Today marks 6 years since the illegal detainment and expulsion of 7 Turkish teachers. They were expelled from the Republic of Moldova in September 2018 and subsequently convicted in Turkey, receiving sentences ranging from 7 to 12 years in prison. Some of these teachers are currently under appeal in Turkish courts and others have already been released from detention. However, they remain on Turkish territory and are unable to leave the country and reunite with their families, who reside inclusively in the Republic of Moldova.

Following Moldova’s conviction before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe has issued a number of important decisions on the execution of the judgment in the case of Ozdil and others v. Republic of Moldova. So far, the Committee has adopted seven decisions asking the Moldovan authorities to take individual and general measures to remedy the harm caused to teachers and to prevent such violations in the future.

At the last meeting of the Committee of Ministers on June 11-13, 2024, the Committee of Ministers noted with interest the decisions to grant asylum seeker status to the applicants Riza Dogan, Mehmet Tüfekci and Mujdat Celebi. It also invited the authorities to continue their efforts to obtain information from the Turkish authorities on the applicants’ current situation in Turkey and urged the Moldovan authorities to take the necessary diplomatic steps to facilitate their return to the Republic of Moldova, should they so wish. Despite the statements and promises made by several political figures, including those currently in government, no action has been taken to improve the situation of the detained Turkish teachers. During the visits of Moldovan officials to Turkey, their situation has not been discussed and the Ministry of Justice has initiated procedures for the application of the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons only in 2023, after the release of some teachers from detention.

In terms of general measures, the Committee emphasized the importance of prompt and appropriate action to investigate and elucidate the involvement of any high-level actors in the expulsion of the Turkish teachers. It also invited the authorities to reconsider, in line with the provisions of the ECHR, the application for injured party status for Galina Tüfekci, the wife of one of the teachers, and to provide reasons for the non-disclosure of certain documents from the file. The Committee requested updated information on the outcome of the criminal proceedings against the former head of the Security and Intelligence Service (SIS) and called for intensified efforts for prompt and thorough investigations. In this regard, the Turkish authorities were encouraged to assist the investigation if necessary.

The Committee also invited the authorities to provide a comparative analysis of the new system of supervision of the SIS activities against the previous one and to provide information on its functioning in practice, including on the activities of the monitoring bodies. At the same time, a clear message from the Moldovan authorities at the highest political level was requested, reflecting zero tolerance for arbitrary detention and extra-legal transfers. Updated information on all these issues is due by January 15, 2025.

The criminal case on the expulsion of Turkish teachers continues in Moldova

On February 16, 2023, the Chișinău Court of Appeals admitted the complaint filed by Galina Tüfekci, the wife of one of the Turkish teachers, annulling a 2020 order withdrawing her status as a plaintiff, and asked the Chișinău Prosecutor’s Office to remedy violations of her rights in a specific criminal case. She appealed the decision to the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ) and the case is currently pending before the SCJ.

In the meantime, it was found that the Prosecutor’s Office did not carry out any substantial investigation in other criminal cases related to the “Turkish teachers’ file”. The handling of the criminal cases since 2018, including the abusive withdrawal of the injured party status of the wife of one of the teachers, the unjustified secrecy of the case file and the exclusion from prosecution of other persons involved, have seriously undermined the act of justice.

What should be done next?

In the light of the above, LRCM and Promo-LEX reiterate their requests to the Government of the Republic of Moldova to implement the general and individual measures as follows:

• The Prosecutor’s Office should promptly and effectively investigate the role of all persons involved in the expulsion of Turkish teachers.
• As regards the investigation and criminal proceedings against those responsible, the authorities should make serious efforts to establish the truth about what happened and fully investigate, under appropriate public scrutiny, the possible involvement of any high-level public actors.
• The authorities should effectively implement the approved legal amendments to execute the Constitutional Court judgment of November 13, 2020.
• The authorities should obtain detailed information from the Turkish authorities on the current situation of the plaintiffs in Turkey and on the possibility of applying the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons (STE No. 112).
• The authorities should provide a comparative analysis of the new system of supervision of the SIS activities against the previous one and provide information on its functioning in practice.
• SIS should ensure that zero tolerance will be applied in future to arbitrary detentions and unlawful renditions and that any international cooperation, including with foreign intelligence services, respects general human rights obligations in accordance with the ECHR.
• The authorities should send a clear message from the highest political level reflecting zero tolerance of arbitrary detention and extra-legal transfers.