Bilal Bekar, member of the teaching staff of the Rize University Fındıklı Vocational School, was arrested upon the complaint of a judge in the Pazar district of the city of Rize on the eastern Black Sea coast. Bekar previously had a quarrel with the judge when he went to the courthouse to take care of an issue of his father. His colleagues declared that Bekar's arrest was in breach wiht human rights.

A joint lawyer, member of the Rize Branch of the Eğitim Bir-Sen connected the Education and Science Workers' Union (Eğitim-Sen), made a press release in front of the Rize Courthouse subsequent to his talk with Public Prosecutor İsmet Özkorul.

The local newspaper Haber 53 ('News 53') quoted Önder Şahin, member of the union branch steering board, as saying that guaranteeing fundamental rights and freedoms was the most important reason for the existence of the state of law.

"Detained in contrary to detention conditions"

Şahin criticized, "Our friend Bilal Bekar was arrested despite the lack of reasons for arrest as stipulated in the Criminal Procedure Law. This brings a question back to the agenda that is being widely discussed in our country: 'Does the law have superiority, or is it the law of the superior'. While defendants of various crimes have been released in the past days, we find the arrest of a lecturer without fulfilling the conditions envisaged by the law contrary to human rights".

Şahin also called on the Parliament when he said, "We urgently demand legal regulations that are objective and do not leave room for interpretation to avoid this kind of unjust decisions of arrest".

Bekar's lawyer has not received any results yet upon the appeal he filed at the Trabzon High Criminal Court. It was said that the decision would be evaluated this week.

Bekar was arrested on 19 January upon the complaint of a judge. The judge had requested him to stand up when he met him in a governmental office. A discussion evolved. The judge then complained about Bekar under allegations of "insulting a judge on duty" and presented the expression used by the respondent during the discussion as evidence.

Arrest upon the appeal of prosecution

It was reported that the court applied the general provisions on detention of the Criminal Procedure Law for Bekar even though there was no danger of flight and the court got hold of the teacher's address.

The Pazar (Rize) Magistrate Criminal Court opened a trial against Bekar and demanded his arrest. The court declined the request for his arrest. Thereupon, the prosecution appealed at the Rize High Criminal Court.

The Rize High Criminal Court accepted the request and decided to arrest Bekar. Bekar was continuing his lessons at school since he had not been arrested despite the decision. However, on 19 January, the police was informed about the decision. They arrested him and brought him to prison. (EÖ/VK)