The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Referring to the cases of the above-mentioned parliamentarians and to the resolution adopted at its194th session (March 2014),

Referring to the full report on the mission conducted to Turkey by two members of the IPU Committee on the Human Rights Parliamentarians, Vice-President of the Committee, Ms. Ann Clwyd and Ms. Margaret Kiener Nellen, from 24 to 27 February 2014 (CL/195/11(b)-R.1),

Recalling that the nine parliamentarians above were all elected in June 2011 while in prison and are being prosecuted for destabilizing or overthrowing the constitutional order, including by being members of terrorist organizations, in three complex cases known as the “Sledgehammer/Balyoz case”, the “Ergenekon case” and the “KCK case”,

Considering that the nine parliamentarians have now been released pending the completion of ongoing proceedings following groundbreaking decisions of the Constitutional Court of Turkey on the excessive length of pretrial detention, the right of elected parliamentarians to sit in Parliament and the need to respect international fair-trial guarantees; Mr. Alan and Mr. Dicle were granted provisional release on 19 and 28 June 2014, respectively,

Considering that they are now able to exercise their parliamentary mandate with the exception of Mr. Dicle, who lost his parliamentary status at the time of his invalidation; Mr. Balbay’s and Mr. Haberal’s restrictions on the freedom of movement have been lifted,

Recalling thatMr. Mehmet Sinçar, a former member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, of Kurdish origin, was assassinated in September 1993 in Batman (south-eastern Turkey),

Considering that the appeal in Mr. Sinçar’s case was concluded in January 2011; the decision does not make any specific reference to the murder of Mr. Sinçar, to the appeal lodged by his family or to any of the arguments raised by their lawyers; it does not indicate that the judicial process effectively probed the political and security context prevailing at the time of the murder and the possible responsibility of the chain of command of the Turkish intelligence and security officers, in particular existing information implicating five agents in planning and executing the crime,

Considering thatthe mission concluded and observed the following:

• With regard to freedom of expression:
  • The protection of freedom of expression in Turkey has been a long-standing issue of concern in prior cases before the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians which, since 1992, has repeatedly called on the Turkish authorities to take action to enhance respect for this fundamental right;

  • Peaceful and legal political activities of the parliamentarians concerned have been regarded as evidence of criminal and terrorist acts by the prosecution and the courts, and that despite progress made in legislative reforms; the Turkish legal framework and judicial practice continue to largely fail to distinguish between peaceful protest and dissenting opinions on the one hand, and violent activities pursuant to the same goals on the other;

  • In the case of Mr. Dicle, his statement publicly expressing a non-violent opinion supportive of the PKK fell within the scope of freedom of speech; he was therefore convicted in violation of his right to freedom of expression and that, as a consequence, his parliamentary mandate was arbitrarily invalidated,
• With regard to fair-trial guarantees:
  • In light of the information and documentation reviewed during and after the mission, the delegation has concluded that the judicial process under which the parliamentarians concerned have been, and continue to be, tried is not in compliance with international standards of due process, that justice was neither achieved nor perceived to have been achieved, and that the large scope of the proceedings and the broader context lend weight to the allegations that the judicial proceedings may have been politically motivated,

Considering that, in their observations on the mission report, the parliamentary authorities have stated that:

• They did not have any general objections to the findings of the delegation;

• Further legislative reforms were completed with the amendments made by Law No. 6526 of 21 February 2014, known as the Fifth Judicial Reform Package;

• The first hearing of the retrial of the persons accused in the Sledgehammer case, including Mr. Alan is scheduled for 3 November 2014,

1. Thanks the Turkish authorities for their observations and notes with interest that they generally share the findings of the mission;

2. Further thanks the mission delegation for the work done and endorses its overall conclusions; and trusts that the Turkish authorities will implement its recommendations promptly;

3. Notes with satisfaction that all parliamentarians have been released pending the completion of the ongoing proceedings and, with the exception of Mr. Dicle, are now able to exercise their parliamentary mandate; also notes with interest that the travel restrictions on Mr. Balbay and Mr. Haberal have been lifted; welcomes the legislative reforms undertaken by the authorities;

4. Deeply regrets, however,that the parliamentarians concerned spent over half of their parliamentary term and an average of four years in detention before a solution was found; and urges the Turkish authorities to adopt appropriate constitutional and legislative amendments to fully implement the rulings of the Constitutional Court as regards the pretrial detention of parliamentarians;

5. Is deeply concerned that the peaceful and legal activities of the parliamentarians concerned were regarded as evidence of criminal and terrorist acts by the prosecution and the courts, and calls on the authorities to urgently strengthen freedom of expression and association, in particular concerning anti-terrorist legislation and the offence of membership of a criminal organization; wishes to be kept informed about legislative reform envisaged on these issues;

6. Expects that the judicial proceedings will provide appropriate redress for the acknowledged violations of due process and will be completed swiftly in compliance with international standards; wishes to be regularly apprised of their status and outcome;

7. Urges the Turkish authorities to pursue further investigations in the case of Mr. Sinçar and fully take into account existing information implicating five agents of the Turkish intelligence Services in planning and executing the crimes; further invites the parliamentary authorities to consider establishing a parliamentary commission to investigate the murder, together with other human rights violations committed in the 1990s in south-eastern Turkey, including abuses by State perpetrators;

8. Trusts that the parliamentary authorities will liaise with the competent executive and judicial authorities to keep the Committee apprised of any future developments, so as to facilitate a dialogue conducive to a satisfactory settlement of the cases under examination;

9. Requests the Secretary General to convey this decision to the relevant authorities, the complainant and any third party likely to be in a position to supply relevant information;

10. Requests the Committee to continue examining this case and to report back to it in due course.

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