The board’s action against Şanal came following Şanal’s probe into Erzincan Chief Public Prosecutor İlhan Cihaner, which resulted in his arrest early on Wednesday. Cihaner faces charges of membership in a terrorist organization named Ergenekon and the falsification of documents. Analysts agree that the HSYK overstepped its authority and cast a dark shadow over judicial impartiality with its latest ruling.Yeni Şafak’s Ali Bayramoğlu says the HSYK’s move against Şanal is strongly reminiscent of a similar move against former public prosecutor Ferhat Sarıkaya. The board was the center of fierce criticism in 2006 when it disbarred Sarıkaya after he ordered the arrest of two noncommissioned officers and a Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) member turned informant who were caught red-handed bombing a bookstore in Şemdinli in southeastern Turkey. “This is the second Şemdinli case. The second example of a prosecutor who was stripped of his authority due to an ongoing case came out of Erzurum after Şemdinli,” says Bayramoğlu.
The latest HSYK ruling is significant, says Bayramoğlu, noting that the ruling does not only mean interfering with the prosecutors probing Cihaner but also with the court that issued the arrest warrant for Cihaner.
Explaining that the HSYK is an administrative mechanism not a legislative one, Bugün’s Erhan Başyurt says there is no example of the board stripping a prosecutor of his or her authority and referring him or her to court, while noting that the inspectors of the Justice Ministry should have examined the prosecutors in question before the HSYK reached such a verdict. He recalls that this was the way even for the Şemdinli prosecutor. “What is the reason behind the HSYK acting hastily now? What is the reason behind the extraordinary meeting and the extraordinary decision? Such a ruling casts a serious shadow on the independence and impartiality of the judiciary. The HSYK undermines trust in the judiciary by intervening in an ongoing judicial case,” suggests Başyurt. In his view, the latest HSYK ruling shows that Turkey has failed to cover even the slightest distance since the Şemdinli case. “What a pity,” says Başyurt.
Sabah’s Emre Aköz says the HSYK ruling inevitably urges one to wonder whether the HSYK is trying to protect Cihaner, who is accused of being a member of Ergenekon. “I wonder when the HSYK examined the case of Cihaner thoroughly and made such a ruling. Let’s say Cihaner is guilty. If the HSYK prevents his trial, this will mean that he will be protected as well as other Ergenekon members he has links to. If he is not guilty, the HSYK prevents him from being acquitted of the charges directed at him. There is everything in this case except law,” says Aköz.
