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TURKISH COURT RULES PRESIDENT GUL SHOULD STAND TRIAL IN FRAUD CASE: REPORT
ArmInfo
2009-05-19 11:17:00
ArmInfo. An Ankara court ruled Monday that Turkish President Abdullah
Gul should stand trial in a fraud case involving millions of dollars
of missing party funds, Hurriyet Daily News reported.
The Public Prosecutor's Office in the Turkish capital Ankara had
earlier ruled for the dismissal of proceedings for Gul in the case
publicly known as "the missing trillions."
In overturning the earlier ruling, the Ankara court cited "a loophole"
in the Turkish constitution regarding crimes one could have committed
before being elected as the president.
A court of appeals now will have the final say on the case.
Gul, a co-founder of the ruling Justice and Development Party, or
AKP, was elected president in 2007. The fraud case dates back to the
late 1990s, when the Welfare Party, or RP, a predecessor to the AKP,
was accused of misappropriating funds from the Treasury.
Some executives of the banned Islamic-rooted RP, of which Gul was the
deputy chairman at the time, were convicted of falsifying party records
and hiding millions of dollars in cash reserves ordered seized after
the party was shut down in 1998. As president, Gul enjoys immunity.
Former Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan was found guilty five years
ago in the same fraud case. Gul, who served as minister under Erbakan
with the Islamist RP, pardoned him in 2008.
Parliament speaker Koksal Toptan said on Monday that under the
constitution the president can be tried only for treason.
ArmInfo
2009-05-19 11:17:00
ArmInfo. An Ankara court ruled Monday that Turkish President Abdullah
Gul should stand trial in a fraud case involving millions of dollars
of missing party funds, Hurriyet Daily News reported.
The Public Prosecutor's Office in the Turkish capital Ankara had
earlier ruled for the dismissal of proceedings for Gul in the case
publicly known as "the missing trillions."
In overturning the earlier ruling, the Ankara court cited "a loophole"
in the Turkish constitution regarding crimes one could have committed
before being elected as the president.
A court of appeals now will have the final say on the case.
Gul, a co-founder of the ruling Justice and Development Party, or
AKP, was elected president in 2007. The fraud case dates back to the
late 1990s, when the Welfare Party, or RP, a predecessor to the AKP,
was accused of misappropriating funds from the Treasury.
Some executives of the banned Islamic-rooted RP, of which Gul was the
deputy chairman at the time, were convicted of falsifying party records
and hiding millions of dollars in cash reserves ordered seized after
the party was shut down in 1998. As president, Gul enjoys immunity.
Former Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan was found guilty five years
ago in the same fraud case. Gul, who served as minister under Erbakan
with the Islamist RP, pardoned him in 2008.
Parliament speaker Koksal Toptan said on Monday that under the
constitution the president can be tried only for treason.