The true measure of justice in a country is not the length of its constitutional texts.
It is not the grandeur of high court buildings.
It is not fancy sentences read from pulpits.
The true measure of justice is this:
When a person is deprived of his or her liberty, is there really a compelling legal justification or not?
What is being hotly debated in public today, unfortunately, does not address this fundamental question.
We are discussing a sentence again.
We are stuck on a word again.
Again, we are being distracted by the simplicity of “did he say this or did he mean that”.
However, the real question remains in all its nakedness:
Why is Enver Aysever under arrest?
On what felony charge?
With what concrete and indisputable evidence?
On suspicion of what?
By what compelling legal necessity?
Every discussion without answering these questions means moving further away from the essence of the law and further eviscerating justice.
Because arrest is not a punishment in our law.
Arrest is not a method of retribution.
Arrest is not a means of appeasing public anger.
The Criminal Procedure Code is very clear:
Arrest is an exceptional measure.
It is a last resort.
It cannot be applied for unless it is mandatory.
And it can never become a punishment.
If there is no suspicion of flight, if the evidence is gathered, if there is an accusation that cannot be sustained, detention is no longer a legal measure, but an act against freedom.
This is exactly what we are experiencing today.
A person's life is suspended.
His family, his job, his reputation, his future are pushed into uncertainty.
But we still speak in tabloid language.
This is not a lack of knowledge.
This is not a distraction.
This is a conscious escape.
Because it is easy to discuss words.
But defending freedom comes at a price.
Because criticizing a sentence is risk-free.
But it takes courage to challenge an unlawful arrest.
And the day societies stop defending freedom, they gradually lose justice.
There is one fact that should not be forgotten:
Today Enver Aysever.
Tomorrow someone else.
Then someone else's relative.
Then a journalist.
Then an academic.
Then an ordinary citizen.
Lawlessness sucks in not only those who are targeted but also those who watch.
In a country where people can be detained for months on an unsubstantiated charge, the issue is no longer a single case.
There is the issue;
It is the trivialization of freedom.
It is the habitualization of law.
And the most dangerous thing is that society slowly gets used to it.
Çünkü toplum alıştığında, hukuksuzluk kalıcı hâle gelir.
I am writing this article not only as a lawyer for a client.
Bu yazıyı, hukukun hâlâ bir onuru olduğuna inanan bir hukukçu olarak, yarın herkesin aynı akıbetle karşılaşabileceğini bilen bir yurttaş olarak yazıyorum.
Bu mesele bir söz meselesi değildir.
Bu mesele bir kişi meselesi değildir.
Bu mesele, bir ülkede özgürlüğün ne kadar güvende olduğu meselesidir.
Ve bu sorunun cevabı sadece Enver Aysever’i değil, hepimizi ilgilendirir.
Av. Dr. Mikayil Dilbaz
Enver Aysever’in Vekili