Turkey under ‘monitoring’ again

The Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has called for monitoring of Turkey to be reinstated in the political and legal spheres as was the case before 2004, citing the failure for democratic institutions to operate in line with European standards under state of emergency conditions.

In the text of the decision that was passed by majority vote in Paris, a call was made for the immediate release of imprisoned journalists and parliamentarians, the ending of the state of emergency and a halt to mass expulsions under decrees with the force of law. The decision is expected to be approved at the plenary session in April.