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TURKISH lawyers marched on the Constitutional Court today, demanding the high court of appeals respect its ruling on the release of a jailed MP.
Can Atalay of the Workers Party of Turkey — a split from the Communist Party of Turkey — was elected in May, but was already serving an 18-year prison sentence on a charge of attempting to overthrow the government, related to his participation in 2013’s Gezi Park protests.
The Constitutional Court ruled he should be released, but the Court of Cassation has instructed lower courts to ignore its ruling.
The two courts are supreme in distinct areas of law and the stand-off has prompted a constitutional crisis.
The Turkish Bar Association says the Court of Cassation is engaged in “an attempt to change the constitutional order,” while the opposition Republican People’s Party has accused it of “a coup attempt against parliament.”
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan backs the Court of Cassation, and said today the stalemate showed Turkey needs a new constitution.
