During a phone conversation on Wednesday evening, 19 July, Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland and Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim discussed recent developments in the situation in Turkey.
They spoke about the situation of Nuriye Gülmen and Semih Özakça, two teachers who were dismissed from their jobs in July 2016 following a decree issued as part of the state of emergency. They have been on hunger strike since March and were imprisoned on 23 May. Jagland once again called for their release and asked them to start eating again because, he says, "their voice has been heard".
Jagland also spoke to Yildirim of his deep concern about the arrest of Amnesty International Turkey's director and some of her colleagues, including two trainers (from Sweden and Germany), on 18 July, "allegedly for supporting a terrorist organisation". He also underlined "the Council of Europe's well-established principle, confirmed by the jurisprudence of the Strasbourg Court, that human rights defenders must be able to carry out their activities freely and without interference from authorities". "Any accusation linked to terrorism must be substantiated by serious and concrete evidence so as not to create an atmosphere of arbitrariness", he added.
The committee that has been created in Turkey to look into measures implemented under the legislative decrees adopted as part of the state of emergency was another point of discussion.
The way the committee works is being examined closely by the Council of Europe because it constitutes the last national judicial defence for the thousands of complaints from Turkish citizens. If it fails, the only recourse remaining to the them will be the European Court of Human Rights, and this is threatened with gridlock. "This committee has been active since last Monday and will offer repair for those who want justice", Jagland stated. (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)