As President of the IOI Europe, Ribó has requested information from the Turkish Ombudsman and has offered him his support and co-operation
The Catalan Ombudsman, Rafael Ribó, as President of the European chapter of the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI), has offered his support to the Turkish Ombudsman regarding the situation of unrest that the country is currently facing.
In Ribó's opinion, the recent suspension of the European Convention on Human Rights in Turkey as a result of the declaration of state of emergency by the Turkish Council of Ministers on 20 July is a very serious matter. Taking into account that the role of ombudsmen is to ensure that human rights are respected, the Catalan Ombudsman questions whether a failed coup d'état constitutes a "public emergency threatening the life of the nation" in terms of article 15 of the European Convention. He has given as an example the precedent established by the European Commission of Human Rights in its report on the Greek coup d'état of 1967.
Therefore, he has asked his Turkish counterpart if the measures taken by the Government, which derogate its obligations regarding the implementation of the Convention, are really being activated "to the extent strictly required by the exigencies of the situation". He has also asked about the veracity of the news that have been published and whether some of these measures, such as mass expulsion of hundreds of members of the Judiciary, may be disproportionate and restricting the right to a fair trial. Also, the limitations to privacy (art. 6), freedom of expression and information (art. 9 and 10) or freedom of movement (protocol 4) should be adopted individually and only if they are strictly justified by the exigencies of the situation.
Finally, the Catalan Ombudsman has requested information on possible violations of rights that, under the Convention, cannot be derogated under any circumstance, including the abolition of torture. As for the statements of President Erdogan, who has announced a possible reintroduction of the death penalty, Ribó highlights that this measure would be incompatible with protocols 6 and 13, included among those who cannot be derogated under any circumstance.