Germany urges Turkey to implement ECtHR judgements

Germany's Foreign Ministry has asked Turkey to "immediately and fully" implement the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) decisions as Turkey rolled out its ‘Human Rights Action Plan’.

Germany's Foreign Ministry told Deutsche Welle Turkish service that Turkey’s Human Rights Action Plan should first of all comply with the international standards.

Human rights defender Osman Kavala and former HDP co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş should "immediately" be released, the Foreign Ministry said.

ÖZDEMİR: THE ACTION PLAN IS EYE-WASHING

Green Party Federal MP Cem Özdemir described the action plan announced by Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan as "eye-washing".

“Erdogan can influence the German Foreign Minister and the naive people in the Federal Government with the tales he tells. However, after the elections to be held on September 26 the new German government will look to the concrete steps," Özdemir said. The Greens MP also demanded the implementation of the ECtHR rulings.

DEMİREL: FIVE STEPS TO BE TAKEN

Özlem Alev Demirel, member of the European Parliament from the German Left Party, stated that the action plan was an "effort to mislead the international community".

Demirel told DW Turkish service that the Turkish government seeks to lift political immunities of 9 MPs of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) despite the announcement of the Human Rights Action Plan. "Isn’t it misleading?" she asked.

For a real change and progress in Turkey, Demirel cited the most urgent five steps: "The release of political prisoners, reinstatement of the dismissed peace academics, freedom for opposition parties and press, granting the right to organize and assembly and democratization of the judicial system."