CHP deputy Berberoğlu case to be sent to Supreme Court after Constitutional Court rules breach
Enis Berberoğlu, a deputy from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), takes his oath at the Turkish Parliament in the capital Ankara, Oct. 1, 2018. (Reuters Photo)


The Constitutional Court ruled on Thursday that main opposition People's Republican Party (CHP) deputy Enis Berberoğlu, who was sentenced for his role in leaking secret documents, had several of his rights breached, including his right to stand for elections and engage in political activities and his right to freedom and security

The Constitutional Court’s General Assembly ruled that the decision will be sent to the Supreme Court to be retried in order for the outcomes of the breach to be removed.

It was put forth in Berberoğlu’s individual application that the "right to stand for elections and engage in political activities and the person’s right to freedom and security and the right to question the witness, since the alleged witness was not ready at the hearing, was violated because of the continuation of the trial and the detention of a deputy who regained his right of privacy."

Berberoğlu was stripped of deputyship in June. In 2018, a Turkish court ruled to release Berberoğlu after having sentenced him to five years and 10 months for his role in leaking secret documents during the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) trucks case.

Berberoğlu was accused of supplying confidential information regarding the country's intelligence service to two journalists, Can Dündar and Erdem Gül, who have both been charged with willfully aiding a terrorist group without being a member.

The CHP deputy was found guilty of disclosing secret state documents by the second Penal Department of the Istanbul Regional Court of Justice.

Istanbul's 14th Heavy Penal Court initially sentenced Berberoğlu to 25 years in prison, but his case was later transferred to the Istanbul Regional Court of Justice.

In January 2014, trucks belonging to MIT carrying aid to northern Syria, where Turkmens had been exposed to heavy airstrikes and attacks from the Bashar Assad regime, were intercepted by security forces on orders of former Adana Public Prosecutor Özcan Şişman and Brig. Gen. Hamza Celepoğlu.

The supplies in the trucks were seized and MIT agents were handcuffed before being detained. The case stunned the nation, as it was the first time that the military explicitly intervened in the affairs of the intelligence agency. The operation was conducted hurriedly, and the governor of the province was informed about the incident in its latest phase.

It was later revealed that the raid was a plot by the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) to embarrass and discredit the government via its followers who had infiltrated the military and judiciary.