[JURIST] Council of Europe [official website] Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland arrived [press releaserelease] in Turkey Wednesday to meet with a variety of Turkish, including President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, urging respect for the rule of law. Following the first meeting in Ankara, Jagland stated that “[t]here has been too little understanding in Europe about the challenges facing democracy and state institutions in Turkey” following the attempted coup in July. The Secretary General further emphasized that, while he understands the recent call for justice, any investigation and judicial action taken must not violate the European Convention on Human Rights [text, PDF] or the precedent of the European Court of Human Rights [official website].

Jagland’s visit comes after Erdoğan vowed last month that those involved in the coup [JURIST report] will “pay a heavy price” and the aftermath of the coup may be bloody and repressive as the state of human rights has been controversial in Turkey for years. At the end of last month, Erdoğan stated that he would approve reinstating [JURIST report] the death penalty so long as the measure had sufficient support in the Grand National Assembly. Last week Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated [JURIST report] that Turkey has blocked access for independent investigations into mass abuses against civilians. In 2015 then-Human Rights Commissioner for Germany stated [JURIST report] that Turkey must improve its human rights record before it can be admitted to the EU.