European court finds Turkey violated detention rights in two cases

The European Court of Human Rights found Turkey violated detention rights in two cases involving 26 people accused of Gülen links and Kurdish politician Adalet Kaya.

The 26 people were held before trial after Turkey’s 2016 coup attempt, while Kaya was detained in 2020 over alleged links to the PKK and KCK.

The court said Turkish judges did not give enough specific reasons to justify keeping the 26 people in detention, and found that evidence cited against Kaya did not support a reasonable suspicion of membership in an armed group.

The court said that general claims and lawful political or social activity were not enough to justify detention.

The cases reflect wider legal disputes in Turkey over prosecutions linked to the Gülen movement and Kurdish political activity.

Turkey must pay €1,500 to each of the 26 applicants, while Kaya was awarded €5,000 in total.

Kaya’s criminal case was suspended in 2024 because of her parliamentary immunity, and the sources give no further next step in the other proceedings.