Erdoğan says he supports nationalist ally's calls for overhauling top court, reinstatement of death penalty

Duvar English

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said that he supports Nationalist Movement Party leader Devlet Bahçeli's calls for the restructuring of the Constitutional Court and the reinstatement of death penalty.

“If the parliament decides on a new restructuring of the Constitutional Court, if such a step is taken, I would be gladly approve of that,” Erdoğan told reporters on Oct. 1, shortly after addressing lawmakers in the parliament.

Asfor Bahçeli's suggestion for the reinstatement of the death penaltyin the country, Erdoğan said: “If the parliament gives anaffirmative decision with regards to the death penalty, I wouldapprove of that.”

On Sept. 30, Bahçeli, a staunch ally of Erdoğan, called for restructuring Turkey’s top court in line with the presidential system, as he also deemed the court’s recent rulings on rights violations “flawed.”

While deeming the obstacles in the parliamentary system “mouldy shackles,” Bahçeli said that one of those is the Constitutional Court, which according to the MHP leader was established to protect the anti-democratic structure that the putschists of 1960 wanted to protect.

“The Constitutional Court must be restructured with all its components. The presidential system and high democratic standards entail this,” he said.

Earlier in September, Bahçeli also called for the reinstatement of the death penalty since he said “there is no other option to fight against crimes and criminals that surpass the threshold of fear.”

“We are witnessing most severe crimes that are make our flesh crawl, that bleed our conscience and go beyond our limits of toleration…With the opening of Turkish parliament on Oct. 1, 2010, our nation’s expectations should be met with the consensus of our lawmakers, and baby killers, perverts, scums and rapists should receive the sentences they deserve,” Bahçeli said on Sept. 2.