“WHERE ARE THE JUDGES?” - Call on ECHR to stop injustice in Turkey

The demonstration was broadcasted live on Peaceful Actions Platform ́s YouTube-Channel with around 40 000 views.
The crowd marched toward the ECtHR building in Strasbourg. They chanted slogans and carried banners that said, “ECHR, stop injustice in Turkey,” “Justice delayed is justice denied,” “Victims are here, where are the judges?” and “ECtHR, stop the purge in Turkey.”

On behalf of the Peaceful Actions Platform, former Turkish diplomat Rumi Ünal, who is among the more than 130,000 civil servants purged by the Turkish government in the aftermath of the coup attempt, submitted two letters to the Council of Europe (CoE), addressed to CoE Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović and CoE Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić. The letters include complaints about the CoE’s “indifferent” attitude regarding the human rights violations in Turkey as well as the victims’ expectations from the Council to speak up for them.

The demonstrators stated that ECHR is turning a blind eye to the human rights violations taking place in Turkey under the rule of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The court has had several opportunities to establish the facts regarding gross human rights violations in Turkey and compel the regime to respect the basic tenets of the European Convention on Human Rights. However, it failed in the execution of its duties and displayed incompetence, especially regarding the systematic violations of the rights of a specific group, the Gülen movement. As the victims number in the hundreds of thousands, the violations constitute clear crimes against humanity.

Jeremy Corbyn: “Human Rights know no borders!”

Addressing the crowd gathered in front of the ECtHR building in Strasbourg, Jeremy Corbyn, the former leader of the UK’s Labour Party, called on people to unite in the face of oppression.
Corbyn, who currently serves as a member of the British parliament, described the ongoing crackdown on free speech and government critics in Turkey as “utterly wrong,” calling on the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to take action on the rights violations stemming from the crackdown.

 “I’ve been a representative of many Turkish and Kurdish people in my constituency for a very long time. I’m also a friend of the unions, the trade unions, in Turkey. The crackdown on free speech, the crackdown on unions, the crackdown on professionals, the crackdown on journalists is utterly wrong. And the European Court of Human Rights ought to act. Turkey is a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights and should adhere to it,” Corbyn said.

Rebecca Harms: “The work at snail's pace or even slower costs lives in Turkey.”

One of the protestors criticized the devastating slowness of the ECtHR, dressing up as a snail and carrying a banner that read, “Even I am faster than the ECHR.” Former Member of the European Parliament Rebecca Harms (@RebHarms)commented this on Twitter joining the hashtag of the event:

“It is devastating to know the many cases from Turkey pending at @ECHR_CEDH while citizens in Turkey are waiting year by year for justice. The work at snail's pace or even slower costs lives in Turkey. #JusticeForALLinTurkey”

After gathering in front of the European Court of Human Rights, human rights activists and victims of the Turkish regime ́s massive human rights violations delivered speeches.

Relatives of victims of alleged enforced disappearances perpetrated by Turkey were among the protestors, and some of them addressed the crowd.

Şefika Nur Kurt, sister of Yusuf Bilge Tunç, a former public servant who went missing in August 2019 and is feared to have been abducted by Turkish intelligence, was the first to speak.

In March the ECHR rejected an application by Tunç’s family which claimed that Turkish authorities had failed to carry out an effective investigation into his disappearance.
Kurt said Turkey did not conduct an effective investigation and that the ECHR’s rejection of the application showed her that the injustice of Erdoğan’s Turkey is being perpetuated in Europe.

Following Kurt, Zeynep Kişi, the wife of Zabit Kişi, a former teacher who was abducted from Kazakhstan by Turkish intelligence agency MİT, took the stage and said that during the enforced disappearance of her husband, the ECHR did not respond to her petitions.
Corbyn spoke following Kişi and emphasized the need to unite in solidarity to demand universal enforcement of human rights.

Hakan Sükür: Show that there are judges in Strasbourg!

Members of the European Parliament Marie Arena (Belgium), Costas Mavrides (Greece) and Pierrette Herzberger Fofona (Germany), PACE members Catarina Rocha Ferreria (Portugal), Hannah Bardell (UK), former Turkish soccer player Hakan Şükür and former NBA player Enes Kanter took part in the protest via video messages.

Şükür and Kanter, who both live outside Turkey, are among the victims of the crackdown on the Gülen movement due to their affiliation with the group and face prison sentences in Turkey on bogus terrorism charges.

In his video message Şükür, who described himself as “one of the victims of the current regime” in Turkey, said he and his family began to be targeted by the Turkish government after he sided with the law and justice against the government’s unlawful actions and were subjected to various acts oppression at the hands of the government.

Şükür said he as well as thousands of others had high expectations from the judges of the ECHR to “fulfill their duty without delay” and to side with justice.

The former football player said Turkey’s failure to comply with ECHR rulings to release Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtaş and businessman Osman Kavala from prison show how the country’s judiciary lacks independence and is controlled by the government.

He called on the judges of the ECHR to help restore the rule of the law in Turkey through their decisions and show the victims that “there are judges in Strasbourg.”

After the events of 15 July 2016, the Turkish regime declared a state of emergency and carried out a massive purge of state institutions under the pretext of an anti-coup fight. More than 130 000 public servants, including 4 156 judges and prosecutors, as well as 29 444 members of the armed forces were summarily removed from their jobs for alleged membership in or relationships with “terrorist organizations” by emergency decree-laws subject to neither judicial nor parliamentary scrutiny.

According to Turkey ́s Interior Minister Soylu, a total of 319 587 people have been detained and 99 962 arrested in operations against supporters of the Gülen movement since July 2016.
In addition to the thousands who were jailed, scores of other Gülen movement followers had to flee Turkey to avoid the persecution by the Erdogan regime.


For more information visit www.echrstopinjustice.org or contact Yasemin Aydin y.aydin@peacefulactions.org