Can Atalay spoke to lawyer Afşin Hatipoğlu

There have been three files opened under the heading of "Attempted coup" that have left their mark on Turkey's recent history. These files are Ergenekon/Balyoz, Gezi, and July 15. Regardless of all their specific details, the Ergenekon/Balyoz cases were named as such with the initiation of the conspiracy trials. With the occurrence of the July 15 coup attempt, the trials began simultaneously. Gezi, however, followed a completely different path from the other two. 

The trial for the Gezi protests, which began in May/June 2013, came before a judge in June 2019.  It took six years to understand that Gezi was an attempt to overthrow the constitutional order. It took six years to decide whether an event that took place before the eyes of the whole world was a coup or an attempt to dismantle the established order. Believe it if you can.

Every political trial is obligated to introduce its own names to the public. The Gezi trial was quite productive in this sense. Osman Kavala, Can Atalay, Tayfun Kahraman, Çiğdem Mater, Mine Özerden, and finally Ayşe Barım emerged as a group that the public came to know through Gezi and whose victimization they believed in. I say they believe in their victimization because, according to Ministry of Interior data, the number of people who participated in Gezi protests at a street level across the country in June 2013 alone reached 3.6 million, and the number of those who supported them via social media could not be determined. When Gezi, which saw this level of civil participation, resulted in heavy sentences, the public asked itself, "I also participated in this protest, so are we also guilty?" Or, for example, when the Beşiktaş Çarşı group, who openly participated in the events, were acquitted of all charges, the question "Why did the named defendants receive sentences?" came to mind. 

Last week, I visited two names who were convicted due to the Gezi events, Can Atalay and Tayfun Kahraman, in Silivri. We talked about both Gezi and current developments. Imprisonment is hard work. No matter what anyone says, your life passes in a three-by-five-meter cell. They take away the verbs in your life. Walking, swimming, chatting, having fun... and many more actions are torn from you. Sleeping, writing, reading, sitting... you are put to the plow of this system, which is built on your stagnation, to stop you and to leave you motionless to end your life. As Yaşar Kemal says in Memed, My Hawk, "The soil was being crushed into dust under the plow's mouth"; they are crushing you to turn you into dust. 

I chatted with Can first, then with Tayfun. Can is a very energetic and extroverted person; he has gained weight inside. His hair and beard were messy that day; I have seen him clean-shaven on other days. I asked him with a smile, "Why did you get involved in the Gezi events?" His answer was simple, but believe me, it pointed to a truth that most people do not know.

"I was the lawyer for the Chamber of Architects. In May 2012, we filed a lawsuit against the plan considered for the Gezi Park area. There is no such thing as me participating in the Gezi events as an activist. I was already the lawyer who sued for Gezi Park and its surroundings. When the expert report regarding the case arrived on May 14, 2013, we made statements about it. This is how the Gezi issue came to the public agenda. The events that started in June have nothing to do with my legal practice anyway. I sued Gezi on behalf of the chamber I represent for legal oversight. While what I did was entirely a professional activity, they portrayed me as the person who organized Gezi." 

"So Can, are you saying this? If I weren't the chamber's lawyer, I wouldn't have been involved in these events!" 

"I was already a lawyer sensitive to social events. I always had a protest attitude to the extent that one could call it activist. The Taksim area was also the center of my daily life. However, of course, if I hadn't been the lawyer for the Chamber of Architects, I couldn't have been involved in the Gezi file to this extent. Being the chamber's lawyer made me a natural part of the discussions. And I did not refrain from the struggle."  

Can Atalay dominated the country's agenda for a period, especially after becoming a TİP MP from Hatay. Law and lawlessness were discussed through Can. Because he was both an MP and a prisoner! When I asked him how he evaluates the support given to him and his election as an MP, he gave this answer:

"Of course, more could have been done. Lawyers provided great support, but the expected support did not come from most bar associations. Right-wing parties did not support either. The issue of being an MP was not a very planned or pre-considered situation. Something had to be done against the injustice being inflicted. My candidacy from Hatay came to the agenda. We became MPs. Although we didn't get to see the MP role."  

