ANKARA: Turkiye’s top appeals court took the unprecedented step of filing a criminal complaint against members of the constitutional court on Wednesday, over a disagreement on the case of imprisoned parliamentarian Can Atalay.

The constitutional court had ordered the release of Atalay last month, ruling that his imprisonment violated his rights to security, liberty and the right to be elected.

But the appeals court, in an unusual decision, ruled that lower courts should not heed the decision and called for a criminal investigation into members of the constitutional court who supported the release.

The appeals court alleged that the constitutional court violated the constitution.

Legal experts say the judges of the constitutional court can only be tried by the Supreme Criminal Court, which is the constitutional court itself, further complicating the situation.

Both the government and opposition expressed concern following the complaint. The hashtags “Constit­utional Crisis”, “Constit­utional Court”, and “Court of Cassation” dominated social media platform X.

“We are experiencing an event that should never, ever happen. Shame. Such a shame. The powers that make up the state should solve problems, not create them,” ruling AK Party’s vice chairman Hayati Yazici said.

Published in Dawn, November 9th, 2023