Turkish judge displays long guns, pistols in İzmir courthouse

Duvar English

Oktay Tabur, a Turkish judge and President of the İzmir Justice Commission, has been displaying his reportedly licensed weapons in the lounge next to his office in the Aegean İzmir province’s main courthouse.

Tabur have been posing with visiting judges and prosecutors in front of the weapons and sharing them on his social media accounts.

Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç on May 30 announced that Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK) launched an investigation against judge Oktay Tabur after images of his lounge in the courthouse full with guns circulated. Tabur's role as chair of the İzmir Judicial Justice Commission was also terminated.

Journalist Timur Soykan from the daily BirGün shared photos of Tabur with the inspectors of the HSK who visited the courthouse on May 2 while there were 13 pistols and seven long-barreled rifles behind them.

Those posing with Tabur were Osman Nuri Yiğit, chair of the HSK’s inspection board along with Mehmet Şirin Işık and Murat Gülaç, deputy chairs of the inspection board. 

Tabur confirmed journo that the weapons belonged to him and said, “This is my lounge, all of them are licensed weapons, my weapons. The ones with long barrels are licensed hunting rifles.”

Tabur said to the journalist, “If it is newsworthy, you can report it,” and continued, “I have nothing to be ashamed of. The president of the Court of Cassation, the head of the inspectorate board of the Justice Ministry… all of them came to my room, all of them liked it, all of them expressed their appreciation.”

Tabur was also in charge of the case of Pastor Andrew Graig Brunson, which sparked a diplomatic crisis between Turkey and the United States after his arrest by the Turkish authorities.