“The government’s withdrawal from the Convention means destruction of one of the most comprehensive and legal guarantees that constitutes a basis for preventive measures to protect women in a country where the rates of violence against women and femicide are quite high.”
The ninth issue of the “Freedom Observer” is now available on social media!
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Closure Case Against HDP
The Turkish public has been witnessing statements made by the MHP[1] and Vatan Party[2] officials demanding the closure of the HDP. On March 17, 2020, it was announced by the Office of the Chief Public Prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Appeals that a lawsuit was filed at the Constitutional Court with the request of a permanent closure of the HDP. The lawsuit was based on the claim that the HDP has become the focal point of activities that violate the indivisible unity of the State with its territory and nation.[3] The demands for the closure of the HDP dates back to the Kobane Incidents that took place in 2014 after which series of criminal cases had filed against many members of the HDP. However, then the members of the ruling party, AKP, who had also faced closure case against their parties back in 2008, made clear that they are, without any strings attached, against closure cases. In fact, in order to make it difficult to file a party closure lawsuit, an article included in the Constitution during the 2010 Constitutional amendments that requires the permission of the parliament to file a lawsuit. However, this article was rejected as it did not receive sufficient voting support. However, after the lawsuit was filed against the HDP, it seemed that the AKP shifted from its principled stance against party closure cases as the party officials made statements that the AKP does not categorically reject party closure.[4] It is understood that the closure case is also of great importance in terms of election strategies, as the HDP voters will be in a decisive position in terms of the outcome of the upcoming elections.
In the petition, The Supreme Court Chief Prosecutor’s Office mainly includes cases and investigations about HDP executives and members. It is also clear from the petition that the vast majority of these investigations are based on political activities such as speeches or meetings that the HDP officials attended. Striking as it is, the petition also includes the activities of the HDP officials during the 2013–2015 PKK–Turkey peace process. In addition, the petition requested 687 HDP members to be banned from politics. Although, there have been many violation decisions made by the ECHR on similar cases, filing a closure case with similar allegations just when ‘the new human rights action plan’ had been announced also gives an idea about the sincerity of the action plan. In the process followed, if the Constitutional Court decides to accept the indictment after the first review, it will receive the party’s written defense. After receiving the response of the prosecutor’s office to the party’s written defense, an oral defense will be made on behalf of the party, and members who are requested to be banned from politics will be able to make their own defense. After the trial process is completed, the Constitutional Court will make its decision. Two-thirds of the total number of members of the Constitutional Court (10 members) must vote for a decision to be taken. The court may decide to deprive the party of receiving treasury aid instead of closing it by the same majority. However, if the party dissolves itself in this process, the case will be dismissed.
The Constitutional Court has closed many parties established by the Kurdish movement since 1990.However, all of these decisions were ruled by the ECHR as a violation of the freedom of association. The last decision to close down the Democratic Society Party (DTP)[5] in 2009 was found to be in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights by the ECHR.[6] The closure lawsuit filed against the HDP bears also importance in terms of whether the Constitutional Court will comply with the ECtHR case law.
Turkey Withdrew from the Istanbul Convention
The Presidential Decree published in the Official Gazette on Friday night announced the withdrawal of Turkey from the Istanbul Convention. The decision drew harsh reactions from different segments of the society such as women’s rights defenders, human rights organizations, lawyers, and politicians.[7] The government’s withdrawal from the Convention means destruction of one of the most comprehensive and legal guarantees that constitutes a basis for preventive measures to protect women in a country where the rates of violence against women and femicide are quite high. This Convention, which aims to protect women and ensure gender equality, obliges all the signatory parties to take “necessary legal and other measures” to prevent all kinds of acts of violence and discrimination, and encourages the dissemination of activities that will empower women.
It should also be noted that the method of withdrawal from the Convention is marked by serious legal problems. First, it should be reminded that the Istanbul Convention entered into force in domestic law with the approval of the Turkish Grand National Assembly as an international agreement. In this way, the decision to withdraw by the Presidential Decree clearly contradicts both the 90th article of the Constitution and the hierarchy of norms as well as the principles of the inalienability of legislative power.
The Removal of Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu’s MP Status
Member Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, HDP Kocaeli MP and TBMM Human Rights Investigation Commissioner, was put on a trial in 2016 on charges of “propaganda for terrorist organization” due to a news that he posted on social media. The decision of the local court, which demanded for 2-year and 6-month prison sentence, was approved by the 16th Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation on February 19. After the judicial decision was read out in the Turkish Grand National Assembly, Mr. Gergerlioğlu was stripped of his parliamentary membership on Thursday, 17 March.[8] Protesting this decision, Gergerlioğlu was detained at the Turkish Grand National Assembly on the grounds of yet another lawsuit on March 21 and was released pending trial after his statement was taken.[9]
In the broadest sense, the removal of Mr. Gergerlioğlu’s parliamentary status can be regarded as an ongoing heavy pressure on the HDP. In particular, it also means that Mr. Gergerlioğlu’s political campaigns against human rights violations in Turkey such as stripped-search and abduction, all of which echoed greatly in the public distressed the government. It should also be noted that there is a consensus among lawyers that the news shared by Mr. Gergerlioğlu does not violate the criminal law; let alone the news shared by him does not justify his removal of MP status. On the other hand, while Mr. Gergerlioğlu was sentenced to prison for sharing this news on social media, there was no investigation about the media organization that was the source of the news. This clearly indicates arbitrariness behind the decision that resulted in removal of Mr. Gergerlioğlu’s MP status. Taken together with ongoing practices of suppression on HDP such as trustee appointments in HDP-run municipalities, arrests, and the recent closure case against HDP, the pressure against HDP has become systemic.