Can Atalay pitted the Constitutional Court against the Court of Cassation's 3rd Criminal Chamber. While the Constitutional Court said, "Can Atalay's MP status cannot be revoked," the Court of Cassation's 3rd Criminal Chamber filed a criminal complaint against the members of the Constitutional Court. A legal absurdity unprecedented in the history of the Republic emerged over Can Atalay. Two high courts clashed. Can looks at this issue as follows:

"I cannot understand how I am still here, despite all these violations committed against me being identified, and moreover, despite the Constitutional Court ruling on these violations!" 

I also wrote about this in the Osman Kavala section. As the government, you try to solve major problems in your own way, but you do not even implement the decisions of the high courts in your country. Then you say, "Foreign powers!" However, you are disabling the constitutional institutions that belong to you and are your internal power. Without solving these contradictions, you are drawing a "Terror-free Turkey" lottery. 

Just as I was about to ask Can about the agenda, Ayşe Barım came to the next booth. She looked disheveled with her thinness, paleness, hair, and aura. Her lawyer was waiting for Barım with English papers in his hand. I couldn't make sense of this situation. They greeted Can and provided solidarity with mime-like movements due to the environment. My eyes were on the English papers. Ayşe Barım is a graduate of Boğaziçi English Literature and was practicing English with her lawyer. I said imprisonment is hard. In such a dullness, you take a breath with "Fill in the blanks." (On the day I did the final reading of this article, Ayşe Barım was released under house arrest. A day later, she was re-arrested upon objection. There is no such understanding of justice. The reason for the re-arrest is "that there is no obstacle to her staying in prison." What kind of legal justification is this? Do people enter prison based on flesh, bone, and health? What is the legal interest protected in the continuation of detention? The same applies to Fatih Altaylı. When they re-arrested Ayşe Barım, I said a decision would be made to continue Altaylı's detention. Because the regime looks at the issue entirely as silencing and making them pay a price. If an artist's manager can topple the government of the Republic of Turkey, woe to that state.)

Let's return to Can. The visiting hours for convicts are limited, and the topics are waiting in line. Can views TİP's entry into the commission reasonably, but believes that receiving some concessions from the regime as a result of entering the commission should also be evaluated. "I am in prison; it is not possible for all the party's boards to reach me at every step," he says, also stating his trust in his party. TİP is a party that evokes socialism and revolutionism in minds, and even represents this claim. However, as I understand from some expressions that caught my attention during the conversation, Can Atalay does not have a socialist or revolutionary identity to the extent that those looking from afar think. Although when I told this opinion of mine to lawyer Kemal Aytaç, he did not agree. "Read the article I wrote for Can," he said. 

The issue of a terror-free Turkey is hot, it burns the hand, and Atalay's views are interesting.

"I am a Turk; I do not hesitate to say this. We must avoid an environment where a person would hesitate to say they are Kurdish. Öcalan himself has not had a demand for administrative autonomy for a long time. These should be evaluated well. I don't think these are simple problems that can be solved by writing 'Kurdish' in the definition of citizenship."

In all the interviews I conducted in prison, I did not see a single political prisoner who said, "Write 'Kurdish' in the constitution and this will be solved." They say this sincerely. They look at issues far above parliamentary politics. 

I wonder if something like this will be asked for mischief in the coming years? A city planner, a lawyer, and a manager asked what we should do to overthrow the constitutional order? A journalist who heard this said, "Let's go to Gezi Park." Jokes aside, what is the benefit to anyone of consuming the country's energy under such useless headings? You saw it, you kept Ayşe Barım in prison, what happened? The citizen who complained about her connected via SEGBIS from Ordu and said, "I said what I saw on social media." Is it that easy to imprison human life, to bind the will... is it that easy? 

Can Atalay continues to lie in prison. With the rank of MP on his shoulders! The Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey is Numan Kurtulmuş, a former great opponent of Erdoğan. Can may not have said what he said when he was the Chairman of the HAS Party. Just like Süleyman Soylu, Lieutenant Çelebi, and Hulki Cevizoğlu! They are doing a disservice to the children of this country. You cannot lead this people to salvation by taking away the freedom of innocent people. I have never heard that people who oppose you want tenders, positions, ranks, or budgets from your government. I haven't seen anyone chanting "Money, Money" in the squares either. Your people only demand "Rights, Law, Justice" from you. The eternal scale does not blunt with postponement. 

News Source: 12punto