Araz news: The arrest of two judges following their recent rulings for the release of a leading media member and dozens of police officers who were in pre-trial detention for months have invoked sharp criticism from the opposition and jurists, who stress that this is an attempt to intimidate the judiciary.

In yet another blow to judicial independence and the rule of law in Turkey, detention warrants were issued for İstanbul 29th Court of First Instance judge Metin Özçelik and judgeMustafa Başer from the İstanbul 32nd Court of First Instance on Thursday following their recent rulings for the release of a leading media member and dozens of police officers who were in pre-trial detention for months.

Özçelik was arrested late on Thursday while Başer, who was outside İstanbul when the detention orders were issued, was referred to court and subsequently arrested on Friday.

“The judiciary died today. I extend my condolences to the Turkish nation,” Başer tweeted minutes after the court ruling on his arrest.

Başer’s lawyer, Celal Sis, told reporters that some of the judges from the panel of judges who ruled for his client’s arrest even cried.

Members of the opposition and jurists have lashed out at the scandalous arrest of the two judges who, as first-degree judges, can only be tried by the Supreme Court of Appeals as per law.

The rule of law is no longer in place, Atilla Kart, a deputy from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), told Today’s Zaman, underlining that the verdicts given by the judges that led to the release of the suspects are in line with the law.

“In today’s Turkey, delivering verdicts according to the law is disturbing those in power,” Kart, who is a member of Parliament’s Constitutional Commission, added.

The two judges, who were recently suspended by the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) following their verdict for the release of the suspects, are accused of being members of a terrorist organisation.

Başer was still in the courthouse when Today’s Zaman went to print.

The Bakırköy Head Prosecutor’s Office referred the two judges to the Bakırköy 2nd High Criminal Court for arrest, despite the fact that the court was not on duty after working hours on Thursday.

The court ruled for an arrest for Özçelik within a few hours following his arrival in the courthouse.

The suspension of the two judges by the HSYK came very shortly after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the HSYK was actually late in convening to intervene in the issue.

Başer, who was not in town when the detention orders were issued, came with his family to the Bakırköy Courthouse in İstanbul early on Friday to appear before court.

Before being taken under custody and being referred to court, he defended the verdict of release he delivered for the 63 suspects.

Underlining that he does not know what crime he has committed, Başer told reporters before the courthouse: “[I was] either to rule for the continuation of their arrest or for [their] release. … I needed, in all conscience, to rule for release as there was nothing in the file that necessitated an arrest.”

Özçelik, the head of the İstanbul 29th Court of First Instance, recently accepted a request by the lawyers of the 63 suspects — Samanyolu Broadcasting Group CEO Hidayet Karacaand 62 police officers — for a replacement of the judges hearing their clients’ cases at a penal court of peace. The court then commissioned on April 20 the İstanbul 32nd Court of First Instance to examine the lawyers’ request. The İstanbul 32nd Court of First Instance, headed by Başer, ruled on Saturday evening last weekend for the release of the suspects who have been held under pre-trial detention despite a lack of evidence about their involvement in crime.

This is an act of intimidation by the government towards all prosecutors and judges, Nevzat Korkmaz, a deputy from the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), told Today’s Zaman.

Underlining that judges cannot be tried because of the verdicts they deliver, Korkmaz, who is also a member of Parliament’s Constitutional Commission, warned, “If you accuse, suspend or arrest judges based on their verdicts by violating laws and universal principles, then courts no longer become places where justice is served.”

Samanyolu’s Karaca, who has been held in prison without any indictment or any reason for the extension of his arrest, was detained as part of a major media crackdown on Dec. 14, 2014 aimed at intimidating critical media outlets. The operation came just three days before the first anniversary of the massive corruption investigations of Dec. 17 and 25, 2013.

Ali Özgündüz, a CHP deputy who was a former prosecutor, described the detention of the judges as scandalous in his messages on Twitter on Thursday.

“This is aimed at intimidating the judiciary. That means no verdict that the AKP [Justice and Development Party (AK Party)] does not like can be delivered,” Özgündüz said.

“If all the judges who deliver a wrong judgement are arrested, then you cannot find any judges in the country,” he added.

Former head of the Supreme Court of Appeals Sami Selçuk said in initial comments to BBC Türkçe that he is surprised by the course of the investigation. There must be serious evidence against the judges for the prosecutor’s office to demand their arrest, said Selçuk, who is also head of the department of penal law at Bilkent University.

Başer, who arrived at the courthouse around 9 a.m. on Friday, had to wait for a long time for the prosecutor and the judges on duty to arrive to take down his statement.

“It is 12:07 [p.m.] at the moment. I am still waiting for the prosecutor and panel of judges on duty at the Bakırköy courthouse,” he said over Twitter.

On Tuesday, the HSYK’s Third Chamber announced that it had granted permission for a legal investigation to be launched against the two judges due to their verdicts, but the judges were arrested even before they were allowed to defend themselves before the Third Chamber of the top judicial body.

Başer, who said he believed he would not have to appear before court if he had ruled for a continuation of arrest for the suspects, dismissed claims that the court he headed was not authorized to hear the suspects’ case.

Noting that he had previously rejected a request by the suspects’ lawyers for the replacement of the judges hearing the case as he deemed their request not based on solid ground, Başer told reporters, “If my latest verdict is against procedures and the law, then my previous verdict [regarding the suspects’ request] is also against procedures and the law.”

According to Ertuğrul Yalçınbayır, one of the founders of the ruling AK Party who later dropped out, all Turkish citizens should be happy as the two judges have demonstrated by their verdicts the importance of the rule of law and ruled in line with the law.

“What the judges who ruled for release are facing is a first in Turkey,” he told Today’s Zaman, implying that those in power are the ones who are behind the investigation into the two judges.

“It is obvious that neither the suspension nor the detention and arrest [of the judges] is being carried out solely upon the demand of the HSYK,” added Yalçınbayır, who also served as deputy prime minister in the ruling party.

On his way to İstanbul on Thursday, Başer said on Twitter he expected the court to arrest him.

“I am going to the courthouse with this in mind. Can a person who is suspected of fleeing the country do this?” he said over Twitter.

Since two sweeping graft probes went public in December of 2013, courts, obviously under government pressure, have ruled for the arrest of many who could have been released pending trial, based on the claim that the suspects could flee.

Commenting on the arrest of Özçelik, Başer also said on Twitter, “It is the conscience of the Turkish nation that was arrested, not a judge.”

Özçelik, who was arrested on Thursday, told the press while he was on his way to the courthouse that his arrest would be against the law.

Noting that detention orders can be issued for judges and prosecutors only over crimes of serious offenses and when caught red-handed, the judge said such a move is unprecedented in the history of the law and that Turkey is experiencing “extraordinary” times.

Following the graft probes, over which four Cabinet ministers left their posts, the government removed all prosecutors and high-level police officers involved in the investigations.

As part of a major reshuffle in the judiciary aimed at increasing government’s sway on the judiciary, the government restructured the HSYK and established penal courts of peace in which a single judge who is usually close to the ruling party gives a verdict. Being newly designed, there is ambiguity regarding the scope of their authority.

“Those so-called jurists who act in line with the government’s instructions now serve as judges of the state. Those who resist the unlawfulness, tyranny have been met with enmity,” the MHP’s Korkmaz said.

The 62 police officers whose release were requested by lawyers were detained in operations starting last July 22 on charges of spying and illegal wiretapping in two separate probes.

The operations against the police are widely believed to be an act of retribution by the ruling party for the two corruption investigations in which President Erdoğan and some of his family members are also allegedly implicated.

todayszaman