The Turkish president on Thursday criticized the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) for not taking "fair" decisions about Turkey, A-news reports.
"The ECHR is not fair in its decisions, but political. When it comes to Turkey, it makes politically driven decisions..." Erdoğan said at a ceremony in the capital Ankara marking the opening of the new judicial year.
Important reforms, he said, have been made to strengthen the rule of law in Türkiye in the past 20 years.
Rulings from the ECtHR concerning Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtaş and businessman Osman Kavala, both jailed on politically motivated charges, calling for their immediate release from prison, have angered Erdoğan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) government, Turkish Minute reports.
Turkey has so far failed to implement the court’s rulings concerning Demirtaş and Kavala, prompting the Council of Europe to officially launch an infringement procedure against Turkey in February.
The ECtHR will establish whether Turkey has violated the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). If the Strasbourg court rules that Turkey has not fulfilled its obligations under the ECHR, then the Committee of Ministers will decide on sanctions to be imposed on the country.
The politician made the announcement amid calls for a new constitution in Turkey. “Certain circles are trying to turn the Turkish judicial system into an instrument of criminal organizations. We will not allow this! The world community once and for all realizes that the Republic of Turkey is not a state that is led by dark forces,” the president said, Anadolu reports.
