On the 4th anniversary of the attempted coup on July 15, the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) called for an urgent decision and a closing for applications by journalists and other victims on July 15.

GfbV Middle East expert Dr. Kamal Sido, gave a statement on behalf of the company (GfbV), declaring “Many critical media professionals and other people have no chance of a fair trial in Turkey. A complaint to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) is your only way to get justice. It would be all the more important that the tribunal deals with these cases promptly. But those affected have often been waiting for a decision of the ECHR for years without any result. “

In the statement and in the letter from the GbfV, the head of the Samanyolu broadcasting group Hidayet Karaca was specified as a model. He has been in prison since December 19, 2014 and applied to the European Court of Human Rights on May 7, 2015. Since then Karaca has been waiting for the ECHR decision.

We share the GbfV statement and letter with our readers:

Unsuccessful coup attempt four years ago (July 15) Turkish prisoners waiting for the ECHR (press release)

On the fourth anniversary of the failed coup attempt in Turkey on July 15, 2016, the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) appeals to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to urgently speed up the handling of complaints from Turkey. “Many critical media professionals and other people in Turkey have no chance of a fair trial. A complaint to the ECHR is your only way to get justice, ”explains GfbV Middle East expert Dr. Kamal Sido. “It would be all the more important that the tribunal handles these cases promptly. But those affected have often been waiting for a decision of the ECHR for years without any result. “

The head of the Samanyolu broadcaster, Hidayet Karaca, has been in custody since December 19, 2014. On May 7, 2015, he made an application to the European Court of Human Rights. “Since then, the journalist has been waiting for an answer from the court,” reports Sido. “In the meantime, he has been sentenced to life imprisonment, among other things, for various terrorist offenses. Today he is in a cell in the Istanbul-Silivri prison and suffers from various illnesses. ”It was recently announced that over 80 prisoners in this prison had Covid-19. At least one inmate died from it.

“At the same time, all possibilities must be used so that Turkey, as a member of the Council of Europe, also implements the ECtHR judgments,” warns Sido. “Is it a scandal that the Turkish government is, for example, concerned about the decision to release former HDP chairman Selahattin Demirta? ignored. The civil rights activist and cultural patron Osman Kavala also remains in prison despite the demands of the ECHR. ”If the previous instruments were not sufficient to guarantee the implementation of the judgments, new ones would have to be developed.

Most of the complainants from Turkey did not commit any crime, but exercised their democratic rights. “Many are media professionals who simply do their work. Members of the Kurdish ethnic group who participate peacefully in public discussions about the recognition of their rights are also often affected, ”said Sido. The same applies to other communities such as the Assyrian / Aramaic, Armenian, Christian, Alevi and Yezidi people. The Turkish judiciary regularly classifies peaceful expression of opinion as terrorist propaganda.

Last year, 59,800 cases against 47 states were pending at the ECHR. 15,050 of the cases (25.2 percent) concern Russia, Turkey is in second place with 9,250 cases (15.5 percent). In 2019, 884 judgments were pronounced, 113 of them against Turkey. In 97 percent of these judgments, the ECHR found Turkey’s violations of at least one article of the European Convention on Human Rights. Most of the judgments of freedom of expression violations were made in Turkey, namely 35 out of a total of 68 cases.