Human Rights Association addresses an open letter to ECtHR President Spano

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The Human Rights Association (İHD) Central Executive Board has addressed an open letter to European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) President Robert Spano ahead of his visit to Turkey on September 3-4.

The letter has emphasized that his program had no plans to visit civil society organizations working in the field of human rights and law, particularly those critical of the political power's practices.

Spano will be granted an honorary doctorate from the İstanbul University on September 3 (tomorrow) and teach in the Justice Academy of Turkey in the capital city of Ankara on September 4.

'It is not late to organize a public meeting'

"We believe that it is not late to organize a public meeting with the press during which you can answer questions by civil society organizations," the letter of the İHD has emphasized, briefly adding:

"Dear President, we do see the will to maintain communication with Turkish authorities in spite of all these negative developments. 

"Turkey, however, is not merely composed of the political power itself. There stand before your court, on one side, the political power alleged to have violated rights and on the other side the victims of those rights violations.

"Turkey has a quite developed and dynamic web of civil society organizations working in the field of human rights in spite of all these setbacks. In order for your visit to Turkey to genuinely be beneficial, your lending an ear to these civil society organizations that make the voices of rights victims be heard bears vital significance.

"As the largest and oldest human rights organization in Turkey, the Human Rights Association would be honored to host such a meeting, which would eliminate the perception that the European Court of Human Rights was supporting the government and condoning its practices."

'It may mean you condone all these'

Other highlights from the İHD letter are as follows:

"The setback in human rights in Turkey specifically in recent years has been identified by independent observers, notably the Council of Europe bodies.

"The Council of Europe Venice Commission has explained in detail the degree to which the constitution that was amended by the referendum of 16 April 2017 threatened judicial independence.

"The Commission also issued reports that revealed the destruction of democracy and human rights in Turkey created by the state of emergency decree laws, curfews, the system of criminal peace judgeships, appointment of state trustees to replace elected mayors, Internet censorship, and criminal legislation restricting freedom of speech among others.

"The office of the Commissioner for Human Rights, another human rights body within the Council of Europe, has also been closely following the problems posed by the rising authoritarianism in Turkey.

The former Commissioner Nils Muznieks depicted such setbacks in human rights in Turkey in his reports and memorandums, while Muznieks' successor Dunja Mijatovic identified the judicial problems in Turkey and the repression that human rights defenders faced in detail in her report published this year.

"Dear President, the ECtHR has been denounced for failing to take the necessary steps during this process. In spite of this, your court has also exposed the panorama of the state of emergency Turkey in its judgments in the cases of politicians like Selahattin Demirtaş, journalists like Mehmet Altan and Şahin Alpay, civil society activists like Osman Kavala, and judges like Alparslan Aslan and Baş. The judgments delivered in the cases of Osman Kavala and Selahattin Demirtaş were the first Article 18 violation judgments delivered for Turkey and these judgments represent the overt instances of how the judiciary was placed under political guardianship in Turkey.

"A visit to Turkey under such circumstances solely addressing state institutions may mean that you condone all that has been happening. This state of affairs becomes even more alarming when one takes into account the institutions you will be speaking at within the scope of your visit." (AS/SD)

* Click here for the full open letter