25.05.2025 14:10
In a statement regarding the new process, Presidential Chief Advisor Mehmet Uçum reacted to the use of the term "political prisoner," stating, "There are no political prisoners in Turkey. You cannot portray a criminal as innocent." In response to Uçum's remarks, Tuncer Bakırhan, Co-Chair of the DEM Party, said, "We call him an advisor. We refer to Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ as political prisoners."
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President's Chief Advisor Mehmet Uçum made a striking post regarding the Terror-Free Turkey process on his X account.
MEHMET UÇUM'S "POLITICAL PRISONER" STATEMENT
Uçum, who warned about the language to be used in the process, reacted to the use of the term 'political prisoner'. Uçum stated; "The terrorist tutelage that is being eliminated exists not only in political channels and parties related to terrorist organizations but also in their language. A concrete example can be given as the expression political prisoner. The meaning of the term political prisoner, regardless of the context in which it is used, is certain: there are no political prisoners in Turkey. There are legal statuses defined in the penal legislation such as suspect, accused, detained, convicted, and terrorist offender. These are legal statuses. You cannot cover positive law with ideological-political definitions. You cannot portray a criminal as innocent. You cannot turn a corrupt person into a hero or a person dealing with terrorism into a victim. From the perspective of criminal law, you cannot exonerate individuals who are alleged to have committed a crime or found guilty by rejecting the law. You can express your criticism regarding positive law within the boundaries of law; you cannot deny the law. You can only defend against accusations and fight through legal means.
"AGGRESSIVE LANGUAGE MUST BE ABANDONED URGENTLY"
If some individuals with statuses such as suspect, accused, detained, or convicted are seen as political prisoners, their rights stemming from these statuses are also denied. It seems that those who say political prisoner are not even aware of this. This ideological-political cliché and the aggressive language towards positive law must be abandoned urgently. Otherwise, you cannot talk about political prisoners while also discussing legal reform. Those who do not recognize the existing law cannot have the right to speak about the need for change in positive law.
BAKIRHAN'S REACTION TO UÇUM
DEM Party Co-Chair Tuncer Bakırhan reacted to Uçum's words about "political prisoners" during the Democratic Local Governments Mid-Term Meeting he attended in Diyarbakır. Bakırhan said, "What is it, we are not supposed to say 'political prisoner'? What shall we say, it is called by its name. We call the advisor 'advisor'. We also call Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ political prisoners.
"AS IF THERE IS DEMOCRACY, WE ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO SAY POLITICAL PRISONER"
As if there is law, as if people are not inside because of their thoughts and beliefs, as if there is democracy, we are not supposed to say political prisoner. On one hand, actually, should we call it a political hostage then?"
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