At its Human Rights meeting from 15 to 17 September, the Committee of Ministers ended its supervision of the execution of the Batı and Others group of cases following the measures taken by the Turkish authorities. The group concerns the ineffectiveness of investigations, criminal prosecutions and disciplinary proceedings in relation to killing, torture, ill-treatment, or the excessive use of force by police and security forces between 1994 and 2013, including during arrests, police custody or interrogations, and while dispersing peaceful demonstrations (procedural violations of Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention).
To implement the European Court’s judgments, the authorities adopted a broad range of general measures, including substantive legislative and institutional reforms, such as constant capacity-building measures and numerous training activities to improve the effectiveness of the investigations, the introduction of additional safeguards for persons in custody or detention. Amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure in 2016 ensured that investigations into allegations of certain offences, including torture, must be carried out as a priority, and that proceedings initiated against law enforcement officers for these offences shall be considered an urgent matter.
The case-law of the Constitutional Court enhances the protection and the fight against impunity at domestic level and appears to leave little room for similar applications to be brought before the European Court. Continuous, firm and clear high-level political messages reaffirming the authorities’ commitment to combating torture will help preventing similar violations. The adoption of the recent Judicial Reform Strategy Paper aimed at strengthening the protection of human rights, and covering the period from 2025 to 2029, reflects Türkiye’s commitment to further improve its framework in this respect.
The Committee considered these amendments sufficient to fill the gaps highlighted by the European Court. However, it decided to continue to examine the outstanding general measures concerning the current legal requirement of prior administrative authorisation to commence investigations, the Constitutional Court’s approach in determining the burden of proof regarding the State’s responsibility in cases concerning the loss of life, and the practice of suspending the pronouncement of a judgment in the framework of the supervision of the Elvan and Hasan Köse cases.
Final Resolution CM/ResDH(2025)263
