Türkiye Today

The ECHR ruled that Türkiye did not fulfill its obligations in the Kavala case, infringement procedure against Türkiye proceeds; Fethullah Gülen, the leader of outlawed Gülen Organization convicted for masterminding the 2016 coup attempt, allegedly hospitalized in the USA; Erdoğan-Putin spoke on the phone discussed safe corridor in the Black Sea for the grain export…

Here is what you need to know about Türkiye Today

1- The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) reported that Türkiye did not fulfill its obligations regarding the ECtHR rulings in the case of businessman Osman Kavala, who has been in prison since 2017 in disregard of a 2019 ruling from the court that called for his immediate release. 

“There was no plausible reason to suspect that the applicant had commited any criminal offence” the court ruled on July 11, adding that the measures were based “on facts that cannot be reasonably considered as behaviour criminalized under domestic law.”

The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe initiated infringement process against Türkiye on February 2, 2022 and requested a decision from the ECtHR within the scope of the procedure. The ECtHR ruled that Turkey violated Article 46/1 of the ECHR on the grounds that “it did not fulfill its obligations regarding the ECHR decisions”.

Gökçer Tahincioğlu from T24 wrote that the decision is historical. “The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, which is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the ECHR decisions, will begin to impose sanctions on Turkey in accordance with this decision. The sanctions may extend to Turkey’s expulsion from membership. For the first time among the member states of the Council of Europe, this process will be implemented for Turkey as it persisted in not implementing the decision for release.“

Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Tanju Bilgiç made a statement regarding the decision: “Unfortunately, the ECHR, with its decision on the subject announced today, has disappointed our expectations and once again led to the questioning of the reputation of the European human rights system. We expect it to act with common sense and without allowing some circles to seek to create a political agenda.”

2- President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke on the phone on July 11. 

Erdoğan “emphasized that he attaches importance to the extension of the cross-border mechanism in Syria” during the meeting, a statement from the presidential office read. 

It is also stated that Erdoğan expressed his wish “that it is time to act on the United Nations plan to establish safe corridors for grain exports in the Black Sea.”

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also held a phone conversation with Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan. The parties expressed the importance of the continuation of the normalization process between two countries.

3- Fethullah Gülen, the convicted leader of the outlawed Fethullah Gülen Organization, is hospitalized in the USA, the social media account associated with the movement alleged. 

US-based cleric Gülen, who is convicted for masterminding the July 15 2016 coup attempt, is hospitalized, a Twitter account that is associated with the movement posted on July 11. 

They stated that he was in good health but doctors recommended for him to stay in the hospital. It was not stated which hospital. 

Following the July 15 coup attempt, Gülen was tried in absentia and sentenced to an aggravated life sentence as the planner of the coup. Following the sentence, Turkey has been requesting the extradition of Gülen from the United States.

4- After the Ministry of Health announced that the reminder dose for the COVID 19 vaccines  are now available, citizens formed a queue in many hospitals. Some hospitals declared that they do not have any vaccines.