News center - The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe held its three-monthly meeting on human rights from September 15-17. In September 2024, the Committee gave Türkiye a one-year period to implement the "Right to Hope" in the cases of Abdullah Öcalan, Hayati Kaytan, Emin Gurban, and Civan Boltan.

At its last meeting, the Committee adopted a decision requiring the Committee to supervise the execution of final judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, in accordance with Article 46, paragraph 2, of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

Considering the Court's final judgments finding a violation of Article 3 of the Convention due to the applicants' sentences of aggravated life imprisonment – a life sentence without the possibility of release, regulated by legislation that does not provide a mechanism for reviewing the sentence after a certain minimum period.

Recalling the Committee's previous decisions at its meetings 1419 and 1507, Recalling that the individual measures addressing the above violation are conditional on the implementation of general measures requiring the adoption of a mechanism that would allow for reviewing aggravated life imprisonment after a certain minimum period, with the possibility of release, if the requirements of punishment and deterrence have not yet been fully met or if the person continues to pose a danger to society;

 Recalling that Article 46 of the Convention grants the respondent State the right to choose which means to use to comply with the Court's judgments, and that the Court grants States a discretion in matters of criminal justice and sentencing, while also recalling that international law is trending towards mechanisms providing for review no later than 25 years after the imposition of a life sentence;

Further recalling the Court's statements that the violation found in the present cases cannot be understood as requiring the applicants to be given the opportunity for imminent release;

Underlining the obligation of every State, pursuant to Article 46, paragraph 1, of the Convention, to fully, effectively, and expeditiously comply with the final judgments of the Court to which it is a party;

Expressed deep regret at the failure to take adequate legislative or other measures to harmonize Turkish law with the Convention requirements set out in these judgments;

 

Called on the authorities to take the necessary measures without further delay;

Encouraged the authorities to consider exploring various alternatives available to them to ensure the swift implementation of the decisions in the current group, including, but not limited to, legislative amendments within the framework of the new Human Rights Action Plan, which provides a review mechanism for life sentences; utilizing the "Turkey without Terrorism" initiative and the recently established "National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Commission," which has the authority to propose legislative amendments to Parliament; or adopting draft laws previously submitted by Members of Parliament on this matter;

ENCOURAGED the authorities to draw inspiration from the experiences of other Member States that have implemented such review mechanisms;NVITED the authorities to provide information on measures taken to ensure swift progress in the implementation of the current group of cases by the end of June 2026 at the latest.