Questions About Turkish Justice
Semih Idiz writes about the state of judicial reform in Turkey.
Judicial authorities in Turkey have always claimed to been sticklers for the rule of law. The quality of Turkish justice, however, has always been lacking, to put it mildly. Neither has the situation changed much under the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) led by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, even though it purports to be introducing “advanced democracy” to Turkey.
Erdogan’s own intolerance towards political opponents and detractors in the media is common knowledge at this stage. Meanwhile conservative prosecutors and judges, who also reflect a traditional intolerance in such cases, continue to interpret the Turkish penal code in the most draconian manner possible.
