Release application for Can Atalay

The Constitutional Court has published its ruling in the Official Gazette declaring that the stripping of Can Atalay's parliamentary status is null and void. Following the decision, lawyers for Can Atalay, who is being held at Marmara Prison, filed a request for his release with the Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court. In the petition signed by lawyers Evren İşler, Deniz Özen, Akçay Taşçı, and Fikret İlkiz, it was stated that with its ruling dated February 22, 2024, the Constitutional Court determined that the decision by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) to strip Can Atalay of his parliamentary status was "null and void," and that this decision had been published in the Official Gazette.

The application stated that the Constitutional Court General Assembly had ruled that Atalay's right to individual application, his right to be elected and engage in political activity, and his right to personal liberty and security had been violated due to the non-implementation of the Constitutional Court's previous violation ruling:

"With the decision it rendered, the Constitutional Court had also ordered that a copy of the ruling be sent to the 13th High Criminal Court to eliminate the rights violations it identified. Therefore, the 13th High Criminal Court was required to fulfill the necessary procedures, including initiating a retrial for the applicant, suspending the execution of the conviction, ensuring his release from the penal institution, and issuing a stay of proceedings in the retrial."

'CANNOT BE GRANTED LEGAL VALIDITY'

The petition stated that following the Constitutional Court's rights violation ruling on October 25, 2023, it is legally impossible to speak of the existence of a finalized conviction regarding TİP Hatay MP Can Atalay.

The application included the following assessment regarding the decision published in the Official Gazette:

"No public authority, including courts, can base its actions on a judicial decision that the Constitutional Court has determined to be in violation of the Constitution, and a decision that is proven to be unconstitutional cannot be granted legal validity.

High judicial bodies, lower courts, and public authorities in effective positions are obligated to fulfill the requirements of the violation ruling, to remedy the violation, and to prevent the continuation of the violation, both in the process leading to the violation and in the process of remedying it.

The Constitutional Court's violation rulings are not guiding or advisory in nature; they are binding decisions that leave no room for discretion for the relevant authorities regarding their implementation.

The text read in the TBMM General Assembly and the decision of the Court of Cassation 3rd Criminal Chamber dated January 3, 2024, which stated that there was no room to comply with the aforementioned individual application ruling of the Constitutional Court, are decisions that cannot be rendered under Turkish law, are completely outside the Constitution, and have no legal basis."

DEMANDS IN THE PETITION

The petition included the following demands:

"As stated in all Constitutional Court violation rulings regarding MP Can Atalay; since it has been decided that Atalay's right to be elected and engage in political activity, as well as his right to personal liberty and security, have been violated,

We request that, in order to eliminate the rights violations identified by the Constitutional Court, Can Atalay's retrial be initiated, the execution of the conviction be suspended, his release from the penal institution where he has been held since April 25, 2022, be ensured, and a stay of proceedings be issued for the retrial,

We request that a decision be made to remedy the violation by the Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court, as it is possible for that court to do so by taking into account the Constitutional Court's decisions regarding Can Atalay."