Retired Gen. Engin Alan won a seat in İstanbul for the far-right MHP despite being held in Silivri Prison with close to 200 others charged in the Sledgehammer case, which centers on an alleged military plot in 2003 to topple the government. The court hearing the case ruled on Friday that Alan should not take his seat in Parliament because he was in custody on Sledgehammer charges.
Alan's disqualification came a day after another court decision to deny the release from jail of two elected candidates from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP). The two CHP candidates, Mustafa Balbay and Mehmet Haberal, were disqualified by a criminal court because they are in custody on suspicion of belonging to an alleged secret network, called Ergenekon, involved in anti-government conspiracies, though they have not been convicted.
In Diyarbakır a court has similarly refused to release six Kurdish politicians elected as independent deputies. They are all suspects in a case investigating the outlawed Kurdish Communities Union (KCK).
“It is a scandal that Mr. Alan and others who have been elected as deputies are still imprisoned despite their requests for release,” Bahçeli said in a written statement, adding that this situation, which he said “stains democracy,” should be corrected by a higher court. The MHP leader claimed the court decisions indicated that the judiciary is “biased and politicized.”
Despite his harsh criticism of the decisions, Bahçeli said all MHP deputies will attend an oath-taking ceremony this week and “give its support for the functioning of democracy” because it respects “Parliament and the national will.”
The Kurdish bloc, which won 36 seats in the June 12 elections, said it would boycott Parliament after the Supreme Election Board (YSK) stripped one of the six jailed politicians, Hatip Dicle, of his status as deputy. In addition to being a suspect in the KCK case, Dicle was also convicted of “disseminating propaganda” for the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in 2009.
