Turkish justice minister condemns decision to revoke prosecutors' authority

"The Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors [or HSYK] is an administrative board that does not have any judicial duties," Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin said. "The HSYK made some decisions today by going beyond the limits of its authority. It is illegal and totally against both the Constitution and the law."

In an extraordinary meeting Wednesday, the board voted to revoke the investigation authority of four specially authorized prosecutors. The decision comes in the wake of the arrest of Erzincan chief prosecutor İlhan Cihaner by Erzurum prosecutor Osman Şanal.

"We have a justice minister who keeps talking like a wind-up clock," HSYK vice chairman Kadir Özbek said Thursday morning.   

Cihaner was formally arrested on charges of links to the alleged Ergenekon gang, a group suspected of plotting to overthrow the government in an ongoing case that has seen scores arrested in the past 18 months.

The arrest and HSYK's decision sparked a struggle of authority that sent shockwaves throughout the judiciary.

"By intervening in the event, the HSYK assumed an attitude that could drag the judicial system into chaos," Ergin said Wednesday evening. "As the Ministry of Justice, we consider such attempts as a heavy blow to the independence of the judiciary. All these developments revealed once again the necessity of judicial reform in our country."

Cihaner is seen as squarely in the “secularist camp” in Turkey’s political polarity, having launched an investigation into the Ismailağa religious sect in Erzincan in 2007.

However, Erzurum prosecutor Şanal, who is – or was – specially authorized to handle counter terrorism and Ergenekon-related cases, took over the case. Şanal justified his claim with an anonymous letter that said Ismailağa was an armed organization and replaced Cihaner who was discharged from the investigation.

In 2009, Cihaner similarly attempted to launch an investigation into Fethullah Gülen, leader of the religious Gülen movement, but Şanal demanded the files, claiming that the probe fell under his own authority.

Because of his involvement in the Ismailağa case, Cihaner was accused of implementing an alleged anti-government plan. His case was later merged with the Ergenekon case.

As part of the Ergenekon probe, Şanal on Tuesday went to Erzincan with three other prosecutors with a search warrant from an Erzurum High Criminal Court and searched Cihaner’s house and office. Anti-terror teams also joined the six-hour search in which Cihaner's documents, notes, CDs and computer were seized.

/Hurriyet Daily News/