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Constitutional Court rejects NiÅ?anyan appeal
Emre Can DaÄ?lıoÄ?lu 04.02.2015 10:28 NEWS
The appeal to the Constitutional Court regarding Sevan NiÅ?anyan's
cases for opposition to the Code of Protection of Cultural and Natural
Properties for which he received long term prison sentences has been
rejected. The next legal step is the ECHR.
In its verdict dated January 30, the Constitutional Court ruled that
the appeal displayed a `clear lack of basis' since no explicit
arbitrariness had been detected in NiÅ?anyan's trial process.
NiÅ?anyan's lawyer Ergin Cinmen stated that with this ruling of the
Constitutional Court they had exhausted domestic legal remedies, and
that they would be applying to the European Court of Human Rights
(ECHR) in the coming days.
Grounds of appeal
The appeal filed on 23 September 2014 covered the sentences attributed
to NiÅ?anyan in reference to Article 65 of the Law on `deliberately
causing damage to immovable cultural assets under protection'. The
appeal was founded on the fact that the allegation had not been
serviced to NiÅ?anyan and that therefore NiÅ?anyan could not have known
the specific criminal scope of his acts. The prior cancellation of the
relevant law by the Constitutional Court had been presented as a
further rationale.
In response to the appeal, in its verdict, the Constitutional Court
justified the decision of the local court that ruled for the sentence
and that of the Court of Cassation, which approved it, and accepted
the view that NiÅ?anyan was aware of the fact that the site where he
committed the attributed crime was a Protected Area. The
Constitutional Court also ruled that the Court of Cassation had
approved a crime that had been committed before the Constitutional
Court had annulled the relevant law. In the conclusion for the
verdict, the Constitutional Court stated that there was no apparent
mistake in valuation or explicit arbitrariness in the cases, clearly
underlining that the Constitutional Court would not examine such
cases, and that therefore the appeal was unacceptable because it
displayed a `clear lack of basis'.
Next step: ECHR
NiÅ?anyan's lawyer Ergin Cinmen who filed the application to the
Constitutional Court said the following regarding the verdict: `The
Constitutional Court had previously ruled that the procedure related
to crime NiÅ?anyan has been sentenced for was a violation of the
Constitution. Thus the Court, at present, has confirmed NiÅ?anyan's
confinement by attributing to him a crime that itself found to be in
violation of the Constitution in its nature. Since with this ruling of
the Constitutional Court we have exhausted domestic legal remedies, we
will be applying to the European Court of Human Rights in the coming
days. However, the procedure there progresses very slowly.'
NiÅ?anyan has been imprisoned since January 2014, and he also has a
pending prison sentence of 14 years 2 months inflicted for opposition
to the Construction Law and the Code of Protection of Cultural and
Natural Properties which has not been approved by the Court of
Cassation as of yet. NiÅ?anyan is currently the only person in Turkey
who is serving a prison sentence in a closed prison in relation to
these specific crimes.
http://www.agos.com.tr/en/article/11103/constitutional-court-rejects-nisanyan-appeal
From: A. Papazian
Emre Can DaÄ?lıoÄ?lu 04.02.2015 10:28 NEWS
The appeal to the Constitutional Court regarding Sevan NiÅ?anyan's
cases for opposition to the Code of Protection of Cultural and Natural
Properties for which he received long term prison sentences has been
rejected. The next legal step is the ECHR.
In its verdict dated January 30, the Constitutional Court ruled that
the appeal displayed a `clear lack of basis' since no explicit
arbitrariness had been detected in NiÅ?anyan's trial process.
NiÅ?anyan's lawyer Ergin Cinmen stated that with this ruling of the
Constitutional Court they had exhausted domestic legal remedies, and
that they would be applying to the European Court of Human Rights
(ECHR) in the coming days.
Grounds of appeal
The appeal filed on 23 September 2014 covered the sentences attributed
to NiÅ?anyan in reference to Article 65 of the Law on `deliberately
causing damage to immovable cultural assets under protection'. The
appeal was founded on the fact that the allegation had not been
serviced to NiÅ?anyan and that therefore NiÅ?anyan could not have known
the specific criminal scope of his acts. The prior cancellation of the
relevant law by the Constitutional Court had been presented as a
further rationale.
In response to the appeal, in its verdict, the Constitutional Court
justified the decision of the local court that ruled for the sentence
and that of the Court of Cassation, which approved it, and accepted
the view that NiÅ?anyan was aware of the fact that the site where he
committed the attributed crime was a Protected Area. The
Constitutional Court also ruled that the Court of Cassation had
approved a crime that had been committed before the Constitutional
Court had annulled the relevant law. In the conclusion for the
verdict, the Constitutional Court stated that there was no apparent
mistake in valuation or explicit arbitrariness in the cases, clearly
underlining that the Constitutional Court would not examine such
cases, and that therefore the appeal was unacceptable because it
displayed a `clear lack of basis'.
Next step: ECHR
NiÅ?anyan's lawyer Ergin Cinmen who filed the application to the
Constitutional Court said the following regarding the verdict: `The
Constitutional Court had previously ruled that the procedure related
to crime NiÅ?anyan has been sentenced for was a violation of the
Constitution. Thus the Court, at present, has confirmed NiÅ?anyan's
confinement by attributing to him a crime that itself found to be in
violation of the Constitution in its nature. Since with this ruling of
the Constitutional Court we have exhausted domestic legal remedies, we
will be applying to the European Court of Human Rights in the coming
days. However, the procedure there progresses very slowly.'
NiÅ?anyan has been imprisoned since January 2014, and he also has a
pending prison sentence of 14 years 2 months inflicted for opposition
to the Construction Law and the Code of Protection of Cultural and
Natural Properties which has not been approved by the Court of
Cassation as of yet. NiÅ?anyan is currently the only person in Turkey
who is serving a prison sentence in a closed prison in relation to
these specific crimes.
http://www.agos.com.tr/en/article/11103/constitutional-court-rejects-nisanyan-appeal
From: A. Papazian