The Council of Europe (CoE) has unequivocally called for the immediate release of jailed Kurdish political Selahattin Demirtaş and for the continuation of dialogue in Osman Kavala’s case, highlighting a firm stand against Turkey’s defiance of international legal orders and a clear focus on safeguarding human rights and judicial independence.
During its 1492nd meeting from 12-14 March, the CoE’s Committee of Ministers intensively reviewed Turkey’s failure to comply with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) directives regarding the Kavala and Demirtaş cases. At the heart of their meeting, the Committee advocated for sustained dialogue in Kavala’s case while demanding the immediate release of Demirtaş, indicating a potential for further action in June 2024 if Turkey’s non-compliance persists.
“5. strongly urged the Turkish authorities once again, to ensure the applicants’ immediate release, for example by exploring alternative measures to detention pending the completion of the proceedings they initiated before the Constitutional Court;
6. reaffirmed its readiness to ensure the implementation of the judgments; decided to resume the examination of this group at its 1501st meeting (June 2024) (DH), and instructed the Secretariat to prepare a draft interim resolution for its consideration if the situation remains unchanged;”
The Committee’s nuanced response—opting for dialogue over sanctions in Kavala’s ongoing detention and setting a firm deadline for Demirtaş’s release—reflects a firm yet hopeful attempt to secure compliance from Ankara.
The decision documents show the Council’s deep concern over Turkey’s non-compliance with the ECHR’s judgements, especially regarding the prolonged detention of Kavala and Demirtaş despite clear directives for their release. It mentions the absence of evidence supporting the detention of elected National Assembly members (violations of Article 5, §§ 1 and 3), the ulterior motives behind their arrests (violations of Article 18 in conjunction with Article 5), and the impact on their parliamentary participation (Article 3 of Protocol No. 1).
In detail, the decisions document for Demirtaş (H46-34) stresses the need for further information before a decisive assessment can be made on individual measures (the June 2024 deadline), expressing regret over the Constitutional Court’s delayed examination of Demirtaş’s complaint. For Kavala (H46-35), it deplores his continued detention and calls for his immediate release, encouraging ongoing dialogue to achieve this.
In both instances, the Committee criticised the Court of Cassation’s “unreasonable interpretation and application of legal provisions, leading to the unlawful and arbitrary deprivation of liberty in the absence of concrete evidence or objective justification for the suspicions.”
