Letter from Barış Pehlivan to the Minister of Justice: 'Which gang do I need to belong to for my freedom?'

Journalist Barış Pehlivan has written an open letter to Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunç from Silivri Prison, where he is currently incarcerated.

In the article published in Pehlivan's column in Cumhuriyet, he addressed the bribery allegations contained in a letter written by Istanbul Anatolian Chief Public Prosecutor İsmail Uçar to the Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK).

A portion of Pehlivan's article, published today under the title "An open letter to the Minister of Justice," reads as follows:

"I am currently in Maltepe Prison, where Fatih Tezcan was released from. The chief public prosecutor to whom I am assigned as a convict says: 'Tezcan's release is illegal!'

As we wrote years ago in the book 'Cendere': The entire judicial system had been mobilized once again to save Tezcan, who had received a prison sentence for defrauding his mother-in-law.

In that case, Mr. Minister of Justice,

My dear lawyers have graduated from law school. It is clear they learned there; they are occupying the courthouses day and night, writing petition after petition on my behalf. But I have realized that they do not know the secret to this business. That is why I say let us not tire them, nor the prosecutors and judges, any further...

I ask you, Mr. Minister,

Which official do I need to meet with at Maltepe Prison to benefit from the supervised release that is my right?

The chief public prosecutor would not lie, would he? There are gangs in the judiciary! If so, which gang exactly do I need to belong to in order to regain my freedom?

.............

I, too, have naively made strange words like 'justice' and 'law' a habit on my tongue. Forgive my ignorance! But now it has dawned on me. It turns out I was not playing the game by its rules. That is why I wanted to consult you, Mr. Minister of Justice: What am I supposed to do now?''