Akif Beki: 'It turns out some court decisions could be bought with money'

Karar newspaper columnist Akif Beki wrote an article titled 'Justice lost in the courthouse' following reports on the 'bribery ring in the courthouse.' Beki stated, "Even the Chief Public Prosecutor and the judge are complaining about its absence, searching for justice in every corner. If it cannot be found in the courthouse, where will it be found?" and added: "It turns out some court decisions could be bought with money!"

Don't leave your news choices to an algorithm - decide for yourself what you read. Add 12punto to your preferred sources!

Akif Beki: 'It turns out some court decisions could be bought with money'

The repercussions of Istanbul Anatolian Chief Public Prosecutor Ismail Uçar's letter detailing the bribery ring at the courthouse to the HSK (Council of Judges and Prosecutors) continue to resonate.

Karar newspaper columnist Akif Beki wrote an article titled 'Justice lost in the courthouse' following reports on the 'bribery ring in the courthouse.' Beki "Even the Chief Public Prosecutor and the judge are complaining about its absence, searching for justice in every corner. If it cannot be found in the courthouse, where will it be found?" he asked.

Akif Beki's article reads as follows:

"Even the chief prosecutor and the judge are complaining about its absence, searching for justice in every corner. If it cannot be found in the courthouse, where will it be found!

If the Istanbul Anatolian Chief Public Prosecutor had not reported it to the HSK (Council of Judges and Prosecutors) and questioned the state of justice, they would have continued to act as if it existed and had not gone anywhere.

It was as if access blocking orders that do not fit within the law were not being issued for certain news reports, and as if privileged release orders that defy all logic and reason were not being granted to certain detainees and even convicts.

If you didn't know, you would think that the rich and the poor were equal before the law, that those with connections and those without were treated the same in court, that no privileges were granted in the courthouse even to the most powerful, and that trust in the judiciary had not hit rock bottom.

As if the belief that the law would protect one's rights against the injustices of state officials abusing their authority was not dragging on the floor...

No one knew about such shady dealings. One day, a chief prosecutor had enough and reported the dirty, money-driven affairs going on in their courthouse to the HSK, and that is how everyone found out. So, the HSK and the Ministry of Justice learned about these scandals at the same time we did, right? Is that so?

It turns out some court decisions could be bought with money, just like buying bread and cheese from a market.

It seems there is a market for it; the judge's contact finds the lawyer, and if you pay the price, you can get the decision you want. They arrange for the file to fall to the right judge, not leaving it to chance whether it matches up or not.

I have written about this many times; in my early youth, I heard it on a cassette by a fiery Egyptian preacher. He was shouting, 'Where is justice, where is justice?' 'Eynel adale, eynel adale'... He would ask the question himself and provide the answer: 'In King Farouk's embrace.' I believe Adalet was the name of his mistress. If my memory serves me correctly, this dialogue also appeared in Hekimoğlu İsmail's novel 'Minyeli Abdullah'.

Fortunately, someone came forward to report that justice had been lost in the courthouse. This is how the HSK (Council of Judges and Prosecutors) became aware of it and processed the complaint petition.

An investigation and inquiry have been launched into the allegations, and an inspector has been assigned, as announced by Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunç.

Justice will be brought to light, any injustice will be rectified, those responsible will be punished, and the rotten apples will be weeded out to restore justice in the courthouse.

One of the courthouses will be ritually cleansed, and if it has been contaminated, it will be purged of crime. But what about the others?

Minister Tunç also calls for avoiding generalizations that would cast suspicion on all members of the judiciary and undermine trust in justice. It is a fair and timely warning. But is there any trust left in a justice system that we are so anxious to protect from being undermined, and how much of it remains?

News Source: 12punto