Formulas for Gülen's execution

During the cabinet meeting presided over by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan earlier this week, the reinstatement of capital punishment was among the key issues. He looked in the face of cabinet ministers and asked: "What will happen for my 241 martyrs [killed during the military coup attempt]? Will those who killed them not give an account of it?" 

The legal arrangement that abolished the death penalty was overseen by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in 2004. Cabinet this week discussed the issue from the perspective of the EU acquis, Protocol Number 13 in which Turkey totally abolished capital punishment, and Article 90 of the constitution. The drawbacks of taking the death penalty to a referendum were also discussed. 

It was Erdoğan himself who brought the subject of reinstating the death penalty to the agenda. "If parliament reintroduces the death penalty, I would endorse it," he said. 

Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, meanwhile, has adopted a calmer stance on the issue. The prevailing belief had been that capital punishment would not be brought to parliament, so Erdoğan will never in the end need to ratify it. However, with Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli's recent declaration that they should "finish this business together," it became impossible to ignore the parliamentary route. 

Personally, I don't think President Erdoğan has been bluffing. I believe he is sincere on the subject of the death penalty.   

There are two particularly important aspects to reintroducing the death penalty. The first is whether it would be retroactive; the second is about what it would cover. 

My opinion is not as clear-cut as fellow Hürriyet columnist Ahmet Hakan, who wrote that there is no...