The Justice March, which continues to draw attention to injustices in Turkey and call for the implementation of European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) rulings, is still being covered by the French press. Most recently, one of France’s leading national newspapers, l’Humanité, reported on the Justice Gathering, bringing the news to its readers.
ECHR ISSUES MORE RULINGS AGAINST TURKEY
The article in l’Humanité reads as follows:
Members of parliament and human rights advocates are calling on the Council of Europe to pressure Turkey into releasing political prisoners.
The European Court of Human Rights is increasingly ruling against Turkey for failing to respect the rights of political prisoners, yet nothing is changing on the ground. Tülay Hatimoğulları, co-chair of the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM, formerly HDP) and Turkish MP, came to Strasbourg to urge the Council of Europe to take a firm stance against Turkey’s deteriorating human rights situation.
OVER 3,000 PEOPLE JOINED THE PEACEFUL PROTEST
A coincidence of timing: While Tülay Hatimoğulları, the co-chair of the largest opposition party to Erdoğan, attended the Parliamentary Assembly session at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on Wednesday, more than 3,000 people, mostly associated with the Turkish Gülen Movement, held a demonstration in front of the Council of Europe. Accompanied by music and political slogans, they called for the freedom of hundreds of political prisoners in Turkey. While there is no affinity between the Gülen Movement, led by an imam in exile in the U.S. with a Sunni inclination, and political groups defending secularism, the Kurdish cause, equality, women’s rights, and environmental issues, they all come together to defend the political prisoners imprisoned in Erdoğan’s jails.
DEMOCRACY IN TURKEY WOULD BENEFIT EVERYONE
The DEM party co-chair stated, “The freedom of political prisoners and respect for human rights is a universal issue, and there’s no need to differentiate between groups to defend these international principles. It is crucial for us to defend these rights, even if we are not side by side.”
“There are divisions among Erdoğan’s opponents, but when it comes to defending his victims, there’s no difference—we are all equal. If one day democracy comes to Turkey, it will be good for everyone, for both Kurds and Gülenists. Currently, the Kurds and Gülenists are the two main oppositions to Erdoğan’s regime, and we must fight alongside all other dissidents,” says Rumi Bey, coordinator of a human rights collective supporting the Gülenist movement.
