İSTANBUL - On 17 January 2020, lawyers of Abdullah Öcalan, Ömer Hayri Konar, Hamili Yıldırım and Veysi Aktaş applied to the Constitutional Court to counter the disciplinary penalties inflicted on their clients.
The application underlined that these disciplinary measures actually pose a threat to the right "to a fair trial."
Lawyers reminded the principle of the "rule of law" as stated by the European Court of Human Rights on this matter.
Practices that make it extremely difficult or impossible to reach the court are violations of rights.
Attention was drawn by the lawyers to the disciplinary penalties imposed systematically on Imralı.
The lawyers underlined that the same applicants were exposed to the same disciplinary action for the fifth time in 15 months.
The lawyers added that disciplinary measures are not notified on time; the rejection of the lawyers' requests to meet with their clients are refused on the basis of these measures; negative interference with the applicants' right to access the court by not giving the files to the lawyers.
In the application, which stated that all these practices do not meet the requirement of “lawfulness”, it was emphasized that the prohibitions of opinion had no legal basis and the right to a fair trial was seized.
Particular emphasis was placed on the following important points in the application: "The fact that the prosecution and the judge close the decisions and files of the applicant to the lawyer access without legal basis, prevents the lawyer from contacting with his client, and in this respect, these procedures results in a violation of the principle of fair trial and the right to defense."
Lawyers stated that the prisoners in Imralı were treated differently because of their political views. "Indeed, the four applicants, who make up the totality of prisoners in Imralı Prison, are subjected to a kind of unfair and special restriction that is not found in other prisons."