Jagland: If Constitutional Court of Turkey doesnt deal with the cases of journalists and parliamentarians, ECHR will

The press statement by Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland on the occasion of the visit of Bekir Bozdağ, Minister of Justice of Turkey:

"It is imperative for Turkey and Europe that the judicial safeguards for all those who have been dismissed or are in prison are based on the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and on the case law of the European Court of Human Rights.
The Commission that will be set up in Turkey to go through the cases for those who have been dismissed, organisations that have been closed, schools and news outlets that have been closed, private property that has been confiscated, must work independently and on the basis of the ECHR.

The European Court of Human Rights will decide, if it gets complaints, whether this has been a proper domestic remedy. The cases for journalists and parliamentarians that are in pre-trial detention will be dealt with in ordinary Turkish courts. But also these people have the right to complain to the European Court. It will look into whether the Turkish courts have ruled on the basis of the ECHR.

The situation for these people is critical because many have been in pre-trial detention for several months.

If their cases are not being dealt with soon by the Turkish Constitutional Court, the European Court will probably consider whether this is an effective domestic remedy, and just start dealing with their complaints."

link: https://goo.gl/BFgCgx

1 March 2017