The Justice Meeting held in Strasbourg on October 2, 2024, emerged as an important event where civil society movements fighting for human rights made their voices heard. In this context, officials from the Peaceful Action Platform, a peaceful civil society movement, presented letters they had written about severe human rights violations in Turkey to the two highest-ranking officials of the Council of Europe and the President of the ECtHR.
Address to the Council of Europe
The letters draw attention to extrajudicial executions and political pressures in Turkey “. The newly appointed Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O” Flaherty, Secretary General of the Council of Europe Alain Berset, and ECtHR President Marko Bošnjak are among the addressees of the letters.
The letter prepared for Commissioner O “Flaherty emphasizes the widespread human rights violations that have occurred since the state of emergency process following the 2016 coup attempt. It states that Platform members and victims gathered in Strasbourg” to draw attention to the situation in Turkey “, but the necessary political steps have not been taken. The pressures, mass arrests, and tortures applied to members of the Gülen Movement” are expressed in detail.
Call to the Council of Europe and ECtHR
The letter written to Council Secretary General Alain Berset emphasizes that international organizations need to take a more active role against human rights violations in Turkey. It states that thousands of people have voiced their demands for justice on the streets of Strasbourg, but the situation in Turkey continues to worsen.
In the letter prepared for ECtHR President Marko Bošnjak, attention is drawn to the Yalçınkaya case, stating that Turkey “does not implement ECtHR decisions, especially the misuse of anti-terrorism laws. Unlawful actions against the Gülen Movement”, violations of fair trial rights, and mass arrests stand out as a common theme.
Conclusion and Demands
The common message of the letters is that Turkey “, with its increasingly worsening human rights record, can no longer be ignored. The Council of Europe and ECtHR” are expected to respond strongly to these violations and ensure that the Yalçınkaya decision is applied in other cases to restore the rights of victims.
This important meeting held in Strasbourg “continues to draw the attention of the international community to human rights violations in Turkey”. It remains to be seen how European institutions will respond to these calls.
