The Hagia Sophia Mosque hearing was held in the 10th Department of the Council of State. The prosecutor asked the rejection of the case, emphasizing that the Hagia Sophia Mosque was closed with a political decision and that it would be possible to open it with a political decision. The opinion of Milli Gazete about the Hagia Sophia Mosque, which has been emphasized for years, has been approved by the State Prosecutor.
In the 10th Department of the Council of State, a hearing was held within the scope of the lawsuit filed with the request for the annulment of the decision of the Council of Ministers dated 24 November 1934 on the conversion of Hagia Sophia from a mosque to a museum. İsmail Kandemir, chairman of the Association of the Continuous Foundations Historical Works and Environment Service, the lawyer of the association, Selami Karaman and the presidential lawyer attended the hearing. Following the hearing of the parties, the 10th Department Head of the Council of State, Yılmaz Akçil, stated that the decision will be announced later and ended the hearing.
“NO NEED FOR COURT DECISION”
Stating the opinion of the 10th Department of the Council of State in the Hagia Sophia meeting, the State Council prosecutor reminded that the 1934 decision on the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a museum was made by the Council of Ministers at the hearing. In his opinion, the State Council prosecutor said, “The decision on Hagia Sophia was taken by the Council of Ministers in the past. Opening the Hagia Sophia is at the discretion of the Council of Ministers, namely the Presidency, so the case must be rejected.”
In the 10th Department of the Council of State, from the mosque of Hagia Sophia to the museum
A hearing was held within the scope of the lawsuit filed with the request for the annulment of the decision of the Council of Ministers dated 24 November 1934. İsmail Kandemir, President of the Association for the Service of the Foundation for Continuous Foundations and the Environment to Environment, İsmail Kandemir, the association lawyer Selami Karaman and the presidential lawyer attended the hearing.
“KARİYE MOSQUE DECISION IS AN EXAMPLE FOR HAGIA SOPHIA”
Yılmaz Akçil, Head of the 10th Division of the Council of State, first promised Karaman, the Lawyer of the Foundation for the Continuous Foundations of Historical Artifacts and the Environment. Karaman stated that the decision of the Council of Ministers dated 24 November 1934 about the conversion of Hagia Sophia from a mosque to a museum is illegal and asked for its cancellation. Reminding that the Council of State canceled the decision of the Council of Ministers in 1945, which turned the Kariye Mosque in Istanbul into a museum, Karaman stressed that this decision also sets a precedent for Hagia Sophia. Karaman stated that the Hagia Sophia Mosque, which belongs to the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Foundation, is the personal property of Fatih Sultan Mehmet. Pointing out that the Hagia Sophia Mosque cannot be used outside the will of the foundation, Karaman argued that the decision of the Council of Ministers regarding the transformation of Hagia Sophia into a museum is contrary to the procedure.
JUDICIARY PROCESS ABOUT HAGIA SOPHIA
The Foundation for Continuous Foundations to Service Historical Artifacts and the Environment first filed a lawsuit against the State Council in 2005 for Hagia Sophia. The association requested the annulment of the decision of the Council of Ministers dated 24 November 1934 and the execution to be stopped. On 24 June 2005, the 10th Chamber of the Council of State rejected the request to halt the execution of that Cabinet decision. In 2008, the Chamber dismissed the case, pointing out that there was no violation in the use of the Hagia Sophia Mosque as a museum. The Council of State Administrative Litigation Boards upheld this decision of the Chamber. The association sued again the State Council in 2016. The association's decision on individual application to the Constitutional Court was made in 2018. The Supreme Court found the application inadmissible due to "unauthorized personality without examination."