CAT/C/66/D/827/2017
which he would be exposed in Turkey, given the general human rights situation prevailing
there, particularly after the attempted coup d’état of 15 July 2016, which was followed by a
massive wave of arrests, trials and convictions. The complainant also submitted a certificate
of his application for asylum with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees.
2.7
On 31 May 2017 the Court of Cassation of Morocco ruled in favour of the
complainant’s extradition to Turkey.
The complaint
3.1
The complainant maintains that his extradition to Turkey would result in the risk of
torture by the Turkish authorities, in violation of article 3 of the Convention.
3.2
After the attempted coup d’état of 15 July 2016, Turkey on 20 July 2016 declared a
state of emergency in its territory. Since then, judges, journalists, lawyers and academics
face “arbitrary repression and the crushing of fundamental freedoms”.3 The current political
context in Turkey following the attempted coup does not allow for compliance with the
procedural rules of a State based on the rule of law and is thus an obstacle to extradition in
accordance with international standards. In a resolution of 25 April 2017, the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe expressed its deep concern about the human rights
situation in Turkey and noted that “eight months after the attempted coup, the situation has
deteriorated and measures have gone far beyond what is necessary and proportionate”.4 The
Parliamentary Assembly also stressed that large-scale purges have been carried out within
the administration,5 that a vast number of persons have been arrested and kept in custody
awaiting indictment,6 that many officials have been dismissed and that the measures taken
against them, such as the cancellation of their passports, the definitive ban against them
ever working in the public administration or the termination of their access to the social
security system, constitute the “civil death” of the persons in question. 7 In the view of the
Parliamentary Assembly, respect for fundamental rights is not ensured in Turkey. 8 On 21
July 2016 Turkey announced its intention to derogate from the Convention for the
Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (European Convention on Human
Rights), in application of article 15 of the Convention. In view of all these circumstances,
the complainant faces a personal risk of being subjected to torture if he returns to his
country.
3.3
The complainant also points out that the Greek Supreme Court has refused to
extradite eight Turkish military officers on the grounds that the Greek courts could not in
good conscience agree to extradite them to Turkey, a country considered by the Court to
face the threat of the restoration of the death penalty, where there is also evidence of
degrading and inhuman treatment of political dissidents and, lastly, where there is no fair
trial in the strict sense of the word.
3.4
The Turkish Government has accused the Hizmet movement of being behind the
attempted coup d’état of 15 July 2016. In Turkey, any individual belonging to or suspected
of belonging to the Hizmet movement – which is the case of the complainant – is exposed
to a real risk of torture and ill-treatment. More than 50 suspicious deaths in prison of
Hizmet movement members have been registered, and the complainant adds that every day
there are new reports of acts of torture or ill-treatment committed against Hizmet movement
members, sometimes going so far as the arrest of mothers who have recently given birth,
which is prohibited by law. These violations are also the subject of condemnation from
notable organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
3
4
5
6
7
8
GE.19-10059
European Democratic Lawyers, and Magistrats Européens pour la Démocratie et les Libertés, “Le
glas de la démocratie ne cesse de sonner en Turquie”, joint press release, 25 March 2017.
Council of Europe, Parliamentary Assembly, “The functioning of democratic institutions in Turkey”
[resolution 2156 (2017)], para. 7.
Ibid., para. 14.
Ibid., para. 16.
Ibid., para. 17.
Ibid., para. 20.
3