Euro court rejects appeals against Turkish curfews

STRASBOURG

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on April 4 rejected 32 requests for appeals made against Turkey’s 2015-2016 curfews in the country’s southeast during security operations targeting the PKK.

The government had imposed curfews in southeastern districts of Silopi, Cizre and Sur, saying they were held to aid the fight against the PKK, which had declared self-rule and dug trenches for warfare in those districts.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

During Turkey’s operations in the region, security forces said the curfews were imposed to protect the safety of people’s lives and properties.     

A total of 34 appeals went to the ECHR, claiming that Turkey abused human rights during the curfews.     

The court decided to examine two applications primarily, but rejected them as inadmissible on Jan. 29 since they were not brought before Turkish courts in rulings.    

Referring to its previous decision, the court rejected all of the remaining 32 appeals to challenge the curfew, ruling them as inadmissible on April 4.