“Back to Life” Prosecutor Given Prison Sentence

The case launched against Prosecutor Ali İhsan Demirel for “neglect of duty” in his post investigating public officials in the Operation Back to Life which caused the death of 12 people and which was organized in the scope of the “Deluge Campaign Plan” to Bayrampaşa Prison has ended. The Supreme Court of Appeals’ 5^th Penal Chamber sentenced Demirel to 1 year in jail for “the misuse of duty”.

Joint attorneys and an observer from Turkey’s Bar Association Lawyer Rights Center attended the trial where Defendant Demirel was absent due to being exempt.

Sentenced from the upper limit

The Supreme Court of Appeals’ 5^th Penal Chamber Head Bahri Demirel who read the decision said prosecutor Demirel had been sentenced from the upper limit to 1 year in prison for the misuse of duty through neglectful behavior, in accordance with the Turkish Penal Code’s (TCK) article 257/2 and considering “the way the crime was committed, the importance and value of the subject of the crime, the gravity of the damage and danger produced, the intensity of the perpetrator’s purposeful fault”.

The Supreme Court of Appeals also ruled that there are no grounds for the judge’s sentence to be delayed (for the declaration of the conviction to be adjourned).

The verdict to be appealed

The second subsection of the TCK's article 257 regulating “the misuse of duty” includes the clause: “Except for situations additionally defined in the law as crimes, a public official who neglects or is late to perform their duty to cause the victimization of persons or the detriment of the public or incurs an unjust benefit to persons is sentenced to prison for three months to one year.”

Joint attorney Ömer Kavili explained that the defendant prosecutor did not just neglect his duty by doing nothing, but engaged in active behavior in the framework of the decisions of the Supreme Court of Appeals’ Assembly of Criminal Chambers through certain active correspondence so as to misuse his duty, and said that they would appeal the verdict for a higher penalty. (AS/PU)

What had happened?

After 12 people died in Bayrampaşa and 55 were injured, Eyüp Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation. Demirel led the investigation for 9 years.

According to the document signed Gendarmerie Regional Command that was added to the file on 22 May 2002, Istanbul Halkalı Gendarmerie Commando Battalion, Bayrampaşa Prison Protection Squad Command, Elazığ Gendarmerie Commando Battalion and Ankara Gendarmerie Commando Special Public Order Unit (JÖAK) participated in the operation. The requested documents received from these units were either lacking or incorrect or the prosecution was not notified for years.

The criminal complaint filed about Demirel on 4 April 2011 in Bakırköy Public Prosecutor’s Office stated that he "did not solicit the testimonies of the commanders who signed the operation field order, protected the real perpetrators by not filing a case, did not complete the investigation for 13 years, and acted carelessly in the preparation of the bill of indictment”.

Demirel who was Eyüp Public Prosecutor during the operation dated 19-22 December 2000 was sued for “acting against the requirements of his duty” and “neglect or delay in the execution of his duty”.

Prosecutor Mustafa Atagün wrote in the bill of indictment he prepared about prosecutor Demirel that, “he gives the impression that he cannot do his duty regarding his work on the investigation document on Operation Back to Life in a correct and impartial manner.”

Demirel had ordered for the testimonies of the soldiers who participated in the operation 13 years ago to be taken from where they were located. In the bill of indictment, Demirel was said to have acted in a way as to protect public personnel: "He did not so much as hear the testimonies of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor or prison prosecutor who did not sign the operation record, even though charges had been filed against them."

The following observations about Demirel, stated to have “continued the investigation as an unidentified document”, were featured in the bill of indictment:

"He did not start legal proceedings about accountable parties who did not respond to warrants written for the identification of those who participated in the operation or did not submit the information and documents requested. For 13 years he did not provide the Bayrampaşa Prison Intervention Plan called ‘Deluge’. He did not take sufficient care for the determination of the personal information and actions of the Ankara Gendarmerie Commando Special Public Order Command personnel serving at Block C where the death and injuries happened. He gave non-prosecution orders based on their statements. He made do with the testimonies received by high-ranking officials from the 38 privates on trial in the preliminary investigation, and did not question who gave the orders or who caused the death and injuries."

In the bill of indictment it was also stated that Demirel “did not lead an efficient investigation”: "He gave the decision not to prosecute high-ranking soldiers based on their own statements."

Prosecutor Ali İhsan Demirel said in his defense that he "did his duty as needed and did not commit any in the investigation”.

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