New postponement of Aramean (Syriac) monastery case
London, UK
The Syriac Universal Alliance (SUA), the recognized United Nations NGO representing the Aramean (Syriac) people worldwide, reports that the court trial held in relation to one of the several Mor Gabriel Monastery trials on Wednesday 14 July 2010 in Midyat, Turkey, has once again been postponed to 3 November 2010.
Quite surprisingly, a new judge has now been appointed to the Monastery case. There is no clear indication why this has taken place, but this will no doubt delay matters further. The judge has even personally visited the Mor Gabriel Monastery shortly before the trial and sat with Archbishop Mor Timotheus Samuel Aktas and others to discuss general Monastery issues.
The case heard relates to the Head of the Religious Foundation of the Monastery, Mr Kuryakos Ergün, as a defendant, for the “intentional violation of the Forestry law.” Given that this case relies heavily on the status of the other cases, including the “Forestry” Case, which was appealed to the Supreme Court in Ankara, the Judge earlier determined, on Wednesday 5 May 2010, that this trial should be adjourned till 14 July 2010. Today, however, the court case has been deferred again. Again because of the lack of progress on the “Forestry” Case, but this time till 3 November 2010.
At the moment, these are the six trials in relation to the Syriac Orthodox Mor Gabriel Monastery.
1Forestry Land Case 1: inside the outer wall – 20. Law Department –2009/14177 basic.
Current Status: Case determined against the Mor Gabriel Monastery by the Midyat Court in earlier trial. The Monastery lawyer appealed to the Supreme Court in Ankara, Turkey, in the hope to get the earlier decision of the Midyat Court Rejected. Files and arguments have been presented to the Ankara Supreme Court and the Monastery is still waiting for the decision of the Supreme Court to be sent back to the Midyat Court.
2Forestry Land Case 1: outside the outer wall – 20. Law Department –2009/14178 basic.
Current Status: Case determined against the Mor Gabriel Monastery by the Midyat Court in earlier trial. The Monastery lawyer appealed to the Supreme Court in Ankara, Turkey, in the hope to get the earlier decision of the Midyat Court Rejected. Files and arguments have been presented to the Ankara Supreme Court and the Monastery is still waiting for the decision of the Supreme Court to be sent back to the Midyat Court.
3State Treasury Land Case – 20. Law Department –2009/15267 basic.
Current Status: Case determined for the Mor Gabriel Monastery by the Midyat Court in earlier trial. The State Treasury lawyer appealed on behalf of the State to the Supreme Court in Ankara, Turkey, in the hope to get the earlier decision of the Midyat Court Rejected. Files and arguments have been presented to the Ankara Supreme Court and the Monastery is still waiting for the decision of the Supreme Court to be sent back to the Midyat Court.
4Qartmin (Turkish: Yayvantepe) – 4. Law Department –2009/12705 basic.
Current Status: Case determined for the Mor Gabriel Monastery by the Midyat Court in earlier trial. The Qartmin lawyer appealed on behalf of the Qartmin Village to the Supreme Court in Ankara, Turkey, in the hope to get the earlier decision of the Midyat Court Rejected. Files and arguments have been presented to the Ankara Supreme Court and the Monastery is still waiting for the decision of the Supreme Court to be sent back to the Midyat Court.
5Eğlence – 4. Law Department –2009/12707 basic.
Current Status: Case determined for the Mor Gabriel Monastery by the Midyat Court in earlier trial. The Eğlence lawyer appealed on behalf of the Eğlence Village to the Supreme Court in Ankara, Turkey, in the hope to get the earlier decision of the Midyat Court Rejected. Files and arguments have been presented to the Ankara Supreme Court and the Monastery is still waiting for the decision of the Supreme Court to be sent back to the Midyat Court.
6Kuryakos Foundation Case – Midyat Local Court (adjourned)
Today it has been postponed once more to 3 November 2010.
Remarkably, the Turkish State has continued to delay decisions on the above cases or consistently postponed the decisions relating to them. As reported recently by the Syriac Universal Alliance, this parallels other delays within the Turkish judicial system and has been recognised by the European community as a major flaw in the Turkish judicial process.
In what appears to be a systemic problem within Turkey, the SUA notes that there is a large number of similar unjustified delays being faced by other Aramean (Syriac) villages in southeast Turkey. Mr Daniel Gabriel, SUA’s Director of Human Rights and UN NGO, comments: “Mor Gabriel is not the only injustice Arameans face today. Throughout the southeast of Turkey there are approximately 30 Aramean populated villages which face similar issues of land theft, judicial prejudice and injustice. This defenceless people needs pressure to be placed on Turkey to rectify the current land issues.”
The SUA continues to appeal to all media, human rights organizations and politicians to maintain and increase their interest and passion in relation to this critical issue for the Aramean (Syriac) people.
