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Istanbul mayor Imamoglu told reporters that he believed the court ruling would be reversed higher courts.
Saying that he was saddened by the decision, he said: "There is no justice in this country. In Turkey, instead of listening to their conscience, judges look towards the palace [the President's office]."
He added that Kaftancioglu was sentenced "because of her success in Istanbul elections".
Erdogan on September 2 sharply rebuked Turkish lawyers who boycotted a judicial ceremony that took place on the grounds of his presidential palace.
Erdogan also remarked that the method of electing bar association members should be changed.
Last month, at least 19 bar associations representing most lawyers across Turkey, including in the three largest cities, determined that they would boycott the annual opening ceremony of the judicial year because it was to be held on the premises of the presidential palace. Holding it at such a place directly linked to the presidency indicated a lack of separation of powers and the erosion of judicial independence in Turkey, they said.
Speaking at the ceremony, Erdogan insisted Turkey’s new all-powerful executive presidential system did not affect the separation of powers. The presidential palace, he added, was the people’s home.
“Many of the accusations directed at the president, who is also the head of the executive branch, about the separation of powers under the new system are baseless,” Erdogan said, as reported by Reuters.
Erdogan added: “I congratulate the chairmen of our Court of Cassation and Turkish Bar’s Association (TBB) on behalf of my people for the strong and democratic stance they showed against this bigoted and provocative imposition.”
Erdogan claimed that the election methods of bar associations were not “in line with representative democracy” and that this was an issue his government would tackle.
TBB chairman Metin Feyzioglu, previously an outspoken critic of Erdogan, is, meanwhile, facing criticism for recently shifting position and appearing closer to the president. He was at the ceremony for the first time in five years.
“For us, if the question is our nation, the rest is not important. That is why we are here today,” Feyzigolu said in a speech.
Turkey’s judiciary and other state bodies suffered a big crackdown after the failed July 2016 coup attempt and switch to the executive presidency in June last year.
Observers say the courts are under intense pressure from Erdogan and his Islamist-rooted AKP ruling party.
“We didn’t attend the opening ceremony held at the palace today because it is as important to us that the judiciary looks independent as much as its actual independence,” Erinc Sagkan, head of the capital Ankara’s bar association, told Reuters.
“An opening ceremony that is held under the domination, the pressure, the roof of the executive powers will bring irreparable damage to the independence of the judiciary.”
26 TURKEY Country Report October 2019 www.intellinews.com