(Istanbul) – The Turkish government should comply with international law and implement the binding rulings of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) by immediately releasing politicians Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yuksekdağ, who were former co-chairmen of the opposition People’s Democratic Party ( HDP). ), four rights organizations said today.
The four non-governmental organizations—Human Rights Watch, the Turkey Human Rights Litigation Project, the International Commission of Jurists and the International Federation for Human Rights—made their call on the seventh anniversary of the unjust imprisonment of the politicians.
“The seventh anniversary of the illegal imprisonment of Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yuksekdağ is a stark reminder of the Erdogan presidency’s willingness to use detention for political purposes to silence democratically elected opposition politicians who represent millions of Kurdish and leftist voters in Turkey,” said Hugh Williamson. Europe and Central Asia Director at Human Rights Watch. “By defying the ECtHR’s binding rulings ordering the release of politicians, Turkey is flagrantly violating its legal obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights and international law more broadly.”
On 4 November 2016, months after their parliamentary immunity was revoked, Demirtas, Yüksekdag and eight of their fellow HDP MPs were arbitrarily arrested and detained, while four others were imprisoned over the next five months. At the time, the HDP held 10.7% of the seats in Turkey’s parliament and was supported by over five million voters. While the other 12 MPs whose cases are covered by ECtHR rulings are no longer in custody, Demirtas and Yuxekdag remain incarcerated.
All former MPs have repeatedly been prosecuted in individual proceedings based solely on exercising their right to freedom of expression, protected by international law. This included their political speeches and activities, which did not involve or advocate violence. When a mass trial began against them in 2021, many of these ongoing individual case files were merged. The vague and extensive charges against them in this trial include allegations of “undermining the unity and territorial integrity of the State” (secession) and even “murder”. These charges relate to their support for protests that took place mainly in cities in southeastern Turkey between October 6 and 8, 2014. The politicians have been held responsible for all crimes allegedly committed during these protests, which were organized against of a violent siege of the Kurdish-majority northern Syrian city of Kobani by the extremist armed group Islamic State (also known as ISIS). During the protests, 37 people were reportedly killed.
The evidence against the politicians, on the basis of which Demirtas and Yüksekdag are currently being held, consists of two social media posts supporting protests against the Kobani siege sent by the HDP’s Twitter account, along with the non- violent political speeches, the legal activities and legal activities of politicians and The statements of witnesses against them were added to the case file years later that raise serious questions of credibility.
The ECtHR ruled in three decisions — two involving Demirtas November 2018 and December 2020and one to Yüksekdağ and 12 others inside October 2022— that their detention based on speeches and social media posts was a politically motivated move to silence them, “stifling pluralism and limiting freedom of political dialogue, the very core of the concept of a democratic society.” The court found that their rights to liberty, freedom of expression and to be elected had been violated. The facts underlying the detention and prosecution of Demirtas and Yüksekdag in the 2021 mass trial are essentially the same as those contained in the proceedings for which the ECtHR found insufficient grounds for their detention.
“Despite the European Court’s ruling that the reasons to justify the detention of Yukşekdag and Demirtas were insufficient, the Ankara prosecutor in April 2023 sought their conviction for several alleged offenses related to their political speech, which may lead to to life in prison without parole,” Temur said. Shakirov, interim director of the International Commission of Jurists’ Program for Europe and Central Asia. “This highlights the ultimate political motivations behind the ongoing case targeting the two and raises doubts about the fair administration of justice in the country.”
Following the November 2016 arrests of Demirtas and Yüksekdag, Turkey held a landmark referendum and several crucial election campaigns. The constitutional referendum of 16 April 2017 introduced a system of government that concentrates power in the hands of the president. This was followed by the June 24, 2018 presidential election in which Demirtas ran from a prison cell against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the March 31, 2019 local elections and, most recently, the May 14-28, 2023 parliamentary and parliamentary elections. presidential elections.
“With two prominent opposition figures in custody, the country has been deprived of a significant degree of meaningful democratic dialogue and fair elections around these crucial campaigns,” said Reyhan Yalçindağ, vice-president of the International Federation for Human Rights. “With the March 2024 local elections fast approaching, the Committee of Ministers and other Council of Europe bodies must use all available means to ensure an end to the ongoing violations of the rights of Demirtas and Yuksekdag, including their for participation in public affairs. which is also a violation of the rights of millions of voters.”
The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers, responsible for overseeing the implementation of ECtHR decisions by member states, issued six decisions and two resolutions calling on Turkey to release Demirtas from detention. At its meeting on December 5-7 this year, the Committee of Ministers will examine for the third time Turkey’s failure to implement the decision regarding Yuksekdağ and release her from detention.
The four NGOs submitted a joint submission to the Committee of Ministers asking it to issue a decision in December calling for Yuksekdağ’s release.
“Turkey has ignored the Commission’s numerous rulings and interim resolutions calling for the immediate release of Demirtas. This refusal to comply with Turkey’s international obligations was repeated in the case of Yuksekdağ,” said Ayşe Bingöl Demir, director of the Turkish Human Rights Advocacy Project. “The Commission must step up its scrutiny against Turkey in relation to these cases without further delay, and this must include the initiation of infringement proceedings, along the lines correctly followed in the case of the imprisoned rights defender Osman Kavala.” .
Eighteen other former elected party officials and mayors from the HDP and an affiliated party, the Party of Democratic Regions, are also currently being held. Among them are the prominent former elected mayor of Diyarbakir, Gultan Kisanak, who has been detained since 25 October 2016, and Sebahat Tuncel, former co-chairman of the Democratic Party of Regions, who was detained on 6 November 2016. Kisanak’s pretrial detention has exceeded the legal limit seven years under Turkish law, despite the fact that the seven-year pretrial detention is a flagrant violation of international human rights law. The arrests of politicians are grossly arbitrary and politically motivated and those imprisoned should be released immediately, the groups said.