The co-rapporteurs for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) have warned that Turkey is at a “tipping point” in terms of its democratic standards, expressing serious concern over the politicization of the judiciary, repression of opposition figures and systemic rights violations, following a fact-finding visit earlier this month, Turkish Minute reported.
Lord David Blencathra from the United Kingdom and Stefan Schennach from Austria, who visited Ankara and İstanbul between June 10 and 13, said in a statement issued Monday that they were “dismayed” by the continued use of pretrial detention against political opponents and the replacement of elected opposition mayors with state-appointed trustees.
“We are not only seriously concerned about human rights abuses, but also about the fact that the entire rule of law is under threat,” the rapporteurs said, emphasizing that Turkey must restore judicial independence, reduce presidential powers and ensure full accountability to parliament.
The rapporteurs met with high-level officials from the executive, judiciary and parliament as well as representatives of civil society and the diplomatic corps. They also visited Istanbul’s Silivri Prison, where they met with jailed İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and civil society leader Osman Kavala, and Kandıra Prison in Kocaeli, where they met with former Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) co-chair Figen Yüksekdağ.
The delegation reiterated long-standing calls for Turkey to implement European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) rulings, specifically naming the cases of Kavala and former HDP co-chairs Selahattin Demirtaş and Yüksekdağ, all of whom have been held in prison for over eight years.
“Executing Strasbourg Court judgments is not optional: it is a legal obligation,” the rapporteurs said.
They also cited recent developments around İmamoğlu’s politically charged imprisonment, referencing the assembly’s Resolution 2597 adopted in April, which called for his immediate release, the reversal of the revocation of his university degree and the dropping of charges against protesters who rallied in his support earlier this year.
The statement condemned what it described as “intimidation measures” against demonstrators, most of whom were students, and called on the Turkish authorities to release those detained in connection with the March and April protests.
In a separate note, the co-rapporteurs welcomed recent developments in the Kurdish peace process following Abdullah Öcalan’s February 27 call for the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to lay down arms and the group’s May 12 declaration of disbanding. “We hope these announcements will soon be followed by concrete steps,” they said, urging renewed political engagement for sustainable peace.
The visit included meetings with the deputy ministers of justice and interior, members of Turkey’s PACE delegation, judges from the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court of Appeals, the chief public prosecutor and the country’s ombudsman.
The co-rapporteurs are expected to present a full report to the PACE Monitoring Committee later this year, which could influence further Council of Europe actions on Turkey’s ongoing non-compliance with ECtHR rulings.
