Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), Michael Link, underlined that the principles of rule of law, democracy and respect for human rights need to be upheld in Turkey, following the attempted coup.
“Talk by authorities of a possible reintroduction of the death penalty and the summary firing of thousands of judges are clearly crossing the line of existing legal standards," he stressed, adding that reports that thousands of judges and prosecutors across the country were detained, arrested or dismissed from their positions raised "serious concerns regarding the Turkish authorities' respect for the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary".
“Any attempt to overthrow democratically elected leaders is unacceptable and is to be condemned. In responding to these unconstitutional events, however, all actions by the Turkish authorities must not exceed the legal framework of the Turkish Constitution and Turkey's international human right commitments,” Link said.
