Legal Journals

Uphold Human Rights in Anti-Terrorism Operations

By rpark

The European Court of Human Rights, in Mansuroglu v. Turkey, recently ruled that Turkey had violated Articles 2 and 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights during a 1996 anti-terrorism operation conducted against the Workers Party of Kurdistan (PKK). The incident, during which the applicants’ son was killed and the applicant was “inhumanely treated,” violated the Convention’s right to life and prohibition against inhumane treatment. While the Court accepted that Turkey had a general right to conduct the operation, it was not convinced that the operation had been planned so as to minimize the risk to human life. The Court emphasized the lack of an effective investigation, noting that the Turkish government neglected to examine the weapon that was used in the shooting and did not interview the police officers involved in the incident.

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Full post as published by Harvard International Law Journal Digest on February 29, 2008 (boomark / email).