Turkey is not complying with the European Court of Human Rights' (ECHR) violation rulings concerning the imposition of an aggravated life sentence without the possibility of conditional release on a prisoner. At the forefront of these rulings are those concerning Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan and prisoners Emin Gurban, Hayati Kaytan and Civan Boltan.

 

The ECHR ruled in 2014 that the sentence imposed on Abdullah Öcalan is contrary to Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which prohibits torture and mistreatment. Similar rulings were issued regarding the other 3 prisoners in subsequent years. However, despite 12 years having passed, no arrangement has been made to eliminate the violation.

 

The Council of Europe Committee of Ministers, which has supervisory authority over ECHR rulings, also goes no further than granting Turkey "extensions." The Committee last requested Turkey to make arrangements at its September 2025 meeting.

 

However, this matter was not placed on the agenda at the subsequent meetings held by the committee. Neither Abdullah Öcalan nor the other prisoners' "right to hope" appeared on the agenda of the Committee's September 2026 Human Rights Meeting or on the annual agenda list for 2027.

 

Rengin Ergül, a member of the Association for International Law and Democracy (MAF-DAD) and one of the lawyers closely following the process, shared her assessments of Turkey's and the committee's stance with Mezopotamya Agency (MA).

 

 

WHY IS TURKEY NOT TAKING STEPS?

 

Emphasizing that Turkey has an obligation to implement ECHR rulings, Rengin Ergül noted that the "right to hope" ruling concerns not only Abdullah Öcalan but thousands of prisoners. Ergül said that Turkey is not implementing the rulings because "the arrangement is directly related to Abdullah Öcalan's legal status and freedom."

 

Recalling that the aggravated life sentence was introduced during Abdullah Öcalan's trials, Rengin Ergül said: "Today, Mr. Öcalan has exceeded the 25-year period that is the ECHR's criterion. The Turkish state's failure to make a legal arrangement on this matter despite this is related to the fact that this practice concerns Mr. Öcalan. It is precisely for this reason that the Turkish state is not taking steps."

 

Rengin Ergül stated that she criticizes the Committee of Ministers' stance, but that responsibility cannot be placed solely on international institutions. Pointing out that no steps have been taken despite years of ongoing infringement proceedings in the Osman Kavala case as well, Ergül said: "The committee is deficient on this matter. We particularly criticize its stance on the Gurban Group files. However, in other cases where the committee has initiated infringement proceedings against Turkey, it has also been unable to see any steps from Turkey. The Kavala case is also actually a ruling that could be fulfilled simply by securing the freedom of a single person, without requiring any legislative arrangement. But the Turkish state has still not taken a step."

 

HUMAN RIGHTS CRISIS: TURKEY IS LEADING THE WAY

 

Stating that the committee is an important tool in terms of gaining rights, but that the main struggle must be social, Rengin Ergül said: "All the structures of the Committee of Ministers have been rendered ineffective. However, we also need to apply pressure on Turkey from the domestic public. We have never derived the foundation of our rights and freedoms in Turkey from the Committee of Ministers. We have obtained many of our rights through domestic public pressure. The other structures of the Council of Europe are merely tools. There is a general crisis in the world regarding the implementation of human rights decisions. But Turkey is one of the leading countries on this matter."

 

Rengin Ergül also criticized the committee's failure to place the matter on the agenda at its upcoming September meeting, saying: "The Committee of Ministers had given Turkey a deadline until the end of June. Turkey could have submitted an action plan within this period, but did not. More importantly, the Gurban Group is also not on the September 2026 agenda. Files in the enhanced procedure normally need to be placed on the agenda at least once a year. This is a serious deficiency and a worrying situation."

 

'THE ADDRESS FOR THE SOLUTION IS PARLIAMENT'

 

Touching on the importance of the notifications submitted to the committee by civil society organizations, Rengin Ergül said: "The notifications submitted by civil society organizations are very important. Since 2021 we have been making these notifications together with both Turkish and European civil society organizations. We can observe that this has a serious impact on the file. Beyond this, we also need to make use of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, the Venice Commission, the Parliamentary Assembly and other structures. At the same time, the UN Committee Against Torture is also closely following Turkey's arrangements regarding aggravated life imprisonment and the lawyer and family visits at İmralı."

 

Underlining that the address for the solution to the problem is Parliament, Rengin Ergül stated that civil society organizations, lawyers and politicians bear a great responsibility on this matter. Ergül said: "The Committee of Ministers pointed to the commission (National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Commission) and Parliament for the legislative change. The place where this matter will be resolved is Parliament. Therefore, all tools and all arguments that will put Parliament to work need to be used."

 

'ÖCALAN'S PHYSICAL FREEDOM MUST BE SECURED'

 

Stating that discussions on the "right to hope" must not be tied to any negotiation process, Rengin Ergül said that Turkey's implementation of ECHR rulings is a requirement under international law. Ergül said: "The implementation of the right to hope does not actually require a democratic negotiation process. Because Turkey is obliged to implement ECHR rulings under the convention. The most urgent need of the ongoing Peace and Democratic Society Process today is the securing of Mr. Abdullah Öcalan's legal status. It is the securing of Mr. Öcalan's physical freedom and free working conditions. For the process to be able to proceed, the conditions for all the meetings Mr. Öcalan wishes to hold need to be established. The legal conditions need to be met."

 

Rengin Ergül underlined that without Abdullah Öcalan's legal status being secured, it is not possible to speak of a permanent solution. Ergül said: "If the ECHR ruling had been implemented earlier, today instead of discussing the 'right to hope,' we could be conducting discussions on the fundamental rights and freedoms of the Kurdish people whom Mr. Öcalan represents at the negotiating table. Without the legal status, physical freedom and free working conditions of the chief negotiator (Öcalan) being legally guaranteed, it is not possible for us to speak of the establishment and guaranteeing of the rights of the people represented by the chief negotiator. For this reason, the implementation of this ruling has become urgent today."

 

MA / Helin Özgün