ISTANBUL - The EC Committee of Ministers will discuss the ECtHR's decision regarding the violation of Öcalan's application on November 30- December 2. Ayşe Bingöl Demir from TOHAV said that if the decision is executed, the right to "conditional release request" may arise.

 

The lawyers of PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has been held in İmralı Type F High Security Closed Prison since he was handed over to Turkey with an international conspiracy on February 15, 1999, appealed to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in 2003 against the aggravated life sentence given to their clients. In their application, the lawyers stated that the sentence was in violation of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which prohibits torture and ill-treatment. With its decision on March 18, 2014, the ECtHR found that Öcalan was sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment without the right to be released on probation, contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

 

NO STEPS WERE TAKEN IN SEVEN YEARS 

 

The ECtHR gave the same decision for the detainees Hayati Kaytan, Emin Gurban and Civan Boltan, who applied later. However, despite the fact that 7 years have passed since the first finalized decision, there has been no development regarding the violation decisions in question. Although the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, which supervises whether the decisions of the ECtHR are executed, started the auditing process regarding Turkey in order to ensure the legal regulations and implementation changes that will arise to the "right of hope" regarding aggravated life imprisonment, it did not include the decisions on the agenda of the meeting and did not make any written decisions.

 

COMMITTEE PUT THE ISSUE ON ITS AGENDA

 

The Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD), Society and Law Research Foundation (TOHAV), Human Rights Association (İHD) and Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV) appealed to the Committee on July 29 to put the ECHR's decision on its urgent agenda. The committee put the issue on its agenda upon the notification. Before the meeting to be held between November 30 and December 2, the Committee requested information from Turkey regarding the notification of NGOs and the implementation of the decisions.

 

RESPONSE TO TURKEY'S CLAIMS

 

In its response on September 7, Turkey claimed that there has been no violation in Imrali since 2009. Turkey ignored and left unanswered the determinations and suggestions included in the notification on “securing the right to hope” and “legal amendment on the regime of the execution of aggravated life sentence”. Turkey only addressed the report prepared by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) on the physical conditions of Imrali in previous years.            

Responding to the Committee on Turkey's allegations on October 12, human rights and legal organizations stated that Turkey did not refer to the important findings of the ECtHR regarding the “right to hope” in their written statements, did not discuss the steps to be taken to fulfill the decisions, and instead provided misleading information.  The response also included some observations and suggestions.

 

We talked to lawyer Ayşe Bingöl Demir, a member of TOHAV's Board of Directors, who is among the applicants, and what has happened so far and possible developments.

 

APPEAL FOR THE AUDIT OF THE DECISION

 

Noting that the ECtHR has identified "inhuman treatment" in its "Öcalan 2" and other decisions, Bingöl emphasized that the regime for the execution of aggravated life imprisonment for certain types of crimes should be reviewed in line with the ECtHR's decisions. Reminding that the situation in question is a requirement of the "right of hope" and that the Committee has not taken any concrete steps in this regard despite the past 7 years, Bingöl said, "We informed the Committee that Turkey had not taken any steps in this period and had not executed the decisions taken by the ECtHR. The Committee will more actively oversee the implementation of this set of decisions. We think this is an important step."  Bingöl stated that it was decided to discuss the Öcalan, Kaytan, Gurban and Boltan decisions at the meeting.

 

CONDITIONAL RELEASE

 

Referring to Turkey's response to the Committee, Bingöl underlined that the claim that "there is the possibility of conditional release in the regime of the execution of aggravated life imprisonment" in Turkey's response is misleading. As the ECtHR has clearly determined, there is no possibility of conditional release in aggravated life imprisonment sentences given for certain types of crimes in Turkey.” Pointing out that "there is no possibility of conditional release for crimes against the state, the constitutional order and national security," Bingöl said, "The government does not include this in its response at all. In fact, it demands a conclusion that 'there is no need for a step to be taken on this issue'." 

 

Bingöl emphasized that, according to the decisions of the ECtHR, the issues in question cannot be evaluated within the scope of the "right to hope". Bingöl stated that they responded to Turkey's allegations on these issues and stated that aggravated life sentences in terms of certain types of crimes are applied until death in the country and that there are prohibitions and exceptions regarding conditional release.

 

TURKEY'S PURPOSE

 

Noting that Turkey has an incentive to stop the harsh sanctions that will come from the Committee with its response, Bingöl said, “Turkey says that those who receive aggravated life sentences can be released on probation. It says in a very small sentence that there are some exceptions to this. But it by no means mention what those exceptions are. But those exceptions are the subject of these notifications and decisions. It is misleading to briefly mention that there are exceptions, when the government should focus on those exceptions."

 

MEETING OF THE COMMITTEE

 

Stating that the Committee will see the "misleading attitude" of Turkey at the meeting to be held on November 30-December 2, Bingöl said, "The legislation on this issue is very clear. As we mentioned, there are very clear statements that those sentenced for these types of crimes will not be released on probation. If NGOs and lawyers were not involved, the Committee might not have had a chance to make an accurate assessment of these government statements. NGOs have clearly revealed these in their declarations. I think the Committee has enough data and means to determine the reality of this situation."

 

HOW WILL THE PROCESS WORK?

 

Pointing out that there are hundreds of ECHR decisions before the Committee that have not been executed by Turkey, Bingöl said, "The Committee's handling of this decision group will greatly strengthen the hand of NGOs, rights defenders, lawyers and anyone working on this issue." Regarding the process after its first meeting, Bingöl said: "After the first meeting, the Committee may ask for some information from Turkey. How many people are being held in this way, how many trials continue with these accusations, how much time has passed for these convicts waiting for their release etc. Demands will be made from Turkey regarding the steps to be taken. Or it will be asked to provide some more concrete information and opinions. The Committee can also determine what it wants concretely from Turkey for the implementation of the decisions." Bingöl stated that after the decisions taken, the steps that Turkey took or did not take, whether these steps were appropriate or not, and the way of maintaining control would become clear in time."

 

THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE COMMITTEE

 

Emphasizing that they will continue to follow the process before the committee, Bingöl shared that they will make new notifications when necessary. Bingöl said, “The committee's responsibility under the contract is clear. It will take the necessary steps to ensure and fulfill this. I'm not worried about this. This issue is extremely important and sensitive. I think the fact that the Committee took this into consideration along with this intervention of the NGOs is a sign of that.” 

 

Bingöl continued as follows: "Therefore, if these decisions are fulfilled, those sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment like Abdullah Öcalan will be able to request conditional release from the relevant institutions after their sentences have been executed for a specified period of time. This right should not be a figurative right. There must be a right that allows the possibility of release. If there is an appropriate change in the relevant legislation with the contractual standards, yes, this may result in conditional release. However, the fulfillment of these decisions will not automatically result in the release of these people."

 

 

MA / Mehmet Aslan