Thousands in Strasbourg to press Turkey on human rights rulings

Thousands are expected in Strasbourg on June 24 to urge Turkey to comply with European Court of Human Rights rulings, with organizers also pressing the Council of Europe to enforce those judgments. The rally will spotlight cases involving Osman Kavala, Selahattin Demirtaş and Yüksel Yalçınkaya, alongside wider concerns over democracy, press freedom and rule of law in Turkey.

Why it matters: - The Strasbourg rally targets Turkey’s long-running refusal to enforce binding European Court of Human Rights judgments. - Organizers say the issue affects not only individual cases, but also democracy, press freedom and the rule of law in Turkey. - The event is being framed as a test of whether the Council of Europe can compel compliance from one of its member states.

What happened: - Thousands of people from across Europe are expected to gather in Strasbourg on June 24. - The Peaceful Actions Platform will hold its fifth Justice Gathering outside Council of Europe headquarters. - Seventeen civil society groups across Europe are supporting the event. - Organizers will call on Turkey to enforce ECtHR judgments and on the Council of Europe to use its powers to secure compliance.

The details: - The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers supervises how member states enforce final ECtHR judgments. - The platform says millions of people in Turkey have suffered years of injustice while authorities ignored ECtHR rulings. - The rally will highlight the cases of jailed civil society leader Osman Kavala, imprisoned Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtaş and former teacher Yüksel Yalçınkaya. - The ECtHR found that Kavala was detained without reasonable evidence. - The ECtHR found that Demirtaş was imprisoned to restrict political debate. - Turkey has not released either man despite binding judgments. - The Yalçınkaya case concerns Turkey’s mass prosecution of people accused of links to the Gülen movement. - After the failed coup attempt in July 2016, Turkish authorities prosecuted hundreds of thousands of people over alleged links to the movement. - Prosecutors used lawful activities such as working at movement-affiliated schools, depositing money at the now-closed Bank Asya, joining legal associations and allegedly using the ByLock messaging application as evidence of terrorism. - In September 2023, the ECtHR Grand Chamber ruled that Turkey violated Yalçınkaya’s rights by convicting him without proving individual criminal conduct. - The court found a systemic problem affecting thousands of similar cases and required broader corrective measures. - The platform says Turkey has not enforced that judgment and continues to prosecute people based on activities that were legal when they happened. - The organizers will also cite the ECtHR Grand Chamber’s May 2026 judgment in the case of Şaban Yasak. - The court reaffirmed that authorities cannot treat conduct that was not itself a crime as proof of membership in a terrorist organization. - The platform says detentions and prosecutions continue despite those rulings. - Organizers say the prosecutions push families into poverty, force children to live with social stigma and leave many prisoners facing inadequate medical care and prolonged isolation. - The event will also call for a functioning democracy in Turkey. - Organizers say judicial independence has been weakened and meaningful checks among the executive, legislative and judicial branches have eroded. - The platform says opposition-run municipalities face dismissals, administrative intervention and criminal investigations. - Organizers argue that elected officials and political activists are increasingly treated as security threats rather than democratic actors. - İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s main political rival, is being held pending trial in a case he and his party call politically motivated. - The Turkish government denies interfering in judicial matters. - The rally will also demand an end to the prosecution of journalists for reporting and public comments. - Reporters Without Borders ranked Turkey 163rd out of 180 countries in its 2026 World Press Freedom Index. - The platform says Turkish prosecutors routinely use Penal Code provisions against journalists, political opponents and social media users. - The group says freedom of expression is essential for an informed society and democratic accountability. - The organizers say Turkey’s rule of law crisis affects civil society leaders, Kurdish politicians, opposition mayors, journalists, students, teachers, Gülen movement followers and others subjected to arbitrary state action. - The platform is calling on the Council of Europe to defend the authority of the ECtHR and ensure Turkey fully implements binding judgments without delay.

Between the lines: - The rally links court compliance to broader democratic backsliding, suggesting organizers see the legal fight as part of a wider political struggle. - By centering multiple cases, the event aims to show a pattern rather than isolated misconduct. - The pressure also falls on the Council of Europe, which critics may view as needing to prove its enforcement tools still matter.

What's next: - Organizers will gather outside the Council of Europe headquarters on June 24. - The platform will continue pressing for enforcement of ECtHR judgments and for release or relief in the cases it highlighted. - The Council of Europe’s response will shape whether the campaign gains leverage beyond the Strasbourg demonstration. - More information - The platform on X