European Court of Human Rights issues rulings on Greece and Turkey

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has issued rulings addressing human rights concerns in Greece and Turkey.

In J. B. v. Greece, the Court examined the potential removal of a Syrian national to Turkey under the EU-Turkey Statement. While the Court did not find a violation regarding the substantive removal claim, it ruled that Greece violated Article 3 concerning the conditions of the individual's detention at a Mytilene police station. The judgment also addressed the legal standard for diplomatic assurances, suggesting that in structured cooperation frameworks between states, general assurances may suffice if they are proven effective in practice, rather than requiring mechanical specificity.

In a separate ruling, the ECtHR found that Turkey violated the rights of eight individuals by holding them in pretrial detention for excessive periods without sufficient justification. The court noted that some individuals were held for over six years in cases involving alleged links to the Gülen movement. The judgment cited violations of Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights, noting that Turkish courts failed to provide adequate reasoning for detention extensions and failed to consider alternative measures to custody.