Four international human rights organizations have submitted a legal opinion to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on the implementation of several judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). The focus is on the “right to hope” for life prisoners in Turkey.
The organizations—the Turkey Human Rights Litigation Support Project (TLSP), the European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and World Human Rights (ELDH), the Association for Democracy and International Law (MAF-DAD), and the London Legal Group (LLG)—submitted their submission in accordance with Rule 9.2 of the Council of Europe’s Rules of Supervision for the Enforcement of Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. The report concerns the Gurban case group, which includes judgments on Hayati Kaytan, Civan Boltan, Emin Gurban, and Abdullah Öcalan.
Criticism of lack of legal reform
In their statement, the organizations refer to the repeated finding of the ECtHR that imposing a harsh life sentence without any realistic prospect of release violates Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. They state that Turkey has not yet introduced any legal provisions providing for review or the prospect of release, not even in the action plan presented in June 2025.
The background is that in September 2024, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe set Turkey a final deadline of twelve months to introduce appropriate reforms to implement the so-called “right to hope.” With this deadline approaching, Ankara is coming under increasing pressure to implement internationally binding human rights standards.
“Turkish legislation continues to contradict the established case law of the ECtHR,” the statement says. It cites landmark judgments such as Vinter v. UK, Murray v. Netherlands, Petukhov v. Ukraine (No. 2), László Magyar v. Hungary and Bodein v. France, in which the court emphasises that life imprisonment is only compatible with the Convention if there is a real chance of release – at the latest after 25 years, taking into account due process and individual development.
Call for legal enshrinement of the prospect of hope
The organizations recommend that Turkey follow the positive examples of other member states and
▪ provide a realistic prospect of release,
▪ a review period of no later than 25 years,
▪ transparent and fair procedural rules
▪ and should enshrine in law as minimum requirements an objective assessment of the development of detention and the prognosis for reintegration into society.
The legal opinion aims to encourage the Committee of Ministers to send a clear signal to Turkey to fundamentally reform its practices. “The right to hope is not an act of mercy, but a human right,” is the tenor of the opinion submitted.
Source: ANF News
