Judge Critical Of Corruption Case Sued By Prosecutors Of The Case

Judge Sevgi Övüç, who criticized the closure of the Dec. 17 corruption case on an Internet forum, now stands accused of insulting a public servant. The case started on Friday, but due to the absence of the plaintiffs, the case was delayed.

Judge Sevgi Övüç from the İstanbul Anatolian 14th Peace Court is well-known for issuing a fine to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the amount of 3 Kr for calling the martyrs killed by the PKK “heads.”

Criticizing the public prosecutors' decision not to pursue the Dec. 17 corruption case any further, Övüç wrote on adalet.org, an Internet forum for judges and prosecutors, “Are 14 prosecutors enough to cover up corruption and stealing?” which led to a case being launched against her by five of the prosecutors who were involved in the infamous corruption case.

Since the plaintiffs did not appear for the first hearing on Friday and a temporary replacement judge appeared in place of the judge assigned to the case, the lawyers of the defendant refused to present their arguments and asked for a deferral until the judge assigned to the case was available.

When the prosecutors involved in the closed corruption case first made a claim against Justice Övüç, the prosecutor determined on July 21 that there was not sufficient evidence for an investigation as her statements could be considered criticism or severe criticism, which does not amount to an insult. However, after the plaintiffs formally launched an appeal, the 5th Peace Court in İstanbul overturned the initial decision and launched an investigation. One of the prosecutors who closed the corruption case, Ekrem Aydıner, did not object to the initial decision and therefore is not part of the reopened case which is now being pursued by the remaining four prosecutors involved in the closed corruption case.

In a show of solidarity, judges and prosecutors from the Judges and Prosecutors Association (YARSAV) attended the hearing at the courthouse on Friday, while the plaintiffs Orhan Kağıcı, Fuzuli Aydoğdu, İsmail Uçar and İrfan Fidan failed to appear. The judge assigned to the trial, the president of the İstanbul 14th Penal Court, Alev Menteş, was also unavailable for reasons that remain unclear and did not appear in court. Her replacement, Canel Rüzgar, said that he was not in a position to make a decision about the case which led one of Övüç'S lawyers, Bahri Belen, to request a deferral until the assigned judge was available. Another lawyer for Övüç, Elkan Aybayrak, further asked the court to ensure the plaintiffs were present for the next hearing.

Mürsel Genç (Cihan/Today's Zaman)