Turkey to report to ECHR on curfewed southeastern towns

ANKARA – Anadolu Agency

DHA photo

The Justice Ministry is preparing a report for the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on the situation in southeastern towns where clashes with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) continue to rage under military curfews. 

The ministry is preparing the report ahead of the Jan. 8 deadline in response to a demand from the ECHR to lift the curfew in the Cizre district of Şırnak province and halt military operations.

Diyarbakır Bar Association lawyer Muhammed Neşet Girasun and Batman Bar Association lawyer Erkan Şenses applied to the ECHR on behalf of Ömer Elçi, resident of the southeastern town of Cizre, to end operations and lift the curfew, which has been in effect since Dec. 14, 2015.

Ankara Bar Association lawyer Oya Aydın has also applied to the ECHR on behalf of six people living in Sur district in the center of the southeastern city Diyarbakır and Cizre.   

Aydın demanded the lifting of the curfew announced by the Şırnak Governor’s Office on Dec. 14, 2015, and the ECHR demanded a response from Turkey before Jan. 8. 

The ECHR asked three particular questions to Ankara over the issue: The legal basis for the curfews; whether the needs of locals living in curfew-hit towns are met, including health services; and whether the state can provide a safe exit route to locals if they demand to leave areas under curfew.