Former deputy arrested shortly after his release

Former Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy Eren Erdem who was released pending trial yesterday was arrested again by an İstanbul court today.

İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office objected to Erdem’s release minutes after İstanbul 23th High Criminal Court’s ruling, claiming that he could flee abroad, and a higher court accepted its objection and issued a detention warrant for Erdem yesterday.

İstanbul 24th High Criminal Court, today, ruled in favor of Prosecutor’s Office and decided to arrest Erdem. The court has stated that there is no change in the “strong criminal suspicion” against Erdem and that he was detained while he was leaving Turkey [in June 2018].

Pro-government internet trolls and figures rejoiced as former deputy remains behind bar whereas his mother Hüsniye Erdem who expected to meet his son outside of İstanbul’s notorious Silivri prison after months broke down in tears.

Erdem has been accused of “aiding a terrorist organization without membership in it,” “revealing the identity of a secret witness” and “violating the confidentiality of a criminal investigation” in an indictment approved by the court in May. Public Prosecutor demands him spend 8,5 to 19 years in prison.

“Immediate arrest after release” has become a common practice in Turkey where President Erdoğan enjoys total control of the judiciary system. Judges and prosecutors who released critical defendants in the past were either fired or laid off.

The post Former deputy arrested shortly after his release appeared first on Stockholm Center for Freedom.

from Stockholm Center for Freedom https://stockholmcf.org/former-deputy-arrested-shortly-after-his-release/