Turkey’s Constitutional Court has warned that refusing to implement its judgments could throw the legal system into “chaos,” in a reasoned decision published Tuesday requiring that an İstanbul court begin retrial proceedings for jailed Gezi Park defendant Tayfun Kahraman.
The decision explains the court’s April 2 ruling that the İstanbul 13th High Criminal Court violated Kahraman’s constitutional rights by refusing to implement an earlier judgment ordering his retrial.
Its publication in the Official Gazette comes six months after the ruling and sets out why the lower court has no discretion to reject the retrial or question the binding nature of Constitutional Court judgments.
Kahraman, a city planner sentenced to 18 years in prison for aiding an attempt to overthrow the government through the 2013 Gezi Park protests, has been behind bars since April 2022.
He was convicted in the same Gezi Park trial as businessman and philanthropist Osman Kavala, who received a life sentence without the chance of parole on charges of attempting to overthrow the government.
The Constitutional Court first ruled on July 31, 2025, that his right to a fair trial had been violated and ordered a retrial. It found that the courts had not adequately explained the connection between the evidence against him and the force and violence required for the offense.
The İstanbul 13th High Criminal Court subsequently refused to implement the judgment, accusing the Constitutional Court of acting as an appeals court and exceeding its authority. Kahraman then filed a second individual application.
In its reasoning for the April ruling, the Constitutional Court said the lower court must begin retrial proceedings without waiting for another application from Kahraman or his lawyers. It does not need to issue a separate decision accepting the retrial.
The court rejected the argument that it had exceeded its authority, saying lower courts cannot redefine its constitutional powers or challenge the binding nature of its judgments.
It said the İstanbul court’s refusal went beyond a difference in legal interpretation and amounted to an exercise of judicial authority incompatible with the constitution — a situation that would “inevitably plunge the legal system into chaos.”
“The Constitution does not grant public authorities that are under an obligation to implement a Constitutional Court decision … the authority to resist Constitutional Court decisions or debate their binding nature,” it said.
Beginning Kahraman’s retrial is “both a legal and constitutional obligation,” the court concluded.
The judges unanimously found a violation of Kahraman’s right to individual application and, by majority, a continuing violation of his right to a fair trial. They ordered that the judgment be sent to the İstanbul court for retrial proceedings and awarded him 100,000 lira, approximately $2,030, in non-pecuniary damages. Copies were also sent to the Justice Ministry and the Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK).
The Constitutional Court did not order his immediate release, saying his requests for release and suspension of his sentence concerned the stage after retrial proceedings had begun.
Calls for compliance and release
The court’s insistence that its judgments must be obeyed also drew support from a senior figure in President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s governing alliance.
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Deputy Chairman Feti Yıldız said Tuesday that Kahraman’s retrial must proceed and that the issue was not open to debate. The far-right MHP is an ally of Erdoğan’s ruling party.
Kahraman’s lawyer, Cansu Çifçi, called for prompt implementation in an interview with the BirGün daily, saying the second application had become necessary because the first judgment was ignored.
“There is no longer any room for debate about this. The retrial needs to begin as soon as possible,” Çifçi said.
She also urged his release, citing his health, the time he has spent in prison and the two successive Constitutional Court rulings.
“At this stage, he also needs to be released as soon as possible,” she said.
Kahraman has multiple sclerosis and suffered an acute relapse earlier this year that required hospitalization.
His conviction was upheld by Turkey’s Supreme Court of Appeals in September 2023.
The Gezi Park protests began in İstanbul in 2013 over plans to redevelop a park near Taksim Square and spread nationwide. Erdoğan, who was prime minister at the time, has portrayed them as an attempt to overthrow his government.
The dispute reflects longstanding concerns about judicial independence and compliance with top court judgments in Turkey. The European Commission’s 2025 report on the country said several courts had refused to implement Constitutional Court rulings, undermining “the integrity and the functioning of the entire system.”
Turkey ranked 118th out of 143 countries in the World Justice Project’s 2025 Rule of Law Index, down from 117th out of 142 the previous year. The country ranked 14th out of 15 countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
This article is republished from Turkish Minute.
