Alevis to 'block legal system' if rulings not put into effect

The government is obliged to implement decisions taken by Turkey?s Supreme Court and the ECHR on the rights of the Alevis, or else the justice system will be blocked by thousands of new legal cases and ?unfortunate? things could take place, says Professor ?zzettin Do?an, the head of the Cem Foundation The Turkish Supreme Court?s decision last week that recognized cemevis as houses of worship will have important consequences for ending discrimination against Alevis when implemented together with European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) rulings, according to Professor ?zzettin Do?an, the head of a prominent Alevi organization.

Although he described the Justice and Development Party?s (AKP) rule as the ?most discriminatory? against Alevis, Do?an said any political power in government will be obliged to implement the decisions. 

?If there will not be proper implementation, thousands of court cases will be filed that will end up blocking the justice system,? said the head of the Cem Foundation, which initiated the cases at the Strasbourg-based ECHR. 

How do you evaluate the Supreme Court?s ruling last week that the Turkish state should cover all the expenses of cemevis, in the same way as it does for mosques, churches and synagogues?

First of all, this decision introduces an important novelty to the Turkish legal system. While previously there had been references to the rulings of the ECHR, never before was such a hierarchy established [between local legal rulings and ECHR rulings]. It states that if the ECHR has made a verdict then the Turkish courts have to endorse decisions in conformity with that verdict. In the past we have seen Turkish courts ignoring ECHR rulings. 

The ECHR ruled [last year] that cemevis...