European court rejects 2015 violence cases in SE Turkey

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Thursday rejected two cases in which the applicants claimed facing freedom and security rights violations in south-eastern Turkey in late 2015.

The ECHR statement read that more than a hundred people filed petitions regarding the security operations in 2015-2016 and the organization first focused on these two cases.

The first applicant, identified with the initials O.E., claimed that the curfew declared in Cizre city of Sirnak province violated his rights of living and freedom of movement.

Another case alleged that an individual, identified with the initials O.T., was wounded during the violence in Cizre, not provided any medical care and was eventually killed in the basement of a house.

The ECHR invited Turkish government officials for a presentation regarding the cases.

On July 13, 2017, the Turkish Ministry of Justice provided the ECHR with relevant information in the case.

The ECHR decided to hold a hearing on Nov. 13, 2017, in Strasbourg, France to conclude that the written evidence was insufficient.

The court rejected both cases as inadmissible on Thursday.

The decision by the court ruled that the ECHR was a secondary organization and the applicants should first get in touch with Turkish judicial authorities and wait for ongoing investigations to be completed.

The court's decision is of great importance given that it sets a precedent for 135 possible future cases.