Erkan Baş, chairman of the Workers’ Party of Turkey (TİP), has called for an extraordinary session of the legislature to restore the parliamentary status of a jailed opposition lawmaker after the country’s top court declared the removal of his status “null and void” last week, Turkish Minute reported on Thursday.
Can Atalay, who was elected to parliament from the TİP, is serving an 18-year sentence that was upheld by the top appeals court last year after his conviction in what’s known as the Gezi Park trial, concerning anti-government protests in 2013.
A judicial crisis erupted when the Supreme Court of Appeals, which upheld the politician’s conviction, refused to rule for his release from prison last year, defying two decisions by the Constitutional Court. In a first in the history of Turkey the appeals court also filed criminal complaints against members of the top court.
The Constitutional Court had ruled twice last year that Atalay’s rights to security and liberty and the right to stand for election were violated.
The top court said in its reasoned opinion that the Supreme Court of Appeals’ decision not to implement its rulings had no legitimacy.
Atalay demanded his immediate release through a written statement posted on his X account on Monday, saying that he objected not only to the injustice he has suffered but also to the “constitutional crisis that our country is facing.”
Baş, along with TİP spokesperson Sera Kadıgil and İstanbul MP Ahmet Şık, met with Speaker of Parliament Numan Kurtulmuş on Thursday. They emphasized the need for immediate action to restore Atalay’s status.
“We thank Mr. Kurtulmuş for the meeting. Our sole agenda was the Constitutional Court’s decision on Can Atalay. We expect his parliamentary status to be restored promptly,” Baş said.
He stressed the urgency of the matter, calling for an extraordinary session of parliament.
“Parliament is in recess, but this can be resolved through an extraordinary session. We have consulted with representatives from various parties including the CHP [Republican People’s Party], the DEM Party [Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party], the Felicity Party [SP], the Future Party [GP], Deva [Democracy and Progress Party], the Labor Party and the Democratic Party. They all agreed to support our call for an extraordinary session,” he said.
Baş proposed that the session be held before Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s scheduled address on August 15, adding, “While we recognize the importance of the Palestinian issue, we cannot accept that the parliament convenes for other matters as if the Constitutional Court’s ruling on Atalay does not exist.”
Kurtulmuş suggested that the session be held on August 16, but Baş insisted on August 14. “It is unacceptable for parliament to continue routine activities while ignoring the court’s decision. Concrete steps must be taken to reaffirm Atalay’s parliamentary status and facilitate his release so he can take up his duties,” Baş said.
Şık pointed to judicial misconduct, stating, “The real issue is the unlawful actions of the judiciary. Removing justice, fairness and merit from the judicial system has led to the current situation.”
TİP has requested that parliament formally register Atalay and restore his benefits. Pro-Kurdish DEM Party co-chairperson Tuncer Bakırhan and several labor unions have also called for compliance with the Constitutional Court’s ruling.
Atalay was stripped of his parliamentary status in January after a reading of the ruling by the Supreme Court of Appeals upholding his 18-year sentence in a riotous plenary session in parliament that saw angry chants and attempts to halt the proceedings by opposition deputies.
The 47-year-old Atalay successfully ran from prison for a seat in parliament representing the earthquake-ravaged Hatay province in the May general election.
The Gezi Park trial defendants including Atalay and prominent businessman Osman Kavala were convicted of attempting to overthrow the government for their alleged role in the protests, which began over an urban development plan in central İstanbul and spread to other cities in Turkey.
The youth-driven demonstrations morphed into a nationwide protest against perceived corruption by the ruling Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) and then-prime minister and current president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s growing authoritarianism.
Erdoğan’s government violently dispersed the protests and then began to crack down on its leaders.
