Strasbourg, 14/10/11 – "There are some long-standing, systemic dysfunctions in the Turkish justice system adversely affecting the enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms. Issues related to the independence and impartiality of judges and prosecutors, excessively lengthy pre-trial detention and judicial proceedings are some of the major issues which call for the government's particular attention", said the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg, at the end of his five-day visit to Turkey. At the same time he expressed his trust in the goodwill and determination of the authorities who have already undertaken major legislative reforms.
The European Court of Human Rights delivered more than 2 200 judgments against Turkey in the period 1995-2010. Almost 700 of these judgments concerned violations of the right to a fair trial, and more than 500 related to the right to personal liberty and security. "I encourage the government to step up its efforts and give effect to the judicial reform strategy it launched in 2009 in order to redress the structural shortcomings and fully align justice in Turkey with the Council of Europe standards and the Court's case-law".
Excessive delays in criminal, civil and other courts in Turkey is a serious problem that, despite certain measures taken so far, has not been effectively addressed. "The problem of excessively lengthy judicial proceedings is compounded by the absence of an effective domestic remedy that would have provided adequate redress to the individuals concerned, for example by obtaining compensation for the delays or through access to a mechanism able to accelerate proceedings".
The Commissioner visited, among other places, the D-type prison in Diyarbakir. "The prison authorities informed me that out of the 740 inmates more than 540 were detained on remand. The excessive length of pre-trial detention in Turkey is another chronic, serious problem that adversely affects the personal liberty of thousands of persons. It requires not only legislative changes but above all attitude changes of prosecutors and judges who appear to approve this practice rather too easily."
The Commissioner has noted that in several cases domestic courts have failed to take into account alternatives to detention, such as release on bail, already provided for by law. "There is an urgent need for the authorities to reflect on this serious issue and enhance the use of alternative restrictions on personal liberty, fully safeguarding the fundamental principle of the presumption of innocence."
"Another component of this complex problem is the vagueness of some of the offences in the Turkish legislation, in particular those relating to alleged links with criminal organisations" the Commissioner said, adding that not enough attention was paid to the quality of evidence from the beginning of the proceedings. "The combination of these factors means that the mere opening of proceedings can become - in essence - a punishment, and the resulting chilling effect is of serious concern."
The Commissioner has welcomed the abolition of state security courts but remains seriously concerned by the establishment and operation of the assize courts with special powers, competent to deal with cases of organised crime and terrorism. "Whilst I am fully aware of the serious nature of these cases, I am concerned by a number of problematic practices of these courts and prosecutors, in particular in connection with the anti-terror legislation, such as the incommunicado custody for 24 hours, the restriction of the number of defence lawyers to one, the restriction of access by defendants to the prosecution file, and censorship of correspondence between the defendants and their lawyer."
"Courts have also a major role to play in the fight against impunity for serious human rights violations, especially those committed by law enforcement officials. A number of serious cases have been brought to my attention, like the one concerning the death in police custody of a Nigerian, Festus Okey, in 2007. Law and the courts should enhance the standing of the victim and their family in investigations and proceedings."
Commissioner Hammarberg will prepare and publish a report following this visit.