized judges and prosecutors deepen legal abuses in Turkish judiciary: report Levent Kenez/Stockholm A new report published by the Cross-Border Lawyers (CBJ), an association founded in Germany by Turkish lawyers living in exile to monitor human rights violations in Türkiye, reveals widespread and systematic legal abuses in the Turkish judiciary. The findings detail the direct involvement of judicial officials linked to the pro-government Judicial Unity Association (YBD) and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in unlawful decisions, mass arrests, and politically motivated prosecutions. The report provides quantitative data on the extent of legal abuses in the Turkish judicial environment following the failed coup attempt in 2016. Following the controversial coup attempt, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan consolidated his control over the judiciary, legislature, and executive branches, tightening his grip on power. Just hours after the coup attempt, the government launched a massive purge, dismissing 4,156 judges and prosecutors, suggesting they were likely pre-blacklisted. They were quickly replaced by individuals loyal to the government, many selected from within the AKP ranks. A total of 116 individuals, alleging violations of their fundamental rights and freedoms, filed complaints with the CBJ’s Board for Investigating and Analyzing Legal Misconduct (HAAK), which prepared the report. The organization, surprisingly, reviewed 2,709 legal decisions, revealing a highly alarming pattern of arbitrary detentions, lack of fair trials, and politically motivated prosecutions. The majority of complaints concerned unlawful detentions and arrests that occurred between 2016 and 2018, particularly following the failed coup attempt in 2016. However, the data confirms that these judicial abuses continued into 2024, demonstrating a persistent trend of state-sponsored legal persecution against individuals perceived as political opponents. One of the most important aspects of the report is the misuse of evidence in judicial processes. In 76 cases, Turkish courts used ByLock messaging app data as primary evidence, despite rulings rejecting its credibility by the European Court of Human Rights. In 62 cases, forced confessions obtained under duress were used to justify decisions. In 17 cases, individuals were prosecuted based on state-prepared blacklists. Furthermore, in many cases, personal financial data, phone records, and social media activity were used as supposed evidence of criminal activity. These practices violate constitutional guarantees of fair trial and human rights, with courts systematically disregarding due process and using flawed or fabricated evidence to achieve politically motivated convictions. The report also reveals that 1,487 judicial officials were held responsible for unlawful decisions, including 1,084 judges and prosecutors appointed when the AKP came to power in 2002. The report argues that the Turkish judiciary has become increasingly politicized, particularly since 2014, when the government-backed YBD (Judicial Institution for Justice) played a significant role in reshaping the courts. A particularly striking finding is that 841 of these judicial officials were members of the YBD, which was established in 2014 with the explicit support of the government. Critics argue that the YBD was created to remove judges and prosecutors critical of the government and replace them with judges loyal to the ruling party. The HAAK (Judicial Institution for Justice) investigation revealed that thousands of legal decisions lacked sufficient justification and that courts often approved reports from security agencies without proper review. Every decision analyzed in the report lacked adequate legal grounds. Almost all decisions violated the article of the Turkish Penal Code concerning detention conditions, demonstrating a complete disregard for procedural law. Detentions were extended beyond legal limits, and appeals were systematically rejected without review; courts used the same шаблон (template) responses to reject legal challenges. The report states that judicial authorities make decisions based on political directives rather than legal principles, creating a "secret agreement between the security bureaucracy and the judiciary." The HAAK argues that widespread human rights violations in Türkiye constitute crimes against humanity. The report refers to findings from both the European Court of Human Rights and the United Nations Human Rights Council, which have expressed concerns about systematic judicial repression in Türkiye. The European Court of Human Rights, in the case of Yalçınkaya v. Turkey (2023), ruled that the use of ByLock as primary evidence was unlawful.