Turgut Okyay (born 1941 Tut, Adıyaman)[1] is a Turkish judge and politician and known for being the judge who presided over the State Security Court of Ankara which condemned Abdullah Öcalan to death.

Turgut Okyay
Judge at the State Security Court
In office
1994–2000
Judge at the Court of Cassation
In office
2000–2006
Personal details
Born1941
Tut, Turkey
CitizenshipTurkish
Political partyPatriotic Party

Education

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He attended high school in Adana and studied law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Ankara from which he graduated in 1964.[1] After graduation, he served in the military service for two years.[1]

Professional career

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He entered the public administration and served as a judge in several cities before being appointed in 1994 as a judge at the State Security Court of Ankara.[1] During the Trial of Abdullah Öcalan the leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), he presided over the State Security Court which sentenced Öcalan to death on the 29 June 1999.[2] He stated he personally was against the death penalty but had to apply it.[3] In the year 2000 he was appointed to the Court of Cassation from which he retired in 2006.[1]

Political career

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In February 2015 he joined the Workers Party of Turkey (IP) led by Doğu Perinçek.[4] After the party changed its name in Patriotic party (VP) in the party congress the same month,[5] Okyay became its vice president and Adana candidate for the parliamentary election of 2015.[6] In his electoral campaign he advocated for a Turkish worldwide leadership in the fields of human rights and democracy.[6] He was not elected.[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "İŞÇİ PARTİSİNDEN BÜYÜK ATAK". İŞÇİ PARTİSİNDEN BÜYÜK ATAK (in Turkish). Retrieved 2021-05-27.
  2. ^ "BBC NEWS | Monitoring | Text of the Ocalan verdict". news.bbc.co.uk. BBC. 29 June 1999. Retrieved 2021-05-27.
  3. ^ "Gereği düşünüldü İDAM". Yeni Safak. Archived from the original on 2015-04-17. Retrieved 2021-05-27.
  4. ^ "Abdullah Öcalan'a idam cezası veren hakim hangi partiden aday olacak". odatv (in Turkish). Retrieved 2021-05-27.
  5. ^ "Brief history of the Patriotic Party (Turkey)". Patriotic Party. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Öcalan'ı yargılayan isim o partiden aday". www.haberturk.com (in Turkish). Retrieved 2021-05-27.
  7. ^ "Adana Seçim Sonuçları - 7 Haziran 2015 Genel Seçimleri | SABAH". www.sabah.com.tr. Retrieved 2021-05-27.