Turkey’s Constitutional Court has ruled that there was a violation of rights in the case of a former prosecutor who was denied the opportunity to attend the funeral of his brother, who died while he was in jail in August 2016, Euronews reported on Thursday.
Former prosecutor Abuzer Uzun was among the dozens of Turkish judicial members who were arrested in the aftermath of a failed coup attempt in July 2016 due to their alleged links to the Gülen movement. He was fired from his job as Ceyhan public prosecutor in the southern province of Adana and was arrested on July 20, 2016 on terrorism charges.
His brother, a police officer, was killed in a knife attack on August 19, 2016. Uzun immediately petitioned the prison authorities and the district police to be able to attend his brother’s funeral, and they said that there was no problem concerning security in his attendance at the funeral; however, the Ceyhan District Gendarmerie Command and the Ceyhan Public Prosecutor’s Office objected, saying that Uzun was under arrest due to Gülen links and that there was an inadequate number of gendarmes to accompany him to the funeral.
Uzun was unable to attend the funeral despite filing objections to the prosecutor’s office decision.
He was released from jail pending trial on Dec. 21, 2016 and was acquitted of all charges on June 20, 2018.
Uzun then petitioned the Constitutional Court over his failure to attend his brother’s funeral. The court has ruled that the 20th article of the Turkish Constitution, which guarantees respect for private and family life, was violated. The court ruled for the payment of TL 10,000 in compensation to Uzun.
The Turkish government accuses the Gülen movement of masterminding the failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016 and labels it a “terrorist organization,” although the movement strongly denies involvement in the coup attempt or any terrorist activity.