29.08.2026 20:20
Yildirim Tugrul Turkes, head of the Turkish delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and AK Party Ankara deputy, responded to presidential adviser Mehmet Ucum's remarks that Turkey was forced to review its status as a party to the European Convention on Human Rights and the possibility of individual application to the European Court of Human Rights after the ECHR ruling on Osman Kavala. Turkes, drawing attention to the importance of Turkey's relations with Europe, said the debates were 'recklessly inflamed'.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) announced its decision on the second application of detained businessman Osman Kavala, who was not released despite a "immediate release" ruling. The Court convicted Türkiye on six different counts and ordered the payment of 70,000 euros in non-pecuniary damages to Kavala.
PRESIDENTIAL CHIEF ADVISER UCUM SAID "TÜRKİYE MAY REVIEW THE ECHR AND THE ECHR" AND RECEIVED A RESPONSE FROM AK PARTY'S TÜRKEŞ Presidential Chief Adviser and Deputy Chair of the Presidential Legal Policies Board Mehmet Uçum criticized the ECHR in a statement following the decision. Uçum argued that the ECHR issues rulings of a political project nature, stating that Türkiye is forced to review its status as a party to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the possibility of individual application to the ECHR.
A response to Uçum's statements came from Yıldırım Tuğrul Türkeş, Head of the Turkish Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and AK Party Ankara Deputy.
Mehmet Uçum "DISCUSSIONS ON TÜRKİYE WITHDRAWING FROM THE ECHR ARE BEING UNCONSCIOUSLY FUELED" In a statement on his social media account, Türkeş referred to Uçum's remarks, noting that discussions about Türkiye possibly withdrawing from the ECHR are being "to put it mildly, unconsciously fueled."
Türkeş's full statement is as follows: "Following the decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) announced recently (Osman Kavala No. 2), it has become necessary to say a few words about the discussions, fueled at the very least unconsciously, that 'The State of the Republic of Türkiye could withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) if necessary.'
Our country has been a respected member of the Council of Europe, among its founders, for over 70 years. Likewise, it has been a party to the ECHR for just as long. It has accepted the right of individual application before the ECHR, established to monitor compliance with the ECHR, since 1987, and has internalized its compulsory jurisdiction since 1990.
Today, however, we observe that this serious accumulation and the mechanism of integration with Europe are being squandered by certain delusions.
"IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO REGARD FACTORS SUCH AS THE EU, THE ECHR AND THE ECHR AS IF THEY 'DID NOT EXIST' OR WERE 'INSIGNIFICANT'" Undoubtedly, Türkiye's relations with Europe did not begin with the European Union (EU) and cannot be limited to this institutional framework. However, politics is framed by specific objective conditions at a given time. In such circumstances, it is not possible to regard factors such as the EU, the ECHR, and the ECtHR as if they 'did not exist' or were 'insignificant.'
The State of the Republic of Türkiye must always pursue a multi-dimensional policy due to its geographical location, cultural history, and superior geopolitical interests. And the heading of 'positive relations with Europe' is precisely an indispensable center of gravity of this 'multi-dimensionality' principle and practice.
In modern times, EU-Türkiye relations have passed many severe tests; however, thanks to the efforts and labor of the veteran diplomats of our deep-rooted Foreign Ministry, they have always been carried 'further forward.'
The desire of some to waste these efforts - moreover, by completely denying the definite long-term/structural legal, economic, and political destabilization momentum it would cause - is a complete mental blackout.
Tuğrul Türkeş "I DO NOT THINK THEY ARE AWARE OF WHAT KIND OF EVIL THEY ARE DOING TO THE STATE AND THE NATION" Law and justice that work equally for everyone are the prerequisites for development, welfare, and civilization. Today, the misery of countries that erode or have eroded law and justice, and their irreversible loss of reputation on the world stage, is known to everyone. I do not think those who want to drag Türkiye down to these levels are aware of what kind of evil they are doing to the state and the nation.
Solving the gangrenous cases, large and small, like Osman Kavala, through 'national law' was quite possible and is even still possible. There was and is absolutely no need for the intervention of certain external authorities for this. With the equal, fair, and transparent application of the current Constitution and laws to everyone, none of these problems might have occurred. Indeed, my initiatives on this matter about two years ago were for exactly these reasons.
Giving legal decisions the opportunity to be 'implemented' - without dragging them into politics and harmful ideological fantasy grounds - will be considered a gain of national law itself, not European law.
"UNIVERSAL PRINCIPLES OF LAW AND JUSTICE ARE NEEDED BY EVERYONE, BY ALL OF US, FOR TODAY AND TOMORROW" Not just specifically for 'Kavala,' but the wish and interest of all citizens of the State of the Republic of Türkiye lies here. The Kavala figure is merely the most 'visible' face of the issue.
While even a simple dialogue with artificial intelligence is sufficient to understand how 'utter nonsense' the scenario of our country giving up its party status to the ECHR would be, the fact that those with high-level responsibilities dare to voice this openly can only be explained by Kafkaesque absurdity. Universal principles of law and justice are needed by everyone, by all of us, for today and tomorrow."