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Turkish journalist, blogger and media expert. Writes regular columns for The Arab Weekly and contributes to Süddeutsche Zeitung, El Pais and the Guardian. An European Press Prize Laureate for 'excellence in journalism' in 2014, Baydar was awarded the prestigious 'Journalistenpreis' in Germany by Südosteuropa Foundation in February 2018.
With Turkish Justice System Demolished, The Only Hope For Defendants Remain At The European Court
Twenty three thousand.
This is the number of cases filed against the Turkish Government, pending at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg.
It is more than a quarter of complaints the court has totally received from nearly 50 countries, part of Council of Europe.
Turmoil that was slowly triggered since Gezi Park protests has now left the Turkish justice system in a wreck. The reversal of the democratic reform process that gained speed in early 2014 and the massive purge which followed the coup attempt last year had a serious toll in the judiciary, which is as of now turned into an 'extension' the political power, held tightly by President Erdoğan.
With the number of political prisoners exceeding 50,000, 'few trust Turkey’s own judiciary to give fair consideration to their cases; besides, the enormous caseload — along with the dismissal of more than 4,000 judges and prosecutors, a quarter of the total — has thrown the courts into chaos', notes Zia Weise, in this well-researched story, a must-read for all who keep an eye on Turkish 'nightmare'.
According to the ECHR’s registry, 17,630 of these were filed since the failed coup on July 15 last year. In January, when that number stood at 5,300, ECHR president Guido Raimondi warned the court could become “submerged” if Turkish cases were not processed in domestic courts. The number of cases that make their way to Strasbourg also marks a staggering increase compared to previous years — 2,212 cases were lodged against Turkey in 2015 and 1,584 in 2014.
Defence lawyers work under enormous strain, and their hopes for a functional justice is fading rapidly. Their contacts with the detained — many of them journalists and fired public employees — are recorded regularly. Since July last year, 4,000 judges and prosecutors were fired, replaced by 20-somethings whose merits are based on political loyalty.
The question is whether or not ECHR will have been left with any power for those who seek justice, after all.
