EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND KURDISH MPS

Early day motion 1414, tabled 11 June 2002 by John Austin (Labour). Signed by 35 members.

That this House welcomes the significant ruling of the European Court of Human Rