Retired judge criticizes TÜİK, enforcement proceedings initiated

Retired judge Seyfettin Çilesiz, an Honorary Member of the Supreme Court of Appeals and currently in litigation with the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK), criticized TÜİK on his social media account. TÜİK took Çilesiz, who criticized him, to court the following day. The process that landed Çilesiz in court began with his criticism of TÜİK's June 3rd low inflation data, which determines salary increases, through his account X. Just one day after the criticism, on July 4th, TÜİK initiated enforcement proceedings against Çilesiz through the Ankara 4th General Enforcement Office for 36,000 lira. The total, including costs, has risen to 46,000 lira.

'UNLAWFUL'

Çilesiz's lawyer, Ali Erdem Gündoğan, stated that the enforcement proceedings were related to a case pending appeal, saying, "The enforcement proceedings are unlawful. According to the Administrative Procedure Law, a payment notification should have been sent to us first, bank information should have been requested, and if payment was not made within 30 days, only then should the enforcement proceedings have been initiated. TÜİK, angered by the criticism, disregarded the rules by initiating enforcement proceedings without even waiting for the appeal."

If retired judge Çilesiz hadn't paid the lien, his house would have been seized. Attorney Gündoğan explained that Çilesiz, with no other income besides his pension, was unable to pay the total of 46,000 lira, comprising the lien amount and expenses, on his own. "My client had to borrow money from his daughter to pay the lien," he said.