ISTANBUL – Commenting on the decisions of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers meeting on the “right to hope” agenda, Lawyers for Freedom Association (OHD) Co-chair Serhat Çakmak stated, “Turkey should be sanctioned as it was in Azerbaijan.”

 

The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, in its meeting held between 15-17 September, discussed the violation judgements of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) against Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan and prisoners Emin Gurban, Civan Boltan and Hayati Kaytan. 

 

In a statement issued on 18 September, the Committee called for legislative changes to be made within the framework of a new action plan providing a review mechanism for life sentences.  The Committee noted that Turkey could also use the National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Commission to implement the necessary legislative amendments. The Committee invited Turkey to provide information on the issue by June 2026.

 

Stating that the committee was clear about the legal amendment, Çakmak stated that the Committee did not take sufficient initiatives for legal amendment. “It is right to put the decision on their agenda, but it is incomplete that they did not apply enough pressure afterwards,” he said. 

 

'BALANCES WITH TURKEY WERE OBSERVED' 

 

He noted that the committee's reference to the parliamentary commission was politically motivated. Çakmak said that the committee could have resorted to harsher measures and that the committee's decision to point to the commission established for the solution of the Kurdish issue in Turkey could be understood in this way. Çakmak said: "The Committee approached Turkey from a balanced perspective.”

 

Çakmak said that the committee pointed out that the maximum sentence could be 25 years instead of "imprisonment until death". Çakmak pointed out that if the ECtHR judgements are not implemented, the relevant member state may be subjected to sanctions.

 

Çakmak concluded: “Although the Council members states sometimes insist on implementing the judgements due to the internal dynamics in their countries, they have had to implement the ECtHR judgements when faced with sanctions. The most severe sanction to be imposed in this regard is expulsion from the membership of the Council of Europe. Azerbaijan was forced to implement the ECtHR judgement upon the establishment of an interim decision that the decision of expulsion from the Council would be implemented. In such a situation, the committee's decision is aimed at prolonging the process. The Committee should issue sanctions against Turkey, as it did against Azerbaijan, and ensure that the 'right to hope' is realised."

 

MA / Ömer İbrahimoğlu