Berberoğlu applies to Constitutional Court following lower courts' refusal to comply with retrial order

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Former Republican Peope's Party (CHP) former Enis Berberoğlu on Oct. 26 applied to the Constitutional Court following two local courts' refusal to implement the top court's ruling in his case. The application was filed by Berberoğlu's lawyer Yiğit Acar, daily Birgün reported.

Second Istanbul local court rejects Berberoğlu's appeal for retrial, ignoring top court's ruling

BothIstanbul's 15th High Criminal Court and 14^thHigh Criminal Court rejected Berberoğlu's appeal and ignored theConstitutional Court's Sept. 17-dated ruling that the former deputy’srights to participate in politics and personal freedom had beenviolated.

TheConstitutional Court on Oct. 9 published a detailed ruling on theapplication of Berberoğlu, saying that the politician’s rights hadbeen violated since legal proceedings against him should be have beensuspended due to his re-election as a member of parliament on June24, 2018.

The top court said that it is against the law for the trial process to continue against a lawmaker unless the parliament lifts his immunity again. Berberoğlu had his immunity lifted for the parliamentary term of 2015-2018, but his re-election in the June 24, 2018 election renewed his immunity.

Local court rejects Enis Berberoğlu's retrial demand unconstitutionally despite top court ruling

Apart froma violation of the right to conduct politics, authorities alsoviolated Berberoğlu's right to personal liberty and security, due tohis continued imprisonment despite his re-election as a member ofparliament on June 24, 2018, the Constitutional Court said.

Berberoğluwas sentenced to five years and 10 months in jail in the case into astory on National Intelligence Agency (MİT) trucks filled withweapons bound for Syria. He was accused of providing footage of thetrucks to journalist Can Dündar and was sent to prison in 2017.

He wasre-elected to the parliament in the June 24, 2018 elections but wasnot released from jail until Sept. 20, 2018, when the Court ofCassation postponed the execution of the sentence due to hisre-election as a lawmaker.

On June 4, Turkish parliament stripped Berberoğlu of his deputyship, along with two other lawmakers from the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP). After this move, Berberoğlu was arrested again to serve the remaining of his sentence. But on the same day, Berberoğlu was transferred from open prison to house arrest as part of measures against the novel coronavirus.

Turkey's top court says Berberoğlu's rights violated as re-election renewed his immunity