“Before we can even begin to speak of peace, Turkey must first enact legal protections for that process,” said Eren Keskin, Co-Chair of the Human Rights Association (İHD), during her interview with Medya Haber TV on Wednesday, in a powerful call for urgent reform of Turkey’s legal system during an interview aired this week.
Keskin, a leading human rights lawyer and long-time critic of state repression, warned that no meaningful reconciliation process with the Kurdish movement could take place under current conditions. She insisted that “freedom of expression and assembly must be guaranteed, and a law should be enacted to protect the peace process.”
Keskin pointed to the case of Sırrı Süreyya Önder — a former parliamentarian and key actor in the peace talks between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) during the 2013-2015 period — who was later jailed despite his role in the negotiations. “The state recognised him as a central figure in the peace process, and then imprisoned him. This contradiction is a stark example of why legal safeguards are essential,” she said.
She added that the absence of such protections places those engaging in dialogue at serious risk. “In peace processes around the world, legal frameworks have been established to protect those involved. Turkey must do the same,” Keskin emphasised.
The İHD co-chair also demanded the immediate release of thousands of ailing prisoners. “There are nearly 2,000 terminally ill prisoners in Turkey, many in our region. Even with medical reports confirming their condition, they are left to die in prison. This is inhumane and must stop,” she said.
Keskin argued that political prisoners face harsher conditions than those convicted of violent crimes. “A murderer or thief serves two-fifths of their sentence. Political prisoners must serve three-quarters — and even then, many are not released,” she said.
The introduction of prison observation boards, she explained, has created a parallel judiciary system. These boards, tasked with determining whether inmates can be released on parole, frequently block releases citing vague reasons such as ‘posing a threat to society’ or ‘disciplinary issues’.
“These are undemocratic institutions — a second judiciary inside prisons. They must be abolished,” Keskin said, labelling the practice as part of what she called “enemy law”.
One of the core demands of Keskin’s message was the full repeal of Turkey’s Anti-Terror Law. “This law is used almost exclusively against Kurds. It’s a continuation of special laws imposed on Kurdistan since the founding of the Republic,” she said, referring to historical examples like the Tunceli Law and the Law on the Reform of the East.
According to Keskin, the Anti-Terror Law is both ambiguous and selectively enforced. “Human rights defenders do not use the term ‘terrorism’. There are groups that use armed violence, yes, but these acts are already covered under the Penal Code. There’s no need for an additional, vague law,” she said.
She concluded by stating that genuine peace in Turkey will remain elusive until the state moves away from exceptional legal frameworks targeting Kurds and adopts democratic laws aligned with international human rights conventions. “If you want to solve this problem, the Anti-Terror Law must be completely abolished,” Keskin declared.
As calls for renewed dialogue between the Turkish state and the Kurdish movement re-emerge amid regional instability, Keskin’s remarks underline a key fault line: without structural legal change, there may be no path forward for peace.
