Turkey's judiciary hits back at government plans to curb powers

Turkey's top judicial body hit back Friday at the government's plans to curb its powers, adding fuel to a bitter row over a vast corruption probe engulfing Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The proposed reforms, to be debated in parliament later Friday, would give the justice ministry more powers to decide who makes up the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) and strip the legal body of its powers to pass decrees. The changes were slapped down by the judicial body itself as unconstitutional, while the United States and the European Union weighed in citing serious concerns. "With the law amendment, the board is reporting to the justice ministry. The amendment is against the constitution and the formation of an independent body," the HSYK said in a written statement, adding that the reforms were against international law. The government had moved to rein in the HSYK after a vast corruption probe broke, implicating key allies of Erdogan. The firebrand prime minister has responded angrily to the investigation, also sacking hundreds of police chiefs in a major purge. Alarmed by the developments, Washington stressed the importance of "a legal system that meets the highest standards of fairness, timeliness, and transparency in civil and criminal matters". "No one is above the law," US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters on Thursday, adding that allegations against public figures must be investigated impartially. In Brussels, Council of Europe's commissioner for human rights, Nils Muiznieks, called the plans to curb HSYK "a serious setback for the independence of the judiciary in Turkey". Lawyers and the liberal media also opposed the reforms, with the influential Union of Turkish Bar Associations calling them unconstitutional and warning that they violate the principle of separation of powers. "This is the last nail in the coffin of democracy," columnist Mehmet Yilmaz wrote in Hurriyet. Another columnist for Hurriyet, Yusuf Kanli, said it "underscores the dreadful reality the 'advanced democracy' of AKP is definitely deficient of ... democratic governance." The crisis erupted on December 17 when police rounded up dozens of people including sons of former ministers and the top businessmen suspected of numerous offences including bribery for construction projects and illicit money transfers to neighbouring sanctions-hit Iran. On Tuesday, police carried out further raids in five cities and detained 25 people on suspicions of bribery and fraud in tenders for construction projects. Erdogan has accused loyalists of US-exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen, whose movement wields influence in the police and judiciary, of instigating the corruption probe, but Gulen has denied any involvement in the controversial inquiry. A new poll suggested that the scandal was hurting the ruling AKP ahead of key local polls in March and presidential polls in September. The survey by the Sonar Institute indicated a two percentage point dip in support for Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) if legislative elections were to be held, compared to the last opinion opinion a month ago. According to the new survey which showed support for the AKP at 42.3 percent, the party would not be able to form a government on its own.