23/06/2025 Monitoring
Following a fact-finding visit to Ankara and Istanbul on 10-13 June 2025, the PACE co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of Türkiye, Lord David Blencathra (United Kingdom, ECPA) and Stefan Schennach (Austria, SOC), have made the following statement:
“We are very grateful to the Turkish authorities for having facilitated our meetings with relevant representatives of the parliament, the executive and the judiciary as well as with the detained Mayor of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Ekrem İmamoğlu; the civil society activist and philanthropist Osman Kavala and the co-chair of the former People’s Democratic Party (HDP) Figen Yüksekdağ Şenoğlu.
We are left with the overwhelming impression that Türkiye has reached a tipping point. We remain seriously concerned about the repression of opposition politicians, civil society activists, and individuals deemed a threat to the government. In particular, we are dismayed by the abuse of pre-trial detention, the politicisation of the judiciary, and the continued practice of replacing democratically elected mayors with trustees appointed by the Ministry of the Interior in opposition-run municipalities. We are not only seriously concerned about human rights abuses, but also about the fact that the entire rule of law is under threat.
As one of the Organisation's oldest members, Türkiye should counter democratic backsliding by ensuring the judiciary is fully independent of the executive, reducing presidential powers, and establishing a government accountable to a fully functioning parliament. In a democracy, the separation of powers is essential, and we call on Türkiye to avoid democratic backsliding and reinstate the rule of law by ensuring judicial independence from the executive.
We urge the Turkish authorities to uphold democratic values and the rule of law, as well as human rights. In particular, they must respect the right to a fair trial and freedom of expression. We once again call on the authorities to implement the European Court of Human Rights’ judgments in the cases of Osman Kavala, Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ Şenoğlu without further delay. These individuals have been detained for nearly or over eight years, in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights. Executing Strasbourg Court judgments is not optional: it is a legal obligation enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights.
Recalling the Assembly’s Resolution 2597 (2025) of 9 April, we reiterate the Assembly’s call for Mr İmamoğlu and all others detained in connection with the same investigation to be released immediately, and for Istanbul University’s decision to revoke Mr İmamoğlu’s university degree to be repealed. Furthermore, we urge the authorities to release all protesters detained on unfounded charges for taking part in the March and April protests in support of Mr İmamoğlu, and to stop taking other intimidation measures against protesters, most of whom were students.
We note the recent positive developments in the country's peace process, following Abdullah Öcalan's call on 27 February and the PKK Congress's decision on 12 May to lay down their arms and disband. We hope that these announcements will soon be followed by concrete steps to address the Kurdish issue and ensure sustainable peace and political stability.
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During their visit, the co-rapporteurs met the representatives of the main political groups, members of Türkiye’s delegation to PACE, the Deputy Ministers of Justice and of Interior, judges at the Constitutional Court and the High Court of Cassation, the Chief Public Prosecutor at the High Court of Cassation, the Ombudsman, the representatives of a number of different NGOs and members of the diplomatic community.
They also visited the Silivri prison in Istanbul, where they met the Mayor of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Ekrem İmamoğlu and the civil society activist and philanthropist Osman Kavala; and the Kandira prison (Kocaeli), where they met Figen Yüksekdağ Şenoğlu, the co-Chair of the former People’s Democratic Party (HDP).