Justice Minister Tunç responds to Tuğrul Türkeş: 'No file is ever swept under the rug'

AKP Ankara MP Tuğrul Türkeş had submitted an application to the Ministry of Justice to visit Osman Kavala and other Gezi trial detainees.

Stating that he had received no results despite a week passing since his request, Türkeş had criticized Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç.

"A STATEMENT AIMED AT SWEEPING THE FILE UNDER THE RUG..."

Türkeş included the following statements in his remarks:

"Our Minister of Justice's statements regarding the content of the case were neither elegant nor appropriate. The Minister of Justice should not obstruct the pursuit of justice. While he should have managed the application impartially, he instead chose to make statements and assessments aimed at sweeping the file under the rug. In my opinion, this is not the correct approach."

RESPONSE FROM YILMAZ TUNÇ TO TUĞRUL TÜRKEŞ

Following Türkeş's statement, the Ministry of Justice announced that approval for the visits had been granted, and Minister Tunç also responded to Türkeş.

YILMAZ TUNÇ: I COULD NOT FIND IT BEFITTING OF HIM

Speaking to NTV, Minister Tunç responded to Türkeş's criticism regarding a 'delay' as follows:

"He made the application on July 19; there was no delay in the response. We facilitate these meetings within a reasonable time when our MPs apply, even if they are not their own relatives."

Responding to Türkeş's claim that the 'file is being swept under the rug', Minister Tunç noted the following:

"On July 19, Mr. Türkeş submitted a petition to the Speaker of Parliament wishing to visit some of the convicts in the Gezi trial. Mr. Türkeş is an MP from our party, so there is no distinction between opposition MPs and ruling party MPs. 

We have a regulation regarding the visitation of convicts and detainees. These permissions are granted within the framework of articles 26 and 40 of this regulation. To date, 64 different MPs and 340 different lawyers have visited the Gezi trial convicts. Therefore, we do not have a tradition of preventing convicts from meeting with their visitors.

"HE MADE A STATEMENT WHILE WE WERE TRYING TO ARRANGE THE MEETING DAY"

This is already a requirement mandated by the Constitution and the law. We facilitate these meetings within a reasonable time when our MPs apply, even if they are not their own relatives. Mr. Türkeş's request was also of this nature. He made a statement while we were trying to arrange the meeting day, without us having issued any notification such as 'We will not allow the meeting'. 

"NO FILE IS EVER SWEPT UNDER THE RUG"

In his statement, he used expressions as if the file were being swept under the rug. I called him. No matter is ever swept under the rug at the Ministry of Justice. When I told him that he had acted a bit hastily in this regard, he said that he was under some pressure from the press and that he had made such a statement. 

Referring to the answer I gave upon the questions of journalists before the AK Party group meeting, he made some statements such as, 'The Minister of Justice is expressing opinions on the merits of the Gezi Trial. He is adopting an attitude that closes the path to seeking justice.' These statements were not very elegant; I could not find them befitting of him.

"THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS CLOSING THE PATHS TO SEEKING JUSTICE"

His lawyer requested a retrial regarding Kavala. During the Gezi events, there was a parliamentary government system; now we have transitioned to the presidential government system. 

He filed an application claiming that there was no victim of the crime of attempting to overthrow the government. The 13th High Criminal Court rejected this justification. The 14th High Criminal Court also issued a rejection decision. Upon this, an application for reversal in the interest of the law was made to the Ministry of Justice. 

As the Ministry of Justice, we stated that this justification was not appropriate. Therefore, we said that the path of reversal in the interest of the law could not be pursued for files that have passed through the Supreme Court of Appeals and have become final. There is nothing more natural than stating the reason why an application made to us was rejected. 

There is no such thing as closing the paths to seeking justice. We exist for the rule of law. No one can ever close the path to seeking justice."