Foreign Minister Aims Avoiding Freedom of Speech Cases at ECHR
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu finds it disturbing that Turkey, taking the lead in terms of reforms in the European Council, comes up frequently on the agenda of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Davutoğlu said this in an interview made by Murat Akgün on the Turkish news channel NTV.
The minister emphasized that he furthermore felt very disturbed by the government's defence submitted to the ECHR concerning the files regarding the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink on 19 January 2007 after he had been battered in a related freedom of expression trial. "We took the initiative for an amicable solution. The court decision [conviction of Turkey] was important but one would wish that the [Dink] family would also accept an amicable solution".
Complaints because of judicial delays
Starting with the Hrant Dink file, Davutoğlu said that the 13,000 applications filed to the ECHR from Turkey should be reviewed. "These are not matters of law enforcement. And one should not think that they are all in the hands of the government... Judicial processes are delayed. There are hundreds of cases because of judicial delays for instance. We do not want to put the blame on the judiciary. There are many problems there, too", the minister argued.
Davutoğlu appreciated the meeting between President Abdullah Gül and Hosrof Dink, brother of the killed journalist. "This really was a positive development. We may not expect a more positive approach than that".
Minister requested classification of ECHR files
Davutoğlu pointed out that Turkey could not refuse its responsibility after passing self-criticism in the Dink file. He said that preceding the meeting with the Minister of Justice, Sahdullah Ergin, and the Minister of the Interior, Beşir Atalay, they sent a note to the Permanent Representation of the ECHR to request a classification of the files according to the kinds of violations.
ECHR files related to 28 February
The minister categorized the files brought before the ECHR from Turkey into "procedural", "principle" and "legal" matters. "Freedom of expression is a matter of principle. I cannot reconcile with making a defence. Many of the cases have been pending for ten years. These are violations caused by the conditions of 28 February [the military memorandum issued by the Turkish Military Leadership in 1997]... A defence must not be made", Davutoğlu stated.
Legal efforts to decrease number of applications to ECHR
The minister said that work was initiated on the issue how these problems could be avoided with legal amendments. This, according to Davutoğlu, will be presented to the Council of Ministers soon.
"We may not lose this perception. We will assume the temporary presidency of the Council of Europe in three months. As one of the countries with the most trials I do not want to experience that sort of problem when the file is on my desk while chairing the Council of Europe, to say it frankly".
"Upon my suggestion, we proposed to establish a Panel of Experts in the European Council for new reforms. We are a country assuming reforms. As a country assuming the leadership it is disturbing to be addressed with hundreds of cases at the ECHR..."
"We are working on installing the individual right to apply to the Constitutional Court... We are thinking about the right to apply to the Constitutional Court for citizens who think they have been subjected to injustice in principle matters". (EÖ/VK)