Council of Europe warns Turkey of flood of cases at ECHR due to state of emergency measures

Sevil Erkuş - ANKARA

AA photo

Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland has warned Ankara of the risk of increasing the number of appeals at the European Court of Human Rights due to harsh state of emergency measures, raising concern about disproportionate measures taken by decree laws. 

Jagland was in Ankara on Nov. 10 for talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, EU Minister Ömer Çelik, members of the Constitutional Court, and opposition party representatives, as the European body expresses concern on the state of emergency measures after Turkey’s deadly July 15 coup attempt.

Jagland warned Turkish officials of the risk of a flood of cases at the ECHR as a result of the implementation of the state of emergency, sources familiar with the talks told the Hürriyet Daily News.

He specifically raised concerns regarding recent detentions, including the raid against critical daily Cumhuriyet and the closure of pro-Kurdish media outlets.

The ongoing debate on reinstating the death penalty in Turkey was also on the agenda, with Jagland repeating that capital punishment is incompatible with membership of the Council of Europe and the European Convention on Human Rights, which Turkey has ratified.

The Convention, signed in 1983, excludes capital punishment except in time of war or imminent threat of war, while a 2002 protocol ended the time-of-war proviso.

After announcing it a week after the coup attempt, Ankara communicated the state of emergency to the Council of Europe, along with a notice of derogation from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).