Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan was brought to Turkey on 15 February 1999 by an international conspiracy and sentenced to death on 29 June of the same year. However, the social reaction against the conspiracy, the legal struggle of the lawyers of the Asrın Law Office who acted as Öcalan's defence counsel, and Turkey's membership process to the European Union (EU) in 2001 prevented the implementation of the death penalty.

 

After the Court of Cassation upheld the death sentence, Asrın Law Office appealed the decision to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The ECHR issued a "stay of execution" on 21 November 2000 and on 14 December 2000 found Abdullah Öcalan's application admissible.

 

While the process was ongoing here, the death penalty was abolished in Turkey. In 2001, the death penalty was abolished for "crimes other than those committed under threat of war and terrorist offences", and on 3 August 2002 for "crimes other than those committed under threat of war and imminent threat of war". With the amendment of 7 May 2004, articles on death penalties were removed from the Constitution. On 14 July 2004, articles on death penalties were removed from the Turkish Penal Code. Thus, the death penalty was completely abolished from Turkey's domestic law.

 

On 12 May 2005, the Grand Chamber of the ECtHR, in its final judgment "Turkey v Öcalan", ruled that Abdullah Öcalan's trial was unfair and requested a retrial. However, Turkey refused to retry Abdullah Öcalan.

 

Until 2002, it was not possible in Turkey to hold a prisoner in prison for life without the right to parole. However, after Abdullah Öcalan's sentence, "life imprisonment" became part of Turkey's execution practice. Subsequently, some articles including this practice were included in the Anti-Terror Law (TMK).

 

CONCERNS MORE THAN 4 THOUSAND PRISONERS

 

Asrın Law Office applied to the ECHR against this sentence which removes the "hope" of Abdullah Öcalan's release. In 2014, the ECtHR ruled in a decision named "Öcalan 2" that the imposition of aggravated life imprisonment on Abdullah Öcalan violated Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which prohibits torture and ill-treatment. It also emphasised that the prohibition of parole was a violation of the "right to hope".

 

Thus, the "right to hope" started to appear on Turkey's agenda. The right in question entered the agenda of the country with the judgement for Abdullah Öcalan and has been among the main agendas of the country in recent months.

 

At his weekly group meeting on 22 October 2024, Turkish Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Chair Devlet Bahçeli called for paving the way for legal regulations on Abdullah Öcalan's "right to hope". Bahçeli conditioned the legislation on Abdullah Öcalan's "liquidation of his organisation".

 

The right that Bahçeli is trying to turn into a bargaining issue does not only concern Abdullah Öcalan. In addition to Öcalan, the "right to hope" of more than 4 thousand prisoners sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment and life imprisonment is currently being violated.

 

THE COMMITTEE FIRST INCLUDED IT ON ITS AGENDA IN 2015

 

Many attempts have been made so far to ensure Öcalan's "right to hope". In this context, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, which is responsible for monitoring the implementation of ECtHR judgements, put the "violation" judgement on its agenda for the first time in 2015. Turkey submitted an "Action Plan" to the committee on 24 July 2015. In the action plan, it was claimed that the ECtHR judgement had been sent to all courts with its translation and that the judgement had been executed. However, in practice, the ECtHR judgement was not fulfilled.

 

APPLICATIONS BY LAWYERS

 

After 2015, many applications were made regarding the "violation" decision. Abdullah Öcalan's lawyers first applied to the Committee of Ministers on the "right to hope" on 6 June 2016. Subsequently, applications were made on 12 October 2017, 2 February 2018, 28 January 2019, 9 August 2022 and 26 January 2023 respectively. All 6 applications demanded that Abdullah Öcalan's "right to hope" be fulfilled and that Turkey take the necessary steps.

 

FIRST APPLICATION FROM NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS

 

Civil society organisations also applied to the committee on the "right to hope" for the first time on 26 July 2021. In the application made by the Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD), the Human Rights Association (İHD), the Society and Law Research Foundation (TOHAV) and the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV), the Committee was requested to take the "violation" decision on its agenda "urgently".

