In September 2024, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe set Turkey a final deadline of twelve months to introduce appropriate reforms to implement the so-called “right to hope.” With this deadline approaching, Ankara is coming under increasing pressure to implement internationally binding human rights standards.
While the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe is expected to reassess Ankara’s stance on September 15-19, a comprehensive action plan is being prepared in Strasbourg in parallel with this process.
Azad Doğan, co-chair of the Democratic Kurdish Council in France (CDK-F), told Yeni Özgür Politika newspaper about the planned events, saying that they will begin with a mass rally in front of the Council of Europe (CoE) on September 15. This will be followed by a vigil between September 16 and 19, in which 150 people will participate.
Additionally, during these days, leaflet distribution will take place in the city center of Strasbourg, as well as in front of the Council of Europe and the Committee for the Prevention of torture (CPT), and concerts and panels will be organized.
In the second part of the action program, various events will be organized between September 22 and 26 under the leadership of the “Academics for Peace Initiative.” A panel discussion and a press statement will be made inside the Council of Europe building to voice demands. During the same week, the organizers of the “I Want to Visit Öcalan” campaign will also visit the action site.
On October 1, the last day of the action calendar, an event will be held under the leadership of the cultural movement TEV-ÇAND. The event, the content of which has not yet been finalized, will take place two days after the 33rd International Kurdish Festival.
The actions in Strasbourg are being organized by KCDK-E (Congress of Kurdistan Democratic Communities in Europe) and all its components. Federations, the women’s movement, the cultural movement, diplomacy, and internationalists are all involved in the process.
CDK-F Co-Chair Azad Doğan stated that they are expecting mass participation in the actions.
Background
On 18 March 2014, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that Abdullah Öcalan’s sentencing to aggravated life imprisonment without any possibility of conditional release violated the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), a principle referred to as the “right to hope.” The court called on Turkey to make legal amendments accordingly. In subsequent decisions, the ECHR ruled similarly in the cases of prisoners Hayati Kaytan, Emin Gurban, and Civan Boltan. However, despite the passing of 11 years, Turkey has failed to take any steps to comply with the ruling. On 9 August 2022, the Asrin Law Office, the Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD), the Human Rights Association (IHD), the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV), and the Foundation for Society and Legal Studies (TOHAV) submitted a joint application to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe demanding implementation of the ECHR decision. In its response to the Committee, the Turkish government claimed that “inmates sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment may be eligible for conditional release; however, certain crimes are exceptionally excluded from this possibility.” During its session held on 17–19 September 2024, the Committee of Ministers placed the ECHR’s violation rulings back on its agenda for the first time in three years and urged the Turkish government to take the necessary measures without further delay. The Committee also warned that if no progress is made, it will prepare an interim resolution at its session in September 2025.
As the Committee’s September session approached, leaving only two months, the Turkish government submitted a new “action plan”. In the document dated 27 June, the ongoing isolation imposed on Abdullah Öcalan was completely ignored, and it was asserted that “no further individual measures are necessary.” Under the section titled “Conditional Release,” the plan described aggravated life imprisonment as “exceptional” and claimed that those sentenced under this provision are not eligible for conditional release. In doing so, Turkey indicated that it does not intend to amend its legislation concerning the right to hope. The justification presented in the action plan included the following statement: “According to Article 107/16 of Law No. 5275, only the following individuals are excluded from conditional release: those convicted of crimes against state security, constitutional order, and national defense as defined in Chapters 4, 5, and 6 of Part Four, Book Two of the Turkish Penal Code; and those who have committed such crimes within the structure of a terrorist organization.”