Doc. 9342

31 January 2002

Humanitarian crisis in Turkey

Written question no. 406 to the Committee of Ministers

by Mr Marc Hordies

Mr Hordies,

Considering that some members of the Belgian Parliament have recently visited Turkey to study the situation of the prisoners who are on hunger strike, who live under an isolation regime condemned by the Council of Europe;

Noting that it appears from this visit that the hunger strikers have considerably reduced their conditions for bringing their strike to an end and are willing to accept a compromise put forward by the chairpersons of Turkey’s four principal Bars. Under the “three keys, three doors” compromise formula, prisoners from three cells (nine persons) would be able to communicate with each other for eight hours a day. This proposal has been well received by the Turkish press, but refused by the Minister of Justice;

To ask the Committee of Ministers

Whether it could contact the Turkish authorities and ask them to accept the compromise put forward by the Bar chairpersons, thus enabling the current humanitarian crisis to be brought to an end.

Signed¹

Hordies, Belgium, NR

¹ NR: Not a member of any political group of the Assembly