The first chamber of Turkey’s Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK) has decreed the establishment of new courts in several provinces in a recentlyissued decree, the Anatolia news agency reported on Monday.
The new courts will be established in provinces including Ankara, İstanbul and İzmir.
With the decree, which was posted on the HSK website, various new courts such as penal courts of peace, high criminal courts and penal courts of first instance have been established and members have already been appointed to these courts, some of whom will begin to serve as early as mid-December.
Turkey has been experiencing a backlog of cases since a failed coup attempt in July 15, 2016 as the government launched a massive crackdown on real or alleged followers of the Gülen movement on the pretext of an anti-coup fight. As a result more than 150,000 people were removed from state jobs, while in excess of 50,000 were jailed and some 600,000 people have been investigated on allegations of terrorism.
The Turkish government accuses the Gülen movement of masterminding the failed coup and labels it a “terrorist organization,” although the movement strongly denies involvement in the coup attempt or any terrorist activity.
The Turkish government is accused by many of taking the judiciary under its absolute control and using the judiciary as a tool to punish its critics.