HDP co-chair urges ECHR head to reconsider decision to receive honorary doctorate from Istanbul University

Duvar English

People's Democratic Party (HDP) co-chair Mithat Sancar has written an open letter to Robert Spano, the head of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), who is set to receive an honorary doctorate in law from Istanbul University on Sept. 4.

An open letter to ECtHR President Robert Spano

Sancar urged Spano to reconsider his decision to accept the honorary doctorate, saying that Turkey has been severely violating its obligations under the ECHR.

“In the light of these facts, I suggest that you review your decision to accept the honorary doctorate,” Sancar said in his letter.

Sancar recalled that the ECHR had previously ruled violations of rights with regards to the cases of former HDP co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş, journalists Mehmet Altan and Şahip Alpay, and civil activist Osman Kavala.

“Your Court has ruled that the 18^th article of the European Convention on Human Rights had been violated with regards to the applications of Selahattin Demirtaş and Osman Kavala and accepted that [Turkish] judiciary is under the tutelage of politics. The incidents that are the subject of these two decisions explicitly exhibit the problems of Turkey with regards to the issues of state of law and human rights,” Sancar said.

HDP MP Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu also criticized Spano's decision to receive an honorary doctorate from Istanbul University.

“ECHR President Rober Spano! You are coming to Turkey tomorrow. You are coming to a country which ranks among three when it comes to rights violations ruled by you [ECHR]. You will receive an award from a university that has expelled hundreds of academics and trampled on the constitution. Does this suit a judicial authority?” Gergerlioğlu wrote on Twitter.