MINISTERS’ DEPUTIES

Decisions

CM/Del/Dec(2021)1419/H46-22

2 December 2021

1419th meeting, 30 November – 2 December 2021 (DH)

 

H46-22 Ozdil and Others v. Republic of Moldova (Application No. 42305/18)

Supervision of the execution of the European Court’s judgments

 

Reference document

CM/Notes/1419/H46-22

 

Decisions

The Deputies

1.         recalled that this case concerns the applicants’ unlawful, unnecessary and arbitrary deprivation of liberty and lack of respect for their private and family life (violations of Articles 5 § 1 and 8 of the Convention) on account of their extra-legal transfer from the Republic of Moldova to Turkey in September 2018, circumventing all guarantees offered to them by domestic and international law;

As regards the individual measures

2.         strongly encouraged the authorities to ensure that the domestic proceedings related to the applicants’ asylum applications fully comply with the requirements of the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Court’s case-law, including the requirement of proportionality with the legitimate aim pursued and for respect for family life, as well as the Republic of Moldova’s other international human rights obligations;

3.         invited the authorities to provide information on the first instance courts’ reasoning when dismissing Riza Doğan’s and Mehmed Feridun Tüfekçi’s appeals against the decision of the Bureau for Migration and Asylum to reject their asylum applications and on the outcome of the appeal proceedings in all cases; invited further the authorities to provide information on whether the applicants were notified of the summary reasons for which they were declared undesirable persons and removed from the country, in line with the provisional rules set out by the Constitutional Court in its judgment of 13 November 2020;   

4.         reiterated that the authorities should continue their efforts to obtain detailed information from the Turkish authorities on the current situation of the applicants in Turkey, including on the outcome of the appeal proceedings in their criminal cases, the family visits to the applicants and the possible application of the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons (ETS No. 112);

As regards the investigation and criminal proceedings against those responsible for the violations

5.         reiterated its previous call to the authorities to fully investigate, with adequate public scrutiny, the possible involvement of any higher-level actors;

6.         reiterated further its request to the authorities to provide information which will allow the Committee to form a view on the adequacy of the fine applied to the former head of the Security and Intelligence Service as a sanction, as well as on the outcome of the appeal proceedings;

7.         encouraged the authorities to ensure that the applicants and their representatives have access to the information of relevance for their case and necessary for the protection of their interest and exercise of their rights in the criminal proceedings;

As regards the other general measures

8.         welcomed the request by the Parliamentary Committee on National Security, Defence and Public Order to declassify the materials related to the expulsion of the applicants and invited the authorities to keep the Committee informed on its outcome;

9.         repeatedly regretted the authorities’ lack of action to initiate a reflection on the existing oversight and accountability mechanism over the secret services and urged them to undertake the necessary assessment without further delay;

10.       strongly encouraged the authorities to act upon the Committee’s previous call to send a clear message to the intelligence services from the highest political level as to the absolute unacceptability of, and zero tolerance towards, arbitrary detention and extra-legal transfers, underlining in this context the importance of ensuring that any future international co-operation, including with foreign secret services, is consistent with overarching human rights obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights;

11.       in addition, invited the authorities to provide information on the progress achieved in the adoption of amendments to the Law on the Statute of Aliens and to the Administrative Code;

12.       decided to resume consideration of this case at their 1436th meeting (June 2022) (DH).