MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on Human rights situation in Turkey, notably the case of Selahattin Demirtas and other prisoners of conscience

19.1.2021 - (2021/2506(RSP))

with request for inclusion in the agenda for a debate on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law
pursuant to Rule 144 of the Rules of Procedure

Kati Piri, Nacho Sánchez Amor
on behalf of the S&D Group

See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B9-0072/2021

B9‑0084/2021

European Parliament resolution on Human rights situation in Turkey, notably the case of Selahattin Demirtas and other prisoners of conscience

(2021/2506(RSP))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to its previous resolutions on Turkey, in particular those of 7 February 2018 on the current human rights situation in Turkey, of 13 March 2019 on the 2018 Commission Report on Turkey, of 19 September 2019 on the situation in Turkey, notably the removal of elected mayors,

– having regard to the Commission communication of 6 October 2020 on EU Enlargement Policy (COM(2020)0660) and to the accompanying Turkey 2020 Report (SWD(2020)0355),

– having regard to the Negotiating Framework for Turkey of 3 October 2005,

– having regard to the relevant Council and European Council conclusions on Turkey,

– having regard to the Statement by Federica Mogherini and Johannes Hahn on the detention of several HDP Members, including the party's co-chairs of 4 November 2016,

–  having regard to the Statement by the Spokesperson on the continuous detention of human rights defenders in Turkey of 7 June 2018, to the Statement by the Spokesperson on the latest developments on human rights in Turkey of 21 February 2019, to the EUDEL Statement on human rights in Turkey of 3 July 2019, and to the Statement by the Spokesperson on the Rule of Law and Human Rights Situation in Turkey of 25 December 2020,

– having regard to the founding values of the European Union, which are the respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, as enshrined in Article 2 TEU, and which apply equally to all EU candidate countries,

– having regard to the European Convention on Human Rights, which was adopted by the Council of Europe on 4 November 1950 and to which Turkey is a state party,

– having regard to the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) Grand Chamber in the case of Demirtaş v. Turkey (14305/17) of 22 December 2020,

– having regard to the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in the case of Demirtaş v. Turkey of 20 November 2018,

– having regard to the report of the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe following her visit to Turkey from 1 to 5 July 2019 of 19 February 2020,

– having regard to the opinion of the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) on the replacement of elected candidates and mayors in Turkey (979/2019) of 18 June 2020,

– having regard to the opinion of the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) on the suspension of the second paragraph of Article 83 of the Constitution (Parliamentary Inviolability) in Turkey (858/2016) of 14 October 2016,

– having regard to Resolution 2260 (2019) of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on the worsening situation of opposition politicians in Turkey: what can be done to protect their fundamental rights in a Council of Europe member State?

– having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

– having regard to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Turkey is a state party, and in particular to Article 9 thereof on arbitrary arrest and detention,

– having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,

– having regard to Rules 144 of its Rules of Procedure,

 

A. Whereas Turkey, as an EU candidate country, is bound to upholding the highest standards of democracy, including respect for human rights, the rule of law, fundamental freedoms and the universal right to a fair trial;

B. Whereas an analysis of the Commission’s reports on Turkey since 2014 and, in particular, the 2020 report, reveals that Turkey has increasingly and rapidly distanced itself from the EU’s values and its normative framework;

C. Whereas the critical assessment of a general backsliding in Turkey has also been shared by other relevant institutions such as the Council of Europe, and by international human rights organizations; whereas it has also been reflected by the increasing number of cases and critical rulings by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR);

D. Whereas Mr. Selahattin Demirtaş, former member of the Turkish Parliament and former co-chair of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) and presidential candidate during the elections of 2014 and 2018, has been detained for more than four years on unsubstantiated charges and in spite of two rulings in favour of his release by the ECtHR;

E. Whereas Mr. Demirtaş was initially detained on 4 November 2016 together with eight other democratically elected HDP members of parliament, including the also former HDP co-chair Ms. Figen Yüksekdağ, and prosecuted on charges of “membership of a terrorist organization”, “spreading terrorist propaganda” among many other crimes; whereas these detentions were possible due to the controversial lifting of the parliamentary immunity of 154 MP approved a few months earlier through an amendment to the Constitution strongly criticized by several international bodies including the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission;

F. Whereas, on 20 November 2018, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) concluded that Mr. Demirtaş’s detention  has a political motivation and found violations on several articles including article 5.3 (right to liberty regarding prolongation of detention), article 3 Protocol 1 (right to free and fair elections), and article 18 (misuse of limitations on rights in the Convention); whereas the Court ruled for his immediate release; whereas the judgment of the ECtHR was reviewed by the European Court’s Grand Chamber, which delivered its final ruling on 22 December 2020;

G.  Whereas on the same day of this ruling, President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said "this doesn’t bind us. We will take our counter-move and finish the job”; whereas on the following day, President Erdogan made a second speech saying “where are you, European Court? The name for this isn’t supporting a quest for freedom, it is worshiping terrorism, love of a terrorist”;

