Jailed opposition lawmaker Can Atalay began a 24-hour hunger strike on Thursday as Turkey’s parliament began a new legislative year, demanding implementation of Constitutional Court rulings in his favor and restoration of his parliamentary status.
Atalay, a lawyer elected to parliament from the earthquake-hit southern province of Hatay in 2023 while serving an 18-year sentence in the Gezi Park trial, remains behind bars despite two Constitutional Court rulings that found violations of his rights.
His parliamentary status was removed in January 2024, but the top court later declared the move “null and void,” deepening a judicial crisis over lower courts’ refusal to implement its decisions.
Atalay announced the hunger strike as the Turkish Parliament began its new legislative year on October 1, saying he should have been in the chamber representing Hatay.
“As the elected representative chosen by the people of Hatay in their most difficult days, I should also be there, but I am in prison in a completely unlawful manner,” Atalay said in a statement released through his social media accounts.
He said the action was intended to draw attention to what he described as the denial of Hatay voters’ right to representation and to press for compliance with the constitution and Constitutional Court decisions.
“I will not remain silent. The people of Hatay elected me to speak and demand accountability on their behalf. I will not give up that duty,” Atalay said. “Enough is enough.”
Hatay was the province hit hardest by the devastating earthquakes of February 6, 2023, which killed more than 53,000 people in Turkey and left millions homeless.
Atalay ran from prison in the May 2023 elections on a platform that included holding officials accountable for the scale of the destruction in the province and later filed complaints over the collapse of İskenderun State Hospital and the handling of earthquake debris.
He also urged Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş to restore his name to the parliamentary register, claiming that no further vote or decision was required following the Constitutional Court’s ruling.
“The speaker should, in accordance with the Constitutional Court decision, put my name back on the register. No other decision or procedure is necessary,” he said, calling on lawmakers to remind Kurtulmuş of what Atalay described as his constitutional obligations.
Atalay has been imprisoned since April 2022 after being convicted of aiding an attempt to overthrow the government over his alleged role in the 2013 Gezi Park protests. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison along with several other defendants, while philanthropist Osman Kavala received a life sentence.
Atalay was elected in May 2023 as a lawmaker for the Workers’ Party of Turkey (TİP) but was not released to take his seat despite parliamentary immunity.
The Constitutional Court ruled in October 2023 that his continued imprisonment violated his right to liberty and security and his right to stand for election and engage in political activity. A lower court refused to implement the ruling and instead referred the case back to the Supreme Court of Appeals.
The Constitutional Court subsequently issued a second rights-violation ruling, but the Supreme Court of Appeals again refused to comply and took the unprecedented step of filing criminal complaints against the Constitutional Court judges involved.
Parliament stripped Atalay of his seat in January 2024 after the Supreme Court of Appeals ruling upholding his conviction was read aloud in the chamber.
The Constitutional Court later concluded that the parliamentary move had no legal effect, saying the removal of Atalay’s status was “null and void.” Opposition lawmakers subsequently sought an extraordinary parliamentary session, but the attempt to restore his seat failed after a session that descended into a brawl.
Atalay said Thursday that his hunger strike was also intended to draw attention to imprisoned politicians, journalists, artists and other public figures whom he said were being held because of their political positions.
“This is also a call for compliance with the constitution, implementation of Constitutional Court decisions and removal of the obstacle preventing me from carrying out my duty,” he said.
This article is republished from Turkish Minute.