The removal of Mr. Gergerlioğlu’s parliamentary membership seriously violates the principle of legislative immunity. A similar situation was experienced in June 2020, when the CHP’s Enis Berberoğlu and two other HDP deputies were stripped of their parliamentary status. Along with judicial decisions taken in line with the government’s political agenda, a total of 4 deputies have been removed from their seats in the parliament since 2018. It is of utmost importance to remind that the decisions to dismiss the deputies from being representatives of the people, for which they were elected on legal and legitimate grounds, create violations in terms of legality and political representation, and cause irreversible damage in democratic institutions.
Earthquake in Turkish Economy
Turkey’s economy began to decline since 2013, and also found itself in a prolonged crisis since 2017. One of the factors that deepens the economic crisis is the lack of appropriate monetary policies to address the current economic problems. This failure is closely related to the loss of independence of the Central Bank over time and the consequent dismissal of the Central Bank governors by the government and the methods of their removal. Four months ago, the head of the CBRT, Murat Uysal, was removed from his post and replaced by Naci Ağbal due to raising the policy interest rate. Last week, CBRT head Naci Ağbal was dismissed on Friday night, on March 20th because of the decision of policy interest rates increase by 200 points, and former AKP MP Şahap Kavcıoğlu was appointed to replace him. [10]
Looking at the policies followed, it is understood that the government does not have a coherent set of economic policies. It is not possible to predict what kind of a way the government will follow for either monetary policy or fiscal policies. As a matter of fact, the situation worsened especially after the transition to the Presidential government system, and none of the Central Bank president could complete his term of office. President Erdogan stated on November 11th after he appointed Naci Ağbal: “We will make our economic policies reach their goals by building on three pillars that consist of price stability, financial stability and macroeconomic stability.”[11] Just four months after making this statement, while announcing the Economic Reform Package, he said, “’Price stability, price stability!’ they say, we threw it and put it aside. Now, as I have just explained, the new era will actually be built on four pillars: Investment, employment, production, export.”[12] However, these two recent statements point to different economic models.
No country’s economy can be expected to overcome such frequent policy changes. Therefore, following each similar statement in Turkey, the stock market falls significantly, while foreign currencies gain value against TL. This fluctuation situation reduces trust in both the Turkish lira and Turkish market. The deterioration of projections for the future puts both companies and international institutions in a very difficult position and causes investment plans for Turkey to be shelved. For Turkey to emerge from this economic bottleneck, the government must take concrete and long-term steps. Most importantly, the government needs to create reform packages, knowing the economic problems we are experiencing are actually political. Because we have experienced in previous reform initiatives that economic reform packages to be created without establishing individual rights, economic freedoms, judicial independence, and bureaucratic autonomy, will not achieve the desired economic prosperity increase.
Öztürk Türkdoğan Detained
Öztürk Türkdoğan, co-chairman of the Human Rights Association (HRA), was detained shortly after Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu’s[13] speech targeting HRA at the General Assembly of the Turkish Parliament. Türkdoğan, who was brought before a judge with a request for arrest, was released on condition of judicial control, on the same day. Türkdoğan stated after his release that he was accused of being a member of an illegal organization, and his speeches and press statements and some phone calls were brought to the agenda during the prosecution’s interrogation. Criticizing his detention while his statement could be taken by being invited, Türkdoğan said that no human rights defender would have any business with illegal organizations. He stated that Turkey has not given up its old habits, and continues to treat anyone it considers a dissident in the same way, stressing that this is not right and that this needs to change.[14] The detention of the HRA president at a time when new regulations were made, and inspections were increased for the civil society, raises the suspicion that the civil society advocating human rights is being intimidated.
[1] https://www.haberturk.com/mhp-lideri-bahceli-den-hdp-kapatilsin-cagrisi-grup-toplantisi-2950717
[2] https://vatanpartisi.org.tr/genel-merkez/bildiriler-brosurler/hdp-derhal-kapatilsin-17764?x=
[3] https://www.yargitaycb.gov.tr/icerik/1677/yazili-basin-aciklamasi
[4] https://www.indyturk.com/node/332606/siyaset/bostanc%C4%B1-ak-parti-kapatma-hi%C3%A7-olmas%C4%B1n-nas%C4%B1l-ve-hangi-mahiyette-kurulursa
[5] https://siyasipartikararlar.anayasa.gov.tr/SP/2009/4/1
[6] http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=001-159907
[7] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56467689
[8] https://bianet.org/english/politics/240940-hdp-s-omer-faruk-gergerlioglu-stripped-of-mp-status
[9] https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/hdps-gergerlioglu-released-after-detention-163305
[10] https://www.economist.com/europe/2021/03/20/naci-agbal-tries-to-restore-monetary-discipline-in-turkey
[11] https://www.dw.com/tr/erdo%C4%9Fan-yeni-ekonomi-y%C3%B6netimine-destek-verdi-tl-de%C4%9Fer-kazand%C4%B1/a-55565544
[12] https://www.bloomberght.com/ekonomi-reform-paketi-aciklandi-2276350
[13] https://www.ihd.org.tr/icisleri-bakani-suleyman-soylunun-ihdyi-hedef-gosteren-aciklamalarina-karsi-zorunlu-cevap/
14 https://bianet.org/bianet/insan-haklari/241098-ihd-es-baskani-turkdogan-serbest
