Turkey signals reform as former army chief'’s arrest stirs anger

The Turkish government signaled the criteria for pre-trial detention could be tightened as the arrest of former Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ on terror charges unleashed a wave of criticism of the government and raised fresh questions over the judiciary’s credibility.

Referring to mounting complaints over protracted pretrial detentions, Deputy Prime Minister Beşir Atalay said the Justice Ministry was already working on a series of amendments aimed at shortening the prosecution process.

“Justice delayed is justice denied. But instead of limiting detention periods, [amendments] aimed at speeding up the judicial process and a review of the arrest criteria could be considered,” Atalay said on the private CNN Türk channel.

Atalay declined to comment on the charges brought against Başbuğ and said they expected “the justice system to function fairly and proceed speedily.”

Başbuğ, he said, was “undoubtedly a valuable colleague” who had been appointed as chief of General Staff by the Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Atalay dismissed the prospect of any negative impact on relations between military and government. “Turkey is going through a profound normalization. Our perceptions have changed. If a mistake is made, the people will see this,” he said.



/Hurriyet Daily News/