Striking statement on Kavala and Demirtaş from AKP's Metiner
Former AKP MP Mehmet Metiner stated, "If Osman Kavala, Demirtaş, and the Gezi trial defendants were imprisoned for political reasons, this is a great injustice and oppression."
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The new political climate that began with Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman Özgür Özel's visit to AKP Chairman and President Erdoğan is being described by some segments as a 'softening'.
While some circles evaluate these developments as a 'strategic maneuver' by the AKP government for a 'new constitution', a striking statement has also come from former AKP MP Mehmet Metiner.
In his column in Yeni Şafak, known for its proximity to the government, Metiner included the following remarks: "If Osman Kavala, Demirtaş, and the Gezi trial defendants were not tried within the framework of legal evidence but were imprisoned solely for political reasons, this is a great injustice and oppression."
'THE DEMAND FOR RETRIAL IS LEGAL'
In his column today, Metiner expressed his views on the matter: "If they were convicted because there is legal evidence showing they are guilty, then demanding political interference in a judicial process is the murder of law. The demand for a 'retrial' is a legitimate legal request. If the conditions requiring this exist and the necessary requirements are met, it is wrong to assign a political meaning to the exercise of this legal right."
Emphasizing justice by saying, "If there is an error in a judicial-legal process, it will of course be corrected. This is a requirement of the law and essential for the establishment of justice," Metiner added, "The notion that 'even if they are guilty, they should be released for the sake of the country, for our democracy, for the normalization of politics, for the improvement of our relations with Europe, and for the strengthening of our economy' is truly a cautionary tale. Whoever speaks or writes based on this understanding, know that they are knowingly or unknowingly harming this positive process that has begun, and are doing a disservice to our country by fostering the perception that the judiciary is at the command of politics."
Following the views expressed by Abdulkadir Selvi in his column in Hürriyet for some time, Mehmet Metiner's supportive article has strengthened claims that Can Atalay, Osman Kavala, and Selahattin Demirtaş will be released.