The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) on Tuesday rejected Turkey’s appeal against its ruling in favor of a Turkish journalist over her pretrial detention following a failed coup in Turkey in 2016, according to a press release from the court.
The case centers on Ayşenur Parıldak, a reporter from the now-closed Zaman newspaper.
The Strasbourg court announced its ruling on Parıldak, 34, in May, finding violations of Article 5 (right to liberty and security) and Article 10 (freedom of expression) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) on account of the absence of sufficient grounds for ordering and keeping her in pretrial detention and the excessive duration of her pretrial detention.
The court ordered Turkey to pay the journalist 16,000 euros in non-pecuniary damages and an additional 6,000 euros for legal costs and expenses.
The ECtHR announced on Monday that a panel of judges from the court was set to examine Turkey’s requests to refer seven cases to the court’s Grand Chamber, which includes the case of Parıldak and six others including a former United Nations judge, journalists and high-ranking judicial officials, all of whom the court found had their rights violated by the Turkish government.
The panel on Tuesday announced the rejection of all seven appeals from Turkey including Parıldak’s, making ECtHR rulings on all these cases final.
Parıldak’s application concerned her pretrial detention in the aftermath of a coup attempt on July 15, 2016 on suspicion of membership in an alleged terrorist organization, the Gülen movement, accused by the Turkish government of masterminding the failed coup and labeled as a terrorist organization.
The movement, inspired by the views of Turkish-Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, denies the accusations.
Parıldak was among the dozens of journalists who were arrested in the aftermath of the failed coup. She worked as a court reporter for the Zaman daily, which was one of dozens of media outlets closed down by the government following the coup attempt due to their affiliation with the Gülen movement. She was also a student at Ankara University’s faculty of law when she was arrested in August 2016.
The journalist stood trial on terror-related charges and was given a prison sentence in November 2017 on charges of membership in a terrorist organization.
UN judge
Among the cases Turkey unsuccessfully sought to refer was that of former UN judge Aydın Sefa Akay. In a judgment dated April 23, the ECtHR ruled unanimously that Turkey violated Akay’s rights under Article 5 (right to liberty and security) and Article 8 (respect for private and family life) of the ECHR.
Akay was arrested in September 2016 during Turkey’s post-coup crackdown for alleged links to the Gülen movement.
Despite his diplomatic immunity as a UN judge, Akay was detained, his home was searched and he was later sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison for membership in a terrorist organization.
The ECtHR found that the domestic courts’ interpretation of Akay’s diplomatic immunity was neither foreseeable nor consistent with the principles of legal certainty. The court ordered Turkey to pay Akay €21,100 in non-pecuniary damages and €7,000 for legal costs.
Case of KKTC conscientious objector
The Grand Chamber also rejected Turkey’s appeals in the case of Murat Kanatlı, a conscientious objector who was criminally convicted for refusing to perform his reserve military service in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC) due to his pacifist and anti-militarist beliefs.
In March the ECtHR found that Turkey’s legislation provided no provisions for alternative civilian service, thereby failing to balance societal interests with the rights of conscientious objectors.
The ECtHR ordered Turkey to pay Kanatlı €9,000 in non-pecuniary damages and €2,363 for costs and expenses.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkish forces occupied its northern third in response to a military coup organized by the junta then in power in Greece. Only Turkey recognizes the KKTC, which was proclaimed by Turkish Cypriot leaders in 1983.
Since the ECtHR had previously acknowledged that the northern part of Cyprus was considered a local sub-administration of Turkey, Kanatlı lodged the application against Turkey on April 6, 2015.
Reacting to the ruling, Kanatlı told the Cyprus Mail newspaper, “Another important milestone has been reached in the fight for conscientious objection in northern Cyprus.”
According to Article 43 of the ECHR, any party may, in exceptional cases, request referral to the Grand Chamber within three months of a chamber judgment. A panel of five judges examines such requests to determine if they meet the criteria for referral, specifically whether they raise serious questions affecting the interpretation or application of the convention or significant issues of general importance
