The Council of Europe Committee of Ministers (CoE CM) held its 1563rd Human Rights meeting (Droits de l'Homme) in Strasbourg between 9-11 June. At the meeting, where sanctions regarding unimplemented ECHR rulings in 24 countries, including Turkey, were discussed, the unimplemented "immediate release" rulings concerning Selahattin Demirtaş and Osman Kavala were also addressed. In the decisions, the call for Turkey to immediately release Demirtaş, Figen Yüksekdağ and Kavala was reiterated.

 

'UNDERLYING POLITICAL MOTIVATION CONTINUES TO PERSIST'

 

In the decision on Selahattin Demirtaş (No.4), it was noted that Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ, who have been held in detention since 2016 and who were MPs at the relevant time, were " were detained in the absence of evidence to support a reasonable suspicion they had committed an offence", and that their detention was found to pursued "an ulterior purpose." 

 

The decision stated: "Reiterated that the recent Selahattin Demirtaş (No. 4) judgment confirms the Committee’s position that the evidential basis relied upon by domestic courts remains insufficient to justify either pre-trial detention or conviction of Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ Şenoğlu, and that the underlying political motivation continues to persist."

 

UNCONDITIONAL OBLIGATION

 

In the decision, the authorities were once again called upon "to ensure immediate release of Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ Şenoğlu by all available means," and the unconditional obligation of member states to implement ECHR rulings was recalled.

 

The decision “expressed profound concern about the lack of progress by the Constitutional Court and the Regional Appeal Court in ruling on the complaints of Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ Şenoğlu; strongly underlined the clear and pressing need therefore for the Regional Appeal Court and Constitutional Court to address the applicants’ complaints without any further delay and in full compliance with the Court’s findings”

 

The decision “warmly welcomed” regarding individuals who were detained during the relevant period and subsequently released, the authorities were invited to clarify whether former HDP MP Burcu Çelik Özkan has the right to stand as a candidate in elections, and " to ensure that all negative consequences of the criminal charges brought against the applicants in this group of cases are fully remedied to achieve restitutio in integrum, including their right to stand for election to Parliament.”

 

It was noted that, in the decision, it was decided that the requested individual measures would be examined at the 1569th meeting, to be held in September.

 

DECISION ON OSMAN KAVALA

 

In the decision concerning Osman Kavala, who has been held in detention since 2017, previous decisions were recalled, and it was stated that members expressed "deepest regret" over Kavala's continued detention and the non-implementation of ECHR rulings.

 

The decision stated: "Reiterating that implementation of the Court’s judgments is a shared responsibility of all authorities, including the judiciary and recalling its previous decisions on the available legal avenues, strongly exhorted once again all Turkish authorities to greatly accelerate their efforts and make concrete progress, by using any available means at their disposal, to ensure the applicant’s immediate release."

 

It was noted that the decision strongly emphasized that " the imperative need for an urgent and Convention-compliant Constitutional Court decision before 31 August 2026, which wouldafford the Turkish authorities the opportunity to resolve the matter swiftly and effectively within the domestic legal system."

 

The decision stated that, should there be no progress regarding Kavala's release, it was decided that additional steps would be taken at the 1569th meeting, to be held in September.

 

'RIGHT TO HOPE' NOT PLACED ON THE AGENDA

 

The Committee, which examined the file known as the "Gurban Group" — which includes Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan among others — at its meeting held on 15-17 September 2025, had called on Turkey to take immediate steps regarding the rulings and called for information to be provided by June 2026.

 

At this meeting, the committee, which did not place the "right to hope" on its agenda, only recalled, in the decisions on Demirtaş and Kavala, the recommendations regarding the commission established in parliament for the resolution of the Kurdish issue, and requested that regular reports be submitted on the measures taken or planned in response to the recommendations.

 

MA / Hivda Celebi