 

'NO VIOLATION' RESPONSE FROM TURKEY

 

On 7 September 2021, Turkey responded to the Committee of Ministers on the application made by rights and legal organisations. In its response, Turkey claimed that there had been "no violations" in İmralı since 2009. Turkey ignored the findings and recommendations for legal amendments on aggravated life imprisonment. Turkey maintained this claim in its submissions to the committee on different dates.

 

IT WAS ADMITTED THAT ÖCALAN WAS 'EXEMPTED'

 

Turkey submitted a second communication to the committee on 7 October 2021. Turkey defended the same allegations. Claiming that there had been no "violations" in İmralı since 2009, Turkey ignored the findings and recommendations on "securing the right to hope" and "legal amendments on the regime of execution of aggravated life sentences". It also accepted that Abdullah Öcalan was "exempted" from the "right to hope". Turkey defended its previous claims in its action plans submitted in December 2022 and July 2024.

 

RESPONSE FROM NGOS TO TURKEY

 

On 12 October 2021, the applicant non-governmental organisations submitted a communication to the Committee against Turkey's response of 7 September 2021 stating "no violation". In the notification, it was emphasised that the allegations were misleading and the isolation continued.

  

TURKEY GIVEN DEADLINE

 

The Committee put the "right to hope" on its agenda between 30 November and 2 December 2021, after 6 years, upon the application of rights and legal organisations. Announcing its decision in December, the Committee called on Turkey to adopt the necessary measures without further delay. The Turkish authorities were also requested to provide information on the progress made in implementing the general measures by the end of September 2022 at the latest.

 

SECOND APPLICATION FROM THE ORGANISATIONS

 

ÖHD, TİHV, İHD, TOHAV, Civil Society in the Penal System (CİSST) and the Association of Contemporary Lawyers (ÇHD) sent a new notification to the committee on 31 July in response to the decision. In the notification, it was requested to call for "necessary legislative amendments".

 

NEW MEETING AFTER 3 YEARS

 

The Committee took the "right to hope" back on its agenda 3 years after its meeting on 30 November-2 December 2021. The Committee announced that it will put the "right to hope" on its agenda at its meeting on 17-19 September 2024 after 3 years.

 

At its meeting held between 17-19 September, the Committee took the violation decisions of the ECtHR on its agenda once again after 3 years and made a statement.

 

'MECHANISM SHOULD BE ESTABLISHED'

 

Representatives of the Committee took the judgement of violation under the heading "Gurban group/Turkey" on its agenda. The Committee representatives recalled the ECtHR's violation judgements on aggravated life imprisonment. The representatives implicitly referred to the "exemption" of the names in the group in question (including Abdullah Öcalan) from the violation judgement. The judgement emphasised that the representatives "(...) recalled that such a finding of violation cannot be understood as giving the applicants the possibility of imminent release, but requires the national authorities to establish a review mechanism for all in line with the standards set by the Court".

 

INTERIM JUDGEMENT WARNING

 

In the section "Concerning general measures" of the judgement, 4 items were listed:

 

"* Recalled once again that the implementation of these decisions requires legislative or other appropriate measures to be taken to establish a mechanism to review aggravated life sentences after a specified minimum period and to offer the possibility of release, except where the conditions of retribution and deterrence have not yet been fully met or the person is still a danger to society;

 

* Expressed deep concern at the lack of progress to this end and strongly encouraged the authorities to take the necessary measures without further delay, inspired by the experience of other Member States in putting such mechanisms in place

 

*Once again invited the authorities to provide information on the number of persons sentenced to irrevocable life imprisonment and still in detention without the possibility of review

 

*Decided to re-examine this group (the Gurban group) at its meeting in September 2025 and, in view of the long persistence of the problems examined under this group and the inadequacy of the progress made with the information available, instructed the Secretariat to draft an interim resolution if, by that date, no concrete progress had been made that would allow for a more favourable assessment."

 

Despite the Committee of Ministers' warning of an interim decision, Bahçeli's statements and the ECtHR's judgement of violation, Turkey has not yet taken any steps.

 

It is learned that rights and legal organisations are preparing for a new notification to the committee for the implementation of the decision.

 

MA / Ömer İbrahimoğlu