This article by BIA News Desk, an independent press agency based in Istanbul, provides a brief overview of the Turkish Constitutional Court’s rejection of an application relating to human rights violations in Cizre.

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On the 17th of April, 2020, the Turkish Constitutional Court found the application of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Group Deputy Chair, Meral Dan??-Be?ta?, inadmissible. The application concerned security operations carried out in the Sur and Cudi neighbourhoods of Cizre during the curfews in 2015 and 2016, when 189 people lost their lives. In particular, the applicant claims that the curfews violated the right to life, the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment, the right to liberty and security, as well as the right to private life.

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The Constitutional Court’s reasoning included the argument that the applicant was not directly affected by the acts in question and therefore could not claim the requisite status of an aggrieved party. In addition, based on Article 17(3) of the Turkish Constitution, the Court ruled that the applicant failed to file a complaint before the competent public authorities, before making an individual application to the Constitutional Court. Therefore, the case was declared inadmissible on the grounds of failure to exhaust all legal remedies.