Özbek, speaking to journalists yesterday as he arrived at the HSYK office inside the Justice Ministry in Ankara, responded to questions on what the HSYK planned to do regarding the charges filed against Cihaner. “The board has not made decisions in any way regarding the content of the file. We have only been involved regarding possible procedural errors that might lead to human rights violations. We have yet to evaluate the case.”
Earlier in February, the HSYK stripped specially authorized Erzurum prosecutor Osman Şanal of his authority after an arrest warrant was issued for Cihaner. However, new prosecutors appointed to the case have pursued Şanal’s investigation and have pushed ahead with charging Cihaner. A court formally accepted the indictment against Cihaner on Monday.
In response to a question on whether the HSYK had requested any information on the case, Özbek said: “No, we have not. We have yet to evaluate the case. We will have a meeting today and go over the case.” He said the judicial process was moving ahead, adding that the HSYK had no intention of viewing specific content in the case.
He was also asked about a meeting he had with the prosecutor who searched Cihaner’s home in February prior to his arrest. He said: “We are always involved whenever there is a problem concerning a chief prosecutor or a judge wherever in the Republic of Turkey it might occur. We always seek information on such issues. We have always done this, whether a prosecutor or a judge has been ill or has been harmed in any other way.”
