On the night of the failed
coup in Turkey, a military helicopter with eight members of the
Turkish army fled to the Greek city of Alexandroupolis and asked for
political asylum. The officers were detained and after initial
judiciary proceedings are expected to be judged for extradition to
Turkey, requested by the Turkish government, as having taken part in
the attempted coup.
Their treatment as
detainees or prisoners in Turkey, in view of recent developments and
statements from the Turkish President, Prime Minister and ministers,
is most probably going to be inhuman. There is strong evidence of
torture in the hands of the police, while the possibility of
re-instating the death penalty in Turkey can't be excluded. Given the
authoritarian stance of the current Turkish government there could
even be a real risk of reciprocity in the application of the death
penalty.
The Greek government is in
an awkward position. If it refuses to extradite them it will
certainly face a very hostile reaction from the Turkish government.
If it extradites them it would possibly be an accomplice to serious
violation of the Human Rights Convention.
Nevertheless a third way is
possible for this mess. Assuming that the 8 military still do not
want to be returned to Turkey, a procedure to refer the matter to the
European Court of Human Rights would be possible. There is clear
precedent for complicated situations as this to be judged by this
court, as in the case of the German citizen Jens Soering
(http://www.eji.org/files/Soering%20v.%20United%20Kingdom.pdf) who
was facing extradition to the USA to be tried for murders. A trial in
Virginia could result in a death sentence and thus Soering would be
exposed to the so-called 'death row phenomenon' where the long wait
for the execution of the death sentence should be deemed an inhuman
and degrading punishment. The case was referred to the European Court
of Human Rights and extradition was not allowed. Only after UK asked
again for and secured assurance from the US about the exclusion of
the death penalty, he was extradited, tried, convicted of first
degree murders and sentenced to two consecutive life terms.
Another similar case,
concerned Karamjit Singh Chahal, a Sikh legally residing in the
United Kingdom. During a visit to India in 1984 he supported the
movement for the autonomy of Punjab, he was arrested and was held in
a police station for three weeks, where he was tortured and subjected
to mock execution. On his return the British Government tried to
deport to India claiming that he was a threat to national security in
the UK. The case was referred to the ECHR, which ruled that his
deportation would expose him to ill-treatment, in breach of the
Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The case of the eight
Turkish officers is rather different, but the legal path towards the
European Court of Human Rights could offer a legitimate solution
which no government should refuse to respect.
*First published July 19, 2016 in German translation at http://www.n-tv.de/politik/politik_kommentare/So-kann-Tsipras-Streit-mit-Erdogan-vermeiden-article18228196.html
