Turkey’s Constitutional Court has ruled that the recording and monitoring of meetings between inmates convicted on charges linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and their lawyers violated the right to privacy, the Kısa Dalga news website reported.
The court said the measures had a legal basis and pursued a legitimate aim but were disproportionate because authorities repeatedly extended them for more than 17 months without reassessing their necessity, considering changing circumstances or exploring less intrusive options.
The restrictions, first approved in 2019 for three months, allowed prison authorities to record lawyer-client meetings, seize documents exchanged during consultations and require a prison official to be present.
According to the ruling, an enforcement judge approved the measures at the request of prosecutors, applying them to 36 inmates held at Tokat T Type Closed Prison. Two of those inmates later filed individual complaints with the Constitutional Court.
The case concerns two men convicted of membership in the PKK and related offenses aimed at breaking up the Turkish state. The PKK is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies.
Prosecutors said the restrictions were necessary for security, citing intelligence reports that imprisoned PKK members were coordinating hunger strikes and could relay instructions through their lawyers.
The court ruled that the restrictions violated the right to respect for private life under Article 20 of the constitution and awarded each applicant 30,000 Turkish lira ($1,000) in non-pecuniary damages. It did not order further legal proceedings, noting that the measures had already been lifted.
