ECHR: Ankara sentenced for the arbitrary detention of 427 magistrates after the failed coup of 2016

After the failed July 2016 coup, the Turkish authorities launched major purges against suspected supporters of Fethullah Gülen, the bête noire of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (our photo).

Ozan KOSE AFP / File

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The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Tuesday 23 November condemned Turkey for the “arbitrary” pre-trial detention of 427 Turkish magistrates after the failed coup of July 2016.

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Unanimously, the European judges considered that Ankara had violated the “right to liberty”, guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights, by placing 427 magistrates in pre-trial detention.

These judges and prosecutors who worked in many jurisdictions, including the Court of Cassation and the Supreme Administrative Court, had been arrested and placed in detention for " 

 ", details the ECHR in a statement.

In the terminology of the Turkish authorities, FETO is the acronym for the “Terrorist Organization of Fethullah Supporters” Gülen, accused of having plotted the coup attempt.

Purges

The Court ordered Ankara to pay 5,000 euros to each of the magistrates for non-pecuniary damage.

After the failed coup of July 15, 2016, the Turkish authorities launched purges of an unprecedented scale against the alleged supporters of Fethullah Gülen, bête noire of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but also against Kurdish opponents, the military, intellectuals or journalists, arresting tens of thousands of people.

Turkey condemned several times

On this occasion, a decree had resulted in the dismissal of 2,847 magistrates, suspected of belonging to the FETO, the Turkish authorities considering this position " 

 ", recalls the ECHR.

Turkey has been condemned on several occasions in recent months by the ECHR for human rights violations, committed in particular during these purges.

The ECHR, which sits in Strasbourg, is the body responsible for providing a judicial response to violations of the European Convention on Human Rights, ratified by the 47 member states of the Council of Europe.

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• Turkey

• International justice

• Recep Tayyip Erdogan