Following the recent convictions of four Turkish human rights activists in the so-called Büyükada trial (see EUROPE 12521/32), three rapporteurs from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe issued a joint statement on Thursday 9 July.
Alexandra Louis (Alliance of European Liberals and Democrats, France), the rapporteur on the status of human rights activists in Member States, said she was “shocked by the heavy prison sentences” handed down for “charges related to terrorist offences, which, according to several sources, are unfounded”. “These convictions raise serious concerns about the functioning of the judiciary and respect for the rule of law”, she said, and added that they would have a “deterrent effect on the work of human rights defenders in Turkey”.
Thomas Hammarberg (Sweden, Socialist) and John Howell (United Kingdom, Conservative), the co-rapporteurs for monitoring Turkey, urged Turkey to review its ‘anti-terrorism’ law and change judicial practices, stating that “these verdicts are regrettable and very serious”.
The three rapporteurs are calling on the Turkish authorities to “review the Istanbul court's judgment in light of the standards of the European Convention on Human Rights” and “to respect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of human rights defenders”. (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)