Altamira Guelbenzu: It is difficult to talk about the peace process whilst isolation continues 2026-05-16 09:05:24   Melek Avcı   ANKARA - Speaking on the ‘right to hope’, IACTA member and lawyer Altamira Guelbenzu said, “Öcalan represents a large section of the Kurdish population. If Öcalan is not released and there is no proper plan for the release of all political prisoners, this process will fail.”   The deadline set by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CMCE) for Turkey regarding the so-called ‘right to hope’ – referring to aggravated life sentences – expires in June. Whilst Turkey has been verbally condemned for failing to implement the European Court of Human Rights’ (ECHR) long-standing rulings, no practical sanctions have been imposed.   The Committee of Ministers has requested that Turkey provide information by the end of June 2026 at the latest regarding concrete steps and legislative measures to implement ECHR rulings. The process is not limited to individual applications; it is being addressed as a structural human rights issue concerning the entire regime of aggravated life imprisonment in Turkey.   What does the ‘Gurban group’ case cover?   The case being monitored by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe is referred to as the ‘Gurban group’. Within this group, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) judgments concerning Emin Gurban, Hayati Kaytan, Civan Boltan and the Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan are being assessed collectively. The common thread concerns the enforcement of an aggravated life sentence without any mechanism for conditional release or review of the sentence. In these cases, the ECHR concluded that Turkey’s enforcement system contravenes Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which prohibits torture and inhuman or degrading treatment. The ECHR ruled against Turkey in these cases, stating that holding a person in prison for life without any possibility of release is incompatible with human dignity.   Call for legislation covering all prisoners   According to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), states are obliged to establish an effective mechanism ensuring that the sentences of those serving life imprisonment are reviewed after a certain period. In Turkey, the possibility of conditional release is completely barred for those serving aggravated life sentences for certain types of offences. This effectively transforms imprisonment into a form of “life imprisonment until death”. The ECtHR’s judgments also draw particular attention to this point. The Court found that there is no legal mechanism in place to ensure that the sentences of those serving aggravated life sentences are reviewed independently and effectively after a certain period. The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, meanwhile, is calling on Turkey to introduce general legal provisions covering not only individual applicants but all prisoners in similar circumstances. Consequently, the issue is regarded as a structural problem affecting the entire regime of aggravated life imprisonment in Turkey.   The Committee is calling for concrete progress from Turkey   Turkey submitted an action plan on this matter to the Council of Europe on 27 June 2025. However, the plan largely retained the approach that aggravated life sentences are ‘exceptional’ and that such prisoners should not be eligible for conditional release, and no changes were made to the relevant mechanisms. Consequently, in an interim decision adopted in September 2025, the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers deemed the action plan submitted by Turkey to be insufficient. The Committee reiterated its call for the necessary legal and structural reforms to be implemented without delay and requested information on concrete progress from Turkey by the end of June 2026. Should Turkey fail to introduce new legislation by June or to present a concrete roadmap satisfactory to the Council of Europe, the Committee of Ministers’ monitoring process could be tightened. When considered alongside the Peace and Democratic Society Process in Turkey, this is one of the most significant international cases that could lead to the reopening of reform agendas in the areas of criminal law, the penal system and human rights in Turkey.   Altamira Guelbenzu, a lawyer and member of IACTA, a Barcelona-based feminist lawyers’ organisation, offered her assessment of the matter.   ‘No pressure is being exerted to find a solution’   Altamira Guelbenzu, who stated that although European institutions have been calling on Turkey to reform its regime of aggravated life imprisonment for nearly 10 years, sufficient pressure mechanisms have not been put in place, said: “Unfortunately, we believe there is no genuine interest; this stems from a lack of political stance; European countries are trying to manage these demands; on the one hand, democratic parties and associations are not exerting pressure for a solution either. European governments are acting as if they are genuinely concerned about this issue and show some interest, but not to a great extent, in order not to provoke Turkey. On the other hand, Europe is also seeking a way to avoid facing similar penalties. For example, he cited “regimes such as Italy’s 41bis and Spain’s FIES.”     ‘Europe could have taken effective measures, but the situation is strategic’   Altamira Guelbenzu noted that the mechanisms at the disposal of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers have proved insufficient in practice, particularly given that the deadline for the right to a fair trial expires in June: ‘Taking into account the current political situation and having worked on this issue for over a decade, we have witnessed how various recommendations and channels of pressure have failed to translate into effective measures. And yet, Europe could have taken effective measures; however, none were implemented effectively. The double standards in its approach to Turkey are entirely driven by economic and strategic interests. Yet Europe does not seem interested in applying pressure on Turkey as it ought to.”    Isolation conditions affecting Kurds   Altamira Guelbenzu, noting that the ‘right to hope’ regulation—which will affect Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan and other political prisoners—is being applied specifically against Kurds, stated: ‘We truly believe that the right to hope should apply to every prisoner. We fully agree that this right is being used specifically against the Kurdish people and Kurdish political prisoners, and that the isolation regime, life sentences and the conditions of isolation in H-type prisons are applied overwhelmingly against Kurds. That is to say, whilst European countries are obliged to implement the recommendations of the ECHR, this really depends on the pressure they exert on other countries to implement these decisions."   The peace process is being boycotted   Regarding whether the Committee of Ministers will implement harsher mechanisms, such as an infringement procedure against Turkey, following the monitoring process, Altamira Guelbenzu stated: “Following this monitoring process, even if the Committee of Ministers is obliged to apply infringement procedures, we truly hope it will apply them with determination. “Although Mr Öcalan is at the table, the fact that his participation in the process is limited and his isolation continues makes it difficult not to view this, at least in part, as a means of boycotting the peace process. Öcalan represents a significant portion of the Kurdish population. If Öcalan is not released and there is no suitable plan for the release of all political prisoners, this process will fail."