And 599 deputies out of 600 members of the Turkish parliament were sworn in on Friday, meaning that Atalay was the only absentee.
Lawyer Can Atalay was elected as a representative of the Turkish Workers’ Party in Hatay in the elections of last May 14, although he is serving an 18-year prison sentence after his arrest on April 25, 2022.
Atalay is convicted of “aiding an attempt to overthrow the government” under Article 312 of the Penal Code, during his participation in the Gezi Park protests in 2022. The Court of Appeal upheld the ruling, but the Court of Cassation has not yet decided on it, and therefore there was no final ruling preventing him from running.
The Turkish Workers’ Party was able to win 3 more seats in the Istanbul elections, won by party leader Erkan Bash in the second constituency, Ahmed Chek, who was a candidate in the second constituency, and the first constituency candidate, Sera Kadigil.
calls for his release
Atalay is awaiting the outcome of a request submitted by his lawyers to the Court of Cassation for his release.
The Turkish Workers’ Party said in a statement after taking the oath: “Our Hatay deputy Can Atalay is being held in prison illegally, despite an oath ceremony in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. We demand his immediate release.”
The head of the party, Erkan Bash, also stated that “Only Can Atalay was prevented from attending the swearing-in at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, and we demand that his freedom not be impeded.”
The legal position in Article 83
- Lawyers based their request for release on a constitutional article that prohibits the execution of a criminal sentence against an MP during his membership.
- Article 83 of the constitution regarding parliamentary immunity states: “The execution of a criminal judgment against a member of Parliament, either before or after his election, shall be postponed until the end of his membership, and the statute of limitations may not be applied during his membership period.”
Representatives of the Republican People’s Party, the largest opposition party and led by the losing presidential candidate in the recent elections, Kamal Kilicdaroglu, agreed with the request for Atalay’s release.
Mustafa Sarigul, the party’s deputy in Erzincan, said during a press conference: “Parliament is the heart of democracy, and the lawyer Can Atalay, who was elected as a deputy in Parliament by the people’s votes, had to be present. As representatives of the nation, it is our duty to protect the reputation of Parliament,” stressing that ” An elected MP should not be in prison, but in Parliament.”
Who is Jean Atalay?
• He has been working as a lawyer for 20 years.
• Specialized in defense cases for the families of the miners who died in Soma, in the explosion in Hendik, and in the Çorlu train disaster.
• Atalay has been known as a socialist since his school years.
• Worked as a defender of rights in many social issues, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Society for Social Rights, and participated in many issues defending journalists, including the crisis of Cumhuriyet newspaper.
• Worked as one of the organizers of the campaign against the demolition of the Emek cinema.
• He was arrested after the Gezi Park protests against the AKP government.
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