H. Whereas, on 30 November 2018 the Ankara 19th Heavy Penal Court rejected his request for release, indicating that "his arrest was a moderate measure" and contending that the ruling by the ECtHR was not final;

I. Whereas on 4 December 2018 the 2nd Penal Chamber of İstanbul Regional Court of Justice, conducting at an unprecedented speed a review of a conviction of Mr. Demirtaş, upheld a prison sentence against him of 4 years and 8 months for “spreading propaganda for a terrorist organization”, one of the longest sentences given to a person charged with this crime; whereas with this ruling, Mr. Demirtaş officially became a convict with an imposed prison sentence, due to which the ECtHR’s judgement against his pre-trial detention and for his immediate release would no longer be applicable; whereas this conviction was based on a political speech made five years before, which did not advocate violence and was not viewed by the authorities as criminal at the time of delivery;

J. Whereas, on 2 September 2019, two weeks before the ECtHR Grand Chamber hearing on Mr. Demirtaş’s case scheduled on 18 September, the Ankara 19th Assize Court finally effectively complied with the November 2018 ECtHR ruling by issuing a decision in Mr. Demirtaş’ main case to release him following 68 prior refusals; whereas he nevertheless remained in prison on the basis that he was serving the sentence for “spreading terrorist propaganda” for the 2014 speech;

K. Whereas on 20 September 2019, the same day on which Mr. Demirtaş could have been released according to a decision of the Istanbul 26th Assize Court that he had served enough of his sentence related to the 2013 speech to be released on parole, the Ankara chief prosecutor cited an old and dormant ongoing investigation as grounds to detain again Mr. Demirtaş and Ms.Yüksekdağ; whereas Mr. Demirtaş therefore remains currently in pre-trial detention in relation to an investigation into the October 2014 protests that took place against the siege of Kobane by the ISIS and in criticism of Turkish government's inaction and silence in the face of an imminent massacre, which turned violent claiming dozens of lives;

L.  Whereas on 22 December 2020 the ECtHR Grand Chamber in its final ruling concluded that in initially detaining Mr. Demirtaş and then prolonging his detention for over four years, the Turkish government pursued an ulterior purpose of preventing him from carrying out his political activities, depriving voters of their elected representative and limiting freedom of political debate, which caused the violation of Article 18 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR); whereas the final ruling concluded that there were insufficient reasons for continued detention and again ordered Mr. Demirtaş’ immediate release; whereas according to the ECtHR Turkey also violated Freedom of expression (Article 10 of ECHR), the right to liberty and security (Articles 5/1 and 5/3 of ECHR), the lawfulness of detention and trial within reasonable time (Article 5/4 of ECHR) and right to elect and to be elected (Article 3/1 of ECHR), according to the judgment;

M. whereas Turkey’s Minister of the Interior Suleyman Soylu, in response to the ECtHR Grand Chamber ruling ordering Mr Demirtas’ immediate release, described the ruling as ‘meaningless’ and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan rejected the ruling as ‘hypocritical’; whereas Turkey is bound by its obligations under international law to ensure the swift and full implementation of the Grand Chamber ruling, which is final and cannot be appealed;

N. Whereas, on 7 January 2021, the Turkish court accepted an indictment against a total of 108 politicians, including HDP's former co-chairs Mr. Selehattin Demirtas and Ms. Figen Yuksekdag for their alleged role in the referred protests of October 2014, rebuffing demands by the European Court of Human Rights for Mr. Demirtas’ release;

O.  Whereas, despite the ruling of the Turkey’s Constitutional Court of 9 June 2020 that Mr. Demirtaş’ lengthy pre-trial detainment violates his constitutional rights, Mr. Demirtaş still remains detained in Edirne F Type high-security prison;

P. Whereas, during the Turkish local elections of 31 March 2019, 63 HDP mayors and 1139 HDP municipal council members were elected with the support of 6 million voters; whereas the Turkish authorities have replaced 48 of these 63 mayors with government trustees and removed 807 of these 1139 municipal council members from office; whereas the opinion of the Venice Commission of 18 June 2020 considers these decisions to be inviolation of the fundamental principles of democracy and the rule of law and called for their immediate reversal;

Q. Whereas, on 25 September 2020, the Turkish authorities arrested 82 HDP members, including former members of the Grand National Assembly; whereas 18 HDP mayors elected in March 2019 and 27 HDP mayors arrested between 2016 and 2019 remain in detention; whereas the Turkish authorities continue to increase limitations on the political freedom of opposition movements, with a particular focus on the HDP;

R. Whereas the recurrent political statements made at the highest level by Government officials and leaders of the ruling coalition around the case of Mr. Demirtaş and the close temporal links between the political statements and the actions of the judiciary in ways that are manifestly irregular provide yet another evidence of the political motivations behind the case and severely undermine the independence of the Turkish judiciary;

