European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) | Turkey puts 427 judges in pre-trial detention

Defence Redefined

Published on 24/11/2021 at 10:41

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) today condemned Turkey to “arbitrary” pre-trial detention of 427 Turkish judges following a failed coup attempt in 2016.

European judges unanimously resolved that detaining those 427 judges, Ankara violated the “right to liberty” guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights.

These judges and prosecutors, who were performing their duties in various courts, including the Court of Cassation and the Supreme Administrative Court, had been arrested and detained for “suspicion of belonging to FETO,” the ECHR said in a statement. In the terminology of the Turkish authorities, FETO is the acronym for “The Terrorist Organization of Fethullah Supporters” Gulen. 

The ECHR has ordered Ankara to pay 5,000 euros to each of the pre-trial detainees in compensation.

In this context, 2,847 judges had been suspended by decree for suspicion of belonging to FETO, as the Turkish authorities considered this to be “incompatible with the principle of impartiality”, the ECHR reminds. Turkey has been repeatedly condemned in recent months by the ECHR for human rights violations committed mainly through these persecutions.

Source: AMNA

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