Opposition furious at Erdo?an's remarks on top court

Turkey's opposition parties have expressed their fury over remarks made by President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an, who said he had "no respect" for a recent Constitutional Court decision on two arrested journalists, while the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has stood by the statement.

"Next week, an appeal against the local court's decision to release [the two journalists] will be discussed. The president says, 'The local court should insist on its decision.' This is a direct order for those who will next week discuss the appeal. The statement [by Erdo?an] is beyond advice, it is an instruction. We define these remarks as the 'second Feb. 28 coup,'" Özgür Özel, the deputy parliamentary group chair of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), said at a press conference on Feb. 28, referring to the "Feb. 28 process" which eventually led to the notorious military intervention of Feb. 28, 1997, often described as a "post-modern coup."

Erdo?an criticized the recent Constitutional Court ruling that paved the way for the release Cumhuriyet editor-in-chief Can Dündar and the daily's Ankara bureau chief, Erdem Gül, saying he "does not accept or respect" the decision and vowing not to "obey" it.

"This incident has nothing to do with freedom of expression, it is a case of spying," Erdo?an said on Feb. 28, regarding the top court's ruling on Dündar and Gül.

Speaking at parliament during deliberations over the 2016 Central Governance Budget Law earlier on Feb. 28, the AKP's deputy parliamentary group chair, Bülent Turan, said all judicial decisions could be criticized. 

"Mr. President has criticized the Constitutional Court's decision. We are criticizing [it] too," Turan said, recalling that individual access by citizens...