Today, the
European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg has condemned Turkey for the
arrest of two journalists, Mehmet Altan and Sahin Alpay, following the failed
coup d'état and thus sided with the decision of the Turkish Constitutional
Court.
Rebecca Harms,
Green Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and expert on Turkey, comments
today's ruling by the European Court of Human Rights:
"This long overdue ruling by the European Court of Human Rights comes too
late and also bears disappointment: Mehmet Altan has already been sentenced and
the Court did not rule on their complaint that they had been detained for
expressing critical opinions about the government authorities. Nonetheless, the
ECHR ruled that the long-term detention of the journalists and the disregard of
the verdict of the Turkish Constitutional Court had violated their fundamental
rights and that criticism of the government should not attract criminal charges
for assisting a terrorist organisation. I do hope that this ruling can still
lead the way to the release of Mehmet Altan and of Sahin Alpay. The Turkish
government should immediately implement the ruling of the ECHR and the Turkish
courts should respect this decision in all trials. The normalization of
relations between Turkey, the EU and its Member States can only happen on the
condition that Turkey returns to the rule of law and to the protection of
fundamental human rights. Comprehensive implementation of the decision of the
European Court of Human Rights could be a first step in the right
direction."
