‘The CoM's decision does not contribute to democratization’ 

2025-09-20 11:02:34


	 

	Evin Çiftçi

	 

	DÎLOK - Speaking about the decision made by the CoM in the “Gurban Group” case, which covers the “right to hope,” ÖHD member Berivan Özpolat conveyed the message that the AKBK must implement its founding policies in an appropriate manner.

	 

	The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CMCE) granted Turkey an extension until the end of June 2026 in its decision on the “Gurban Group” case, which covers the “right to hope” of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan, Emin Gurban, Civan Boltan, and Hayati Kaytan. While reactions to the decision shared by the CMK arose from many segments of society, Berivan Özpolat, a member of the Lawyers for Freedom Association, commented on the decision.

	 

	'Legal regulations must be made immediately!'

	 

	Berivan Özpolat stated that the decision issued by the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers (CoM) did not contain any content that could be legally evaluated and that it did not meet her expectations. Berivan Özpolat said, "When we look at the content of the decision, it contains wishes rather than establishing supervision or sanctions. However, the purpose of the CoM's establishment is to supervise the raw policies of member states and signatory states, as well as to ensure that they act in accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights and to monitor whether the decisions issued by the European Court of Human Rights are being implemented. We want the relevant legal regulations to be enacted as soon as possible. And we believe that the commission established in the Turkish Grand National Assembly should play a leading role in this regard." 

	 

	‘We can say that the political power has turned a deaf ear’

	 

	Berivan Özpolat stated that the decision made by the AKBK would not have a positive effect on the process, saying, "When we look at Turkey today, we see that, unfortunately, political steps have not been taken at a level that meets the expectations of the Kurdish people and the Turkish people in the public sphere regarding the right to hope and the process of building democratic politics. However, concrete steps would create clarity in society.

	 

	Unfortunately, the public's expectation that this country will democratize and live under a system based on human rights, and that other fundamental peoples in the country, especially the Kurdish people, will be able to live in a more egalitarian and libertarian environment, has not yet found a concrete response. 

	 

	If the Council's decision had truly operated the oversight mechanism in line with its founding objectives and if this content had been transparently reflected to the international public, it would have been taken much more seriously and discussed at a deeper level by both the political power and politicians in Turkey. Unfortunately, we can say that the political power has turned a deaf ear to this issue." 

	 

	‘These mistakes must be corrected immediately’

	 

	Berivan Özpolat stated that the latest decision is temporary and that they expect the AKBK to take the steps towards democratization that Turkey needs to take, saying, "We want them to call on Turkey to reverse these mistakes as soon as possible, to adopt practices in line with its founding aims and policies, and to remove this anti-democratic situation. And we expect them to make a decision in this direction.

	 

	As is well known, the right to hope is not just a concept put forward by Mr. Öcalan or people living in the Middle East and us. It is a right enshrined in humanitarian law and the human rights convention. Accordingly, the review of the detention status of individuals sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment after 25 years and the enactment of legal regulations to end this detention is a general legal determination under the ECHR. The AKBK is as aware of this as we are."