Erdoğan appoints judge of controversial cases as deputy justice minister

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President and Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has appointed Akın Gürlek as the deputy justice minister, according to a decision published in the Official Gazette today (June 2).

Gürlek was the presiding judge of several politically charged cases, including those of former Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş, main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) İstanbul Provincial Chair Canan Kaftancıoğlu, and former HDP deputy Sırrı Süreyya Önder.

He also headed the court that defied a Constitutional Court verdict for the release of CHP deputy Enis Berberoğlu.

About Akın Gürlek

Gürlek was the presiding judge of the İstanbul 14th Heavy Penal Court before his appointment as the deputy minister.

He was the presiding judge of the court that convicted columnists for daily Sözcü for "aiding an illegal organization."

That court sentenced Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) former Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş to 4 years and 8 months in prison and former HDP deputy Sırrı Süreyya Önder to 3 years and 6 months in prison for "propagandizing for a terrorist organization."

It also sentenced Progressive Lawyers' Association (ÇHD) lawyers to 159 years in prison in total.

It sentenced Canan Kaftancıoğlu, the İstanbul chair of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), to 9 years and 8 months in prison because of her social media posts. It declared journalist Can Dündar a "fugitive" and issued an order to confiscate his real estate.

The court headed by Gürlek sentenced former Cumhuriyet reporter Canan Coşkun to 2 years and 3 months in prison for "marking counterterrorism officials as a target."

It sentenced Sebnem Korur-Fincancı, the head of the Turkish Medical Association, to 2 years and 6 months in prison.

Gürlek also gave a decision defying the verdict of the Constitutional Court in the case concerning journalist Enis Berberoğlu.

After this decision, the Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK), the country's judicial overseeing body, promoted Gürlek to the position of "first class judge," violating its own principle that "judges who do not comply with Constitutional Court rulings cannot be promoted."

The HSK hasn't investigated the complaints against Gürlek. On the contrary, it paved the way for Gürlek's appointment to the Court of Cassation, the top appeals court, and the Constitutional Court, as a "first class judge."

CHP Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has publicly criticized the judge, calling him "the judge of the palace." (HA/VK)