Turkey’s new judicial year opened on Tuesday with calls for reform to shorten notoriously lengthy trial and detention periods, abolish special-authority courts and end political meddling in the judiciary, Hurriyet Daily News reports.
The head of the Supreme Court of Appeals, Nazım Kaynak, the first judge to be elected to the post following constitutional amendments last year, hosted a traditional opening ceremony, attended by President Abdullah Gül, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and main opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.
Kaynak delivered a low-key speech but still highlighted persisting judicial problems, notably lengthy trial and detention periods that have increasingly come under fire over sprawling investigations into alleged anti-government plots and coup plans that have landed scores in jail.
