The European Court of Human Rights December 16, 2025 Judgments on Türkiye

On 16 December 2025, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) issued Committee judgments in the cases of Emre v. Türkiye, Bozyokuş and Others, Karslı and Others, and Seyhan and Others v. Türkiye, collectively covering 2,420 applications. The Court unanimously found violations of Article 7 (no punishment without law) and/or Article 6 §1 (right to a fair trial) of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Relying in its earlier rulings in Yüksel Yalçinkaya v. Türkiye (Grand Chamber) and Demirhan and Others v. Türkiye, the Court reaffirmed that the categorical and automatic treatment of ByLock use by Turkish courts—treating mere use of the encrypted messaging application as sufficient proof of terrorist organization membership—violates the Convention.

The Court emphasized that this blanket approach fails to protect against arbitrary prosecution, conviction, and punishment and undermines fair trial guarantees. These judgments confirm that the violations arise from a systemic judicial practice affecting thousands of individuals, rather than isolated errors in individual cases.

Advocates of Silenced Turkey (AST) notes with grave concern that thousands remain imprisoned under the same flawed logic. AST calls on the Turkish authorities to immediately review all convictions based solely on ByLock use, ensure prompt release of those wrongly imprisoned, and take concrete measures to prevent further systemic violations of human rights.

For further information, the full judgment and follow-up report are available here: ECtHR HUDOC PDF

Dr. Hafza Girdap

Spokesperson & Program Director

Advocates of Silenced Turkey (AST)

[email protected]