S. Whereas in another case, on 10 December 2019, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled that the detention of a prominent civil society figure Mr. Osman Kavala’s pre-trial detention is in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and that the Turkish authorities were to secure Mr. Kavala’s immediate release; whereas Turkey has continued to act in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights by failing to lift Mr Kavala’s detention in spite the calls by the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers;

1. Strongly condemns Mr. Selahattin Demirtaş’ continued arbitrary detention by the Turkish authorities, which violates domestic, European, and international law; calls for Mr. Demirtaş’ immediate and unconditional release in compliance with the 2018 judgment of the European Court of Human Rights confirmed by the ruling of its Grand Chamber on 22 December 2020;

2.  Reminds the Turkish authorities that its failure to release Mr. Demirtaş constitutes a direct violation of the European Convention on Human Rights and of its domestic law, an unjustifiable prolongation of the violation of Mr. Demirtas rights and a blatant breach of Turkey’s obligation to implement the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights; insists that the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights obliges the Turkish authorities to release him immediately;

3.  Stresses that the ECtHR judged the lengthy and unlawful pre-trial detention of Mr Demirtaş to be politically motivated; expresses deep concerns over irregular practices and political statements made around this case suggesting governmental interference in judicial affairs related to the prolonged detention of Mr. Demirtaş;

4.  Calls on the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to urgently review, in its next meeting of 21 March 2021, Turkey's refusal to execute the judgment of the Grand Chamber of the ECtHR in the case of Demirtaş vs. Turkey, to adopt a declaration on the matter, and to take the necessary steps to ensure that the government of Turkey implements this judgment without any further delay; is fully confident that the German Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe will take any measures appropriate and necessary to ensure the implementation of the Grand Chamber ruling on Mr Demirtas;

5. Condemns the Turkish authorities’ treatment of Mr Demirtaş, which violates his rights under the European Convention on Human Rights, the ICCPR and Turkish domestic law, as well as his human dignity under Article 17 of the Constitution of the Republic of Turkey; considers the unlawful extension of Mr. Demirtas detention for more than 4 years a cruel politically-motivated punishment that is causing irreparable personal and political damage on him, his family and party; calls on Turkey to refrain from further intimidation measures against him and to guarantee his human rights as enshrined in the Turkish Constitution and European and international law;

6.  Emphasizes that the state of human rights, democracy, and the rule of law in Turkey continues to deteriorate; highlights in particular concerns over Turkey’s sustained backsliding in regard to the independence of the judiciary; takes note of Turkey’s intention to turn a new page in its relations with the EU, the determination to implement reforms and the full commitment with the accession process as expressed by President Erdogan on 9 January 2021 and other top government officials; is of the view that respecting and applying the rulings of the ECtHR would be an important step to confirm with real facts the credibility of such statements;

7.  Urges the Delegation of the European Union to Turkey to continue closely monitoring the case of Mr. Demirtaş and other prisoners, including through attending their trials, and to continue raising their situation with the Turkish authorities;

8.  Urges the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Commission and Member States to continue to bring up the case of Mr. Demirtaş and all other cases of human rights defenders, lawyers, journalists, politicians and academics subjected to arbitrary detention with their Turkish interlocutors, and to provide diplomatic and political support for them; calls on the Commission and the Member States to increase the use of emergency grants for human rights defenders and to ensure the full implementation of the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders;

9. Emphasises the necessity to ensure the impartiality of all Turkish judiciary bodies and to protect them from political interference; reiterates that Turkey, as a candidate for membership of the European Union, is bound to upholding its commitments under European and international law, including the respect of rule of law and the independence of the judiciary;

10. Notes with great concern the People’s Democratic Party’s (HDP) continuous specific and politically motivated targeting by the Turkish authorities; expresses particular concern regarding the ongoing debate about the closure of HDP and the lifting of the immunities of 9 HDP MPs, both for the same Kobane protests of October 2014 that Mr. Demirtaş is accused of; strongly rejects any calls for, or moves towards, a ban on the People’s Democratic Party;

11. Strongly condemns the continued detention since November 2016 of the former HDP co-chair Ms. Figen Yüksekdağ and calls on the Turkish authorities to immediately and unconditionally release her and drop all charges against her; urges the government of Turkey to review the detentions of all former HDP deputies, mayors, municipal council members, and members detained on politically motivated charges and urges the Turkish authorities to ensure their immediate and unconditional release; insists that all HDP mayors and council members removed from office are fully reinstated in accordance with their respective democratic mandates;

12. Is very concerned at the massive crackdown against Turkey’s civil society organisations, and specifically the arrest of the prominent civil society figure Osman Kavala in detention since November 2017; urges the Turkish Government to immediately release Kavala in compliance with the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights of May 2020 and following repeated calls by the Council Of Europe Committee of Ministers; considers the new case and indictment against him  unfounded, devoid of any evidence and therefore politically motivated; stresses that his detention targets his legitimate activities as a human rights defender and civil society activist and is intended to reduce him to silence and deter others from carrying out similar activities;

13. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the EU Special Representative for Human Rights, the German Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, and the President, Government and Parliament of Turkey.