The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ruled that the pretrial detention of Kurdish politician Aysel Tuğluk violated the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and found that her imprisonment was politically motivated.
In its ruling published on Tuesday (71757/17), the court found violations of four articles of the ECHR, including Article 18, which only applies in particularly serious cases. Turkey was ordered to pay compensation of €17,500.
Tuğluk was held in pre-trial detention for around 15 months between 2016 and 2017, and was later sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment for membership of a “terrorist” organization. The ECtHR decision relates exclusively to the period of pre-trial detention.
Insufficient evidence, political intent
The judges found that the detention was not based on sufficient evidence. The Turkish authorities, it said, neither sufficiently substantiated the suspicion of a crime nor provided convincing reasons for continuing the pre-trial detention. This constitutes a violation of Article 5, paragraphs 1 and 3 of the ECHR (right to liberty and security).
The court further found that Tuğluk’s speeches and activities as co-chair of the Democratic Society Congress (DTK) fell under freedom of expression (Article 10 ECHR). Her imprisonment solely on the basis of political statements therefore violated the Convention.
ECtHR criticizes violation of Article 18
Particularly serious is the finding of a violation of Article 18 of the ECHR, according to which restrictions on fundamental rights may not be imposed for purposes other than those specified. The Court ruled that Tuğluk’s imprisonment was not solely for criminal reasons, but was specifically intended to suppress political opposition. Although Turkey was in a state of emergency at the time of her imprisonment, the judges emphasized that this could not justify the human rights violations that had been established.
Diagnosed with dementia while in prison
Lawyer Aysel Tuğluk, born in 1965 in Elazığ, is a prominent Kurdish politician, former HDP member of parliament, and well-known advocate for women’s rights and a political solution to the Kurdish question. In 2018, she was sentenced to ten years in prison for her role as co-chair of the DTK, which Turkish authorities classify as affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Tuğluk, who developed dementia while in prison, has since been released for health reasons.
The ECtHR ruling is considered one of the most serious judgments against Turkey in recent years. Violations of Article 18 are rare in the case law of the court and mark cases in which the judiciary has been instrumentalized to persecute political opponents.
“A verdict in the name of justice”
Kurdish politician Meral Danış Beştaş, a member of the DEM Party in the Turkish parliament, spoke of a “verdict in the name of justice” – not only for Tuğluk, but for “all those who have been persecuted for their opinions or identity.” At the same time, she said, the verdict was a reminder of “the lost years, the ruined health” of Tuğluk “and the extent of state arbitrariness.”