The Turkish Parliament’s amendment of the constitution aims at

Turkey’s parliament voted 423-40 to amend the constitution of the country to exclude military judges from State Security courts. The action — under European pressure — removes an army colonel on the three-member judicial panel presiding over the treason trial of the Kurdish guerrilla leader Abdullah Ocalan. Parliament will almost certainly cut through the remaining red tape to ensure that he will be replaced by a civilian judge when the ritual resumes this week.