HSYK Reshuffles 8 Top Court Rapporteurs And 27 Jurists

The Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) has issued a decree appointing 27 judges and prosecutors and eight Constitutional Court rapporteurs to different provinces and positions in a move that comes just after Zühtü Arslan was assigned to be the head of the top court.

The appointments in the decree published on Thursday are considered by many to be an operation against the Constitutional Court, as it took place after former head Haşim Kılıç, who did not allow such major changes in the court, was replaced by Arslan, who is considered to have a more pro-government stance than Kılıç.

The reassignments of the rapporteurs are seen as a demotion, while the other announced changes represent a promotion.

Prosecutor Sami Çete, who oversaw an operation targeting certain members of the police in Gaziantep province with charges of illegal wiretapping and forgery of official documents, was promoted to chief prosecutor. The operation led by Çete is widely believed to have been intended to punish those who took part in operations targeting the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), such as the Dec. 17, 2013 graft scandal implicating President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who was prime minister at that time.

Mustafa Yalçın, a prosecutor in Adana province, was reassigned to be chief prosecutor of the Gaziantep Regional Court, a court which has not yet been established.

Judge Abdullah Şahin was reassigned to the Ankara Administrative Court as head of the court.

Judge Neslihan Ekinci, Prosecutor Ümit Şahiner, Prosecutor Cenk Akın Aksakal, Judge Sezer Söylemez, Judge Nedim Acu, Judge Yusuf Babayiğit, Judge Gülfem Bozdağ, Judge Cem Karaca, Judge Abdullah Şahin, Prosecutor Remzi Demir, Judge Fatma Uzun Feke, Prosecutor Ercan Gümüş, Judge Seval Karataş, Judge Betül Coşkun, Judge Yönel Özkan and Judge Kenan Türk are the other jurists who have been assigned to new positions.

(Cihan/Today's Zaman)