PACE condemns new crackdowns in Turkey

  • actual
  • 08:54 24 October 2020
  • |
img

NEWS CENTER-Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Permanent Committee approved the Monitoring Committee's report on Turkey. An article was added to the report to end the isolation in İmralı.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Standing Committee has strongly condemned new crackdowns on political opposition and civil dissent in recent months in Turkey and urged the Turkish authorities to “take meaningful steps” to improve standards in the field of democracy, rule of law and human rights.
 
Approving a resolution based on a report by Thomas Hammarberg (Sweden, SOC) and John Howell (United Kingdom, EC/DA) following an urgent debate, the Standing Committee – acting in the name of the Assembly – said investigations and prosecutions targeted local politicians, members and former members of parliament, members of opposition political parties and lawyers. Continued undue pressure was also exerted on journalists, civil society activists and other groups, it added.
 
“Unfortunately, the overall situation has not improved since 2019,” the parliamentarians said. In addition, many of the issues cited in 2017, when the Assembly re-opened the monitoring procedure for Turkey, “remain a matter of concern in 2020”, they added.
 
In its resolution, the Standing Committee listed a detailed series of steps it expected the authorities to take in three different areas – the functioning of democratic institutions in Turkey, the rule of law, and respect for human rights.
 
The parliamentarians said they remained “confident of the ability of the Turkish people and authorities to address and redress the deficiencies in the field of democracy, human rights and the rule of law, provided there is a strong and genuine political will to do so”. They also praised Turkey’s “vibrant civil and political society, which is genuinely committed to democracy”.
 
The Standing Committee also noted that “serious concerns” had been raised over Turkey’s external actions, including military operations, and resolved to include this issue in future reports.
 
The report accepted by the Permanent Committee also included the Imrali isolation.
 
PACE stated in the report that they are deeply concerned about the credible allegations of torture in police stations and detention centers, and stated that they expect "Turkish authorities to respond immediately to these allegations".
 
The report said, "While the Assembly (PACE) welcomes the report publicated by the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) in August 2020 that was prepared in 2017 and 2019, the recomendations of the CPT regarding the ongoing and absolute isolation in İmralı Type F High Security Prison must be taken into consideration.
 

View More Articles

02/07/2025
16:16 People of Şirnex demand cancel of dam projects
13:45 Delegation from Europe demands immediate and unconditional release of Öcalan
11:44 Attack on Baloch women in Iran: 1 dead, 11 injured
11:12 Abdullah Öcalan sends message to European delegation
10:12 Women to convey demands on process to Parliament
09:27 Occupation continues in Serêkaniyê, Girê Spî, and Efrîn
09:21 Embargo continues in Makhmur: Hundreds of patients unable to access treatment
09:20 Health of ill prisoners worsens in Antalya prisons
09:19 ‘Workers must be the subject of the process’
09:18 Increased Pressure on Kurds in Iran: Demand for autonomy suppressed
01/07/2025
16:17 Details of the draft DEM Party to submit for the commission
15:15 European Delegation Visits DEM Party in Istanbul
15:07 Family of Rozerin Çukur Reacts to Constitutional Court Ruling: We could not find justice
13:09 Delegation from Europe submits petition to meet Abdullah Öcalan
13:00 Fatma Bostan Ünsal: Concrete legal and political steps must accompany peace rhetoric
11:50 Bar Association Chairs urge TBB to form legal monitoring committees
11:10 Seferi Yılmaz: Everyone must work for peace against war profiteers
09:39 Let’s hold firmly to the process says Writer Faik Tac
08:32 Tatvan festival: We women are ready for process
08:27 Operation against CHP members in Izmir: Tunç Soyer detained
30/06/2025
17:00 Amed Ecology Assembly: Let's defend nature with communes
14:54 Women's festival on its second day
14:15 Kerim Boran releases
11:46 Mothers: Unity must be achieved
10:57 People want to meet Abdullah Öcalan to come to Turkey
10:42 Civil society organisations call on government to take steps
10:14 4 years since the Istanbul Convention cancelled: We will not give up
09:26 Presidential pardon for ill prisoner Boran
29/06/2025
15:24 Struggle of the Kurdish people will end in victory says DBP Chair Bayındır
14:21 'Women should be involved in process'
13:48 Labour in Democratic Society Workshop: Let’s be builders, not watchers
12:25 War increases the number of disabled
11:56 According to Constitutional Court, killing of Rozerin Cukur lawful!
10:43 Journalists: Those threatening our colleague must be prosecuted
10:28 The problems of the 'Others' await solutions
09:47 Constitutional jurist Yokuş: The process will succeed with legal guarantees
08:00 Final declaration of Sheikh Seid conference published
27/06/2025
18:04 Call for Freedom of Abdullah Öcalan at UK Parliament
16:26 Rights organisations declare start to work to contribute to process
15:00 Şırnak Journalists Association: We stand by Zeynep Durgut
14:56 Prison report: Even the most basic human rights have been suspended
13:50 Abdullah Öcalan sends message to conference in Brussels
12:12 Families apply to İmralı Directorate
11:15 From Amed to the government: Call to ‘take action and end operations’
09:25 ‘Child detention increases crime rates’
09:25 Meral Danış Beştaş: Developments in the Middle East urge Turkey to resolve its internal issues
09:24 Lost four family members during the conflict: The state must take steps
09:23 Crisis felt in Wan and Qers: The solution lies in peace
09:22 Father of two sons buried under a sidewalk: Only peace can ease our pain
08:37 5 regions declared as 'special security zones' in Şirnex