Germany must press for rule of law in Turkey following coup attempt: HRW News
Germany must press for rule of law in Turkey following coup attempt: HRW

Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] on Monday urged [official statement] Germany Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier [official website] to push Turkey to cease post-coup abuses. Steinmeier will visit the country later this week, and HRW claims he will be in a prime position to discuss potential abuses concerning the alleged illegitimate efforts to bring coup perpetrators to justice, the arrest of dissenting journalists and allegations of torture in Turkish prisons. Further, HRW urged Germany to use its prominent position at the Council of Europe, the UN Human Rights Council, and the Organization for Cooperation and Security in Europe [official websites] to bring those bodies to bear in addressing the situation in post-coup Turkey. HRW’s call comes after Steinmeier’s speech to the Bundestag [text, in German] last week, in which he condemned July’s attempted coup in Turkey while questioning whether the country’s response was consistent with the rule of law.

The aftermath of the failed coup attempt continues as Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan [BBC profile] vowed [JURIST report] that those involved in the coup would “pay a heavy price.” On Saturday, Turkey significantly halted the activities of 370 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) including human rights and children’s groups to investigate the groups’ alleged terror connections [JURIST report]. On Thursday the president of the UN Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals, Theodor Meron, demanded [JURIST report] the release of Turkish judge Aydin Sefa Akay in an address to the UN General Assembly. Early in November, the Turkish Government arrested [JURIST report] eight pro-Kurdish political party members, including the party’s two leaders Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag and an additional nine party members. In September, Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said that approximately 32,000 people have been arrested [JURIST report] and 70,000 have been questioned. In late October, Turkey’s government dismissed 10,000 additional civil servants [JURIST report] and closed 15 more media outlets for their supposed connection with US-based religious leader Fethullah Gulen, whom Turkey has accused of orchestrating the attempted coup in July. Also in October, officials detained [JURIST report] and searched the homes of 13 reporters alleging that they published stories seeking to “legitimize” those participating in the coup.

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