Editing Human rights in Turkey (section)

=== European Court of Human Rights judgments ===
{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; margin-left:10px; border:10px; text-align:right;"
|- style="background:#d3d3d3;"
| colspan=2 | <small>Number of judgments made by the <br/>[[European Court of Human Rights|ECtHR]] with at least one violation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Statistics of the EHCR |url=https://echr.coe.int/Pages/home.aspx?p=reports&c= |website=European Court of Human Rights |access-date=11 April 2020 |archive-date=20 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200520112818/https://echr.coe.int/Pages/home.aspx?p=reports&c= |url-status=live }}</ref><br/>The year is not representative for the <br/>human rights situation in that year, as <br/>cases may date back for many years.</small>
|-
! Year !! Decision
|-
| 2001 || 169
|-
| 2002 || 54
|-
| 2003 || 76
|-
| 2004 || 154
|-
| 2005 || 270
|-
| 2006 || 312
|-
| 2007 || 319
|-
| 2008 || 257
|-
| 2009 || 341
|-
| 2010 ||228
|-
| 2011 ||159
|-
| 2012 ||117
|-
| 2013 ||118
|-
| 2014 ||94
|-
| 2015 ||79
|-
| 2016 ||77
|-
| 2017 ||99
|-
| 2018 ||104
|-
| 2019 ||96
|}

Turkey's human rights record has long continued to attract scrutiny, both internally and externally. According to the [[Foreign Ministry (Turkey)|Foreign Ministry]], Turkey was sentenced to 33&nbsp;million euros in 567 different cases between 1990—when Turkey effectively allowed individual applications to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)—and 2006.<ref name=Duvakli>Duvakli, Melik. JİTEM's illegal actions cost Turkey a fortune, ''[[Today's Zaman]]'', 27 August 2008; reprinted by [http://www.info-turk.be/360.htm#illegal Info Turk edition 360, August 2008] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927155144/http://www.info-turk.be/360.htm#illegal |date=2011-09-27 }}.</ref> Most abuses were done in the [[Southeastern Anatolia Region|South-East]], in the frame of the [[Kurdish–Turkish conflict]].<ref name=Duvakli/>

In 2007, there were 2830 applications lodged against the Republic of Turkey before the ECtHR and consequently 331 judgments on the merits have been issued affirming 319 violations and 9 non-violations.<ref>[http://www.coe.int/T/E/Com/About_Coe/Member_states/e_tu.asp#TopOfPage Cases against Turkey before the ECtHR in 2007] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060420111307/http://www.coe.int/T/E/Com/About_Coe/Member_states/e_tu.asp#TopOfPage |date=April 20, 2006 }}</ref> In 2008, Turkey ranked second after [[Human rights in Russia|Russia]] in the list of countries with the largest number of human rights violation cases open at the European Court of Human Rights, with 9,000 cases pending as of August 2008.<ref name=Duvakli/> In 2011, the ECtHR issued 159 judgments that found violations by Turkey, the most of any country, with Russia coming second at 121 judgments.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.echr.coe.int/NR/rdonlyres/77FF4249-96E5-4D1F-BE71-42867A469225/0/2011_Rapport_Annuel_EN.pdf|title=Annual Report 2011|publisher=European Court of Human Rights|location=France|year=2012|isbn=978-92-871-9972-0|access-date=2012-10-21|archive-date=2012-11-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113051647/http://www.echr.coe.int/NR/rdonlyres/77FF4249-96E5-4D1F-BE71-42867A469225/0/2011_Rapport_Annuel_EN.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

Between 1 November 1998 and 31 December 2008 the ECtHR received 24,945 applications from Turkey. It declared 2,237 cases admissible and 13,615 inadmissible.<ref name="HO">Statistics compiled by using the [http://www.echr.coe.int/ECHR/EN/Header/Reports+and+Statistics/Reports/Annual+Reports/ official data of the ECtHR] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091201182306/http://www.echr.coe.int/ECHR/EN/Header/Reports+and+Statistics/Reports/Annual+Reports/ |date=2009-12-01 }}</ref> During the same time it reached 1,905 judgments finding at least one violation in 1,652 cases.<ref name="HO" /> While there are hardly any decision regarding Article 14 of the European Convention of Human Rights (ban of discrimination), many judgments concerning Article 2 (right to life) and Article 3 of the convention (ban of torture) were taken on procedural grounds rather than testifying an involvement of State agencies.<ref>Entry of [http://ob.nubati.net/wiki/Statistics_on_judgments_of_the_ECHR_on_Turkey Helmut Oberdiek in his private Wiki] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191122194315/http://ob.nubati.net/wiki/Statistics_on_judgments_of_the_ECHR_on_Turkey |date=2019-11-22 }} and [http://ob.nubati.net/en/echr_tur.php additional article on his website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090106123704/http://ob.nubati.net/en/echr_tur.php |date=2009-01-06 }}.</ref> According to the European Commission on Enlargement of the EU Turkey continued to make progress on the execution of ECtHR judgments. All pecuniary compensation was paid on time, totalling €5.2&nbsp;million in 2008.<ref name="EU2009"/>

The ECtHR has heard nine cases against Turkey concerning political party bans by the [[Constitutional Court of Turkey]].<ref name=HRWB>[http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/07/31/turkey19521.htm Turkey: Party Case Shows Need for Reform – Ruling Party Narrowly Escapes Court Ban] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081111144912/http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/07/31/turkey19521.htm |date=2008-11-11 }}, ''[[Human Rights Watch]]'', 31 July 2008</ref> In all but one case (which concerned the Islamist [[Welfare Party]]), the European Court has ruled against the decision to ban, finding Turkey in violation of articles 10 and 11 of the European Convention (freedom of expression and freedom of association).<ref name=HRWB/> The ECtHR's decision concerning the Welfare Party has been criticized for lack of consistency with its other decisions, in particular by [[Human Rights Watch]].<ref name=HRWB/>

One ECtHR judgment sentenced Turkey to a 103,000 euros fine for its decisions about the [[Yüksekova Gang]] (aka "the gang with uniforms"), related to the [[JİTEM]] clandestine gendarmerie intelligence unit.<ref name=Duvakli/> The EHCR also sentenced in 2006 Turkey to a 28,500 Euros fine for the JİTEM murder of 72-year-old [[Kurds in Turkey|Kurdish]] writer [[Musa Anter]], in 1992 in Diyarbakir.<ref name=Duvakli/> Other cases include the 2000 [[Akkoç v. Turkey]] judgment, concerning the assassination of a trade-unionist; or the [[Loizidou v. Turkey]] case in 1996, which set a precedent in the [[Cyprus dispute]], as the ECtHR ordered Turkey to give financial compensation to a person expelled from the Turkish-controlled side of Cyprus.

The ECtHR also awarded in 2005 Kurdish deputy [[Leyla Zana]] €9000 from the Turkish government, ruling Turkey had violated her rights of free expression. Zana, who had been recognized as [[prisoner of conscience]] by [[Amnesty International]] and had been awarded the [[Sakharov Prize]] by the [[European Parliament]], had been jailed in 1994, allegedly for being a member of the outlawed PKK, but officiously for having spoken Kurdish in public during her parliamentary oath.