Written declaration No. 406 | Doc. 11508 | 23 January 2008

Case of Varnava and others v/Turkey (ECHR)

Signatories: Ms Antigoni PAPADOPOULOS, Cyprus ; Mr Avet ADONTS, Armenia ; Mr José Luís ARNAUT, Portugal ; Mr Ioannis BANIAS, Greece ; Ms Meritxell BATET, Spain, SOC ; Ms Marie-Louise BEMELMANS-VIDEC, Netherlands, EPP/CD ; Ms Anna BENAKI-PSAROUDA, Greece ; Mr József BERÉNYI, Slovak Republic ; Mr Boriss CILEVIČS, Latvia, SOC ; Ms Ingrida CIRCENE, Latvia, EPP/CD ; Ms Anna ČURDOVÁ, Czech Republic ; Ms Claire CURTIS-THOMAS, United Kingdom ; Mr Nikolaos DENDIAS, Greece ; Mr Tuur ELZINGA, Netherlands, UEL ; Ms Lydie ERR, Luxembourg, SOC ; Mr Jean-Charles GARDETTO, Monaco, EPP/CD ; Mr Mike HANCOCK, United Kingdom, ALDE ; Mr Davit HARUTYUNYAN, Armenia, EDG ; Mr Andres HERKEL, Estonia, EPP/CD ; Mr Raffi HOVANNISIAN, Armenia ; Mr Vahe HOVHANNISYAN, Armenia ; Mr Reijo KALLIO, Finland, SOC ; Ms Kateřina KONEČNÁ, Czech Republic ; Mr Konstantin KOSACHEV, Russian Federation, EDG ; Mr Tiny KOX, Netherlands, UEL ; Mr Jaakko LAAKSO, Finland, UEL ; Ms Sabine LEUTHEUSSER-SCHNARRENBERGER, Germany, ALDE ; Mr Terry LEYDEN, Ireland, ALDE ; Mr Humfrey MALINS, United Kingdom ; Mr Dick MARTY, Switzerland, ALDE ; Sir Alan MEALE, United Kingdom, SOC ; Mr Miloš MELČÁK, Czech Republic ; Mr João Bosco MOTA AMARAL, Portugal, EPP/CD ; Mr Edward O'HARA, United Kingdom ; Mr Hryhoriy OMELCHENKO, Ukraine ; Mr Anastassios PAPALIGOURAS, Greece ; Mr Aristotelis PAVLIDIS, Greece ; Ms Marietta de POURBAIX-LUNDIN, Sweden, EPP/CD ; Mr Christos POURGOURIDES, Cyprus, EPP/CD ; Mr John PRESCOTT, United Kingdom, SOC ; Lord David RUSSELL-JOHNSTON, United Kingdom ; Mr Kimmo SASI, Finland, EPP/CD ; Mr Steingrímur J. SIGFÚSSON, Iceland ; Mr Egidijus VAREIKIS, Lithuania, EPP/CD ; Mr Rudi VIS, United Kingdom ; Mr Konstantinos VRETTOS, Greece, SOC ; Mr Klaas de VRIES, Netherlands, SOC ; Mr Paul WILLE, Belgium ; Ms Karin S. WOLDSETH, Norway ; Ms Rodoula ZISSI, Greece

This written declaration commits only those who have signed it.

On 10 January 2007, the European Court of Human Rights, in its judgment in the above-mentioned case, found Turkey guilty of violating the rights of nine Greek-Cypriot missing persons and their relatives and held Turkey responsible for violation of Articles 2, 3 and 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights:

• Article 2: failing to investigate effectively the whereabouts and fate of the nine applicants;
• Article 3: subjecting relatives of the missing persons to inhuman and degrading treatment by not informing them about the fate of their loved ones;
• Article 5: depriving the missing persons of their liberty and security at the time of disappearance.

The European Court of Human Rights’ judgment stresses Turkey’s obligations under international treaties to respect the wounded, prisoners of war and civilians, and rebuffs the Turkish position that the persons who disappeared during the 1974 Turkish invasion should be presumed dead.

The Council of Europe once again firmly calls upon Turkey to:

• fulfill its obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights and implement this recent judgment;
• carry out an effective investigation into the fate of all the missing persons;
• provide concrete information on all cases of Greek-Cypriot prisoners of war;
• allow access to Turkish army and prison records.