Situation in Turkey

Top bureaucrat of the Minister of Justice who has affiliation with extremist groups was appointed to the Constitutional Court

Turkish Judiciary’s the highest ranking bureaucrat, Selahattin Menteş who is undersecretary of the Justice Minister and former chair of the Inquiry Commission for State of Emergency Measures has been appointed to the Turkish Constitutionalists Court.

Mr. Mentes is a controversial name because of his affiliation with extremist cleric Nurettin Yildiz and lunatic hate-speech giver Kadir Misirlioglu.
Another controversial aspect of this appointment is that Mr Mentes is the former chair of the Inquiry Commission for State of Emergency Measures. During his term he signed thousands of decisions dismissing appeals of those who were purged under Emergency Decrees. Mr Mentes, as a Constitutional Court judge, will now have authority to consider appeals lodged against his own decisions.

By today’s appointment, the number of the members of the Constitutional Court who have been appointed by Erdogan has increased to seven out 17.

Erdogan gets infinite authority over the national and provincial bar associations

Presidential Decree No:5 of which name is Presidential Decree as to the State Inspection Institution regulates (article 1) that Turkish Presidency has authority to inspect Bar Associations, Professional Organizations, Trade Unions, Chambers of Commerce, Employer and Employee Unions, Association and Foundations. Moreover, any senior inspector of the D.D.K. would be able to suspend the chairperson, and the board members of the aforementioned entities should the inspector decides that it is necessary for the soundness of the inspection or the public weal.

21 Lawyers were sentenced in Istanbul

So far, in Turkey, 162 lawyers have been sentenced of terrorism related accusations, and mainly of being the member of an armed terrorist organization. Twenty one of those who have been sentenced are member of the Istanbul Bar Association. Istanbul Public Prosecutorial Office has been prosecuting 503 lawyers, of those 147 have been arrested and so far at-least twenty one members of Istanbul Bar Association have been convicted.