Spokesperson for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Mahir Ünal has said a final declaration announced by the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) marking the end of a justice congress is “a shame.”
Ünal, who issued a written statement regarding the final declaration of the CHP, said the CHP had “issued a final declaration that will be remembered as a document of shame violating the concept of justice as proposed by the congress.”
The justice congress was organized by the CHP to raise the voices of people seeking justice and to draw attention to ongoing injustices in Turkey.
According to Ünal, the final declaration announced at the end of the congress on Tuesday aims to tell the world that the law is not functioning in Turkey and to delegitimize cases launched against members of the Gülen movement, accused of masterminding a coup attempt last summer.
The justice congress demanded the release of jailed CHP deputy Enis Berberoğlu, and workshops and panel discussions were held to discuss justice, elections, religion, education and the state in today’s Turkey.
Earlier Kılıçdaroğlu had led a “justice march” and a “justice rally” after Berberoğlu was sentenced to 25 years in prison on June 14 on charges of providing the Cumhuriyet daily with a video purporting to show Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MİT) sending trucks loaded with weapons to Syria.
According to Kılıçdaroğlu, 73 percent of Turkey’s 80 million people believe the justice system in Turkey is not functioning properly.
Announcing a recent CHP poll on the justice system in Turkey, Kılıçdaroğlu said 73 percent of the people participating in the poll said “no” to the question “Do you believe a just decision would be made if you were to go to court for some reason?”