Ocalans Retrial On Turkeys Agenda

European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) will most probably decide that Kurdish rebel PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan’s right to a fair trial is violated, believe political and legal analysts here. However, the controversy concerns whether he should be re-tried or not.

Öcalan remains imprisoned since 6 years in the Imrali island-prison in the Sea of Marmara serving his life-time sentence. He was captured in Kenya after a highly publicized chase by the secret services of several countries in 1999. An infamous public figure for Turkish nationalists, he is still respected by Turkey’s Kurds.

The ECHR, upon the appeal of Ocalan’s lawyers, is reportedly prepared to rule out that his “right to fair trial” was violated.

Legal analysts generally agree that since Turkey has ruled out certain conditions for cases of re-trial, what practically exempts Ocalan, Ankara is not bound by any legal obligation for retrial. However, this situation as such might bring about a case before the ECHR, they say, as the provisions of re-trial clause of the law are themselves unfair.

On the other hand, if Turkey abstains from re-trying Öcalan, but prefers paying compensations, this might lead to troubles in terms of both international law and international politics.

Ozan Özerden, a law specialist from the Yıldız University of Istanbul avows that the path Turkey must pursue is evident; “If the right to a fair trial is violated, then the trial is repeated and the problem is resolved”.

Likewise, Assistant Prof. Adem Sözüer from Istanbul University says that, “there is no need to fear re-trial”, and that conditioning the right to a fair trial leads to inequality. Sözüer believes that, regardless of the ECHR’s decision, the trial must be repeated, as this is the best course possible in legal sense. He also states that in Öcalan’s case, there is legal reasoning behind supporting the right to re-trial as the defendant was not brought before the court in delay and the required files are not given on time.

Meanwhile, Marmara University’s Professor Sibel İnceoğlu believes that denial of re-trial and abstinence from reviewing the existing clauses on re-trial will become an obstacle to Turkey in international community.

Re-trial is a legal, not a political issue

Professor Özerden points out to the fact Turkey does not have the choice of avoiding the implantation of the ECHR’s decisions.

Author and civic activist Ümit Fırat is of the opinion that re-trying Öcalan does not yield to declaration of his innocence. Fırat observes that the issue is not political, but legal in nature. He says that, the whole case is not viewed a criticism against Turkey’s justice system, but a calculated attempt to hinder social harmony. Fırat cautions that the issue must not be perceived from nationalist lenses; as such perceptions distort international and objective assessment of the problem. (TK/EK/YE)