'Advanced Islamist Democracy' - Political asylum from persecution in EU 'candidate' Turkey.

'Advanced Islamist Democracy' - Political asylum from persecution in EU 'candidate' Turkey. (FOT).

The political asylum cases originating from Turkey will likely increase against the background of intensified political persecution of opponents and critics in Turkey by the growing authoritarian and Islamist regime that is bent on abusing the criminal justice system with partisan judges and prosecutors.

Not a single day passes in Turkey without a journalist, academic, artist, businessperson or ordinary citizen getting slammed by an investigation or trial for defamation of Turkey’s political Islamist leaders, who rose to power through elections but are now determined to derail democracy, and trample rights and freedoms.

The dramatic surge in the number of prosecutions frustrates many Turks who now question whether Turkey is a good place to live and raise family. Turkey had generated a wave of political asylum seekers in the past during turbulent periods of military coups and the repression of leftists, Kurds, Alevis and conservative groups in the 80s and 90s. But perhaps, for the first time in Turkish history, we have started to notice a completely new pattern of political asylum seekers that originate from Turkey: Those running from the persecution relentlessly pursued by the political Islamist government.

These politically-motivated cases — made to appear as if they are criminal investigations — are nothing but instruments in the hands of political Islamists used to instill a climate of fear of the regime, intimidate the opposition and silence critics.

The long list of objections listed by bar associations and teams of defense lawyers in political witch-hunt cases across Turkey is a testament to the fact that the rule of law is effectively suspended in Turkey. The legal protections that are afforded to the — unjustly — accused as part of due process and the right to a fair trial are being flagrantly violated. The verdict is often a forgone conclusion whereby a loyalist judge was ordered by political authorities to jail defendants no matter what the evidence says, if there is any at all.

Under this terrible McCarthyism era Turkey has been going through under the political Islamist and authoritarian regime, nobody can blame anyone who decides to flee the country in order to find a safe haven until the rule of law and democracy are re-established and the practice of instigating witch-hunts under the guise of pursuing criminals ceases in Turkey. Those who decide to run away cannot be classified as fugitives from justice when there is no justice in Turkey. Hmmmm....the worst thing is that European politicians allow this to happen in exchange for promises of cheap gas delivered through Turkey.Read the full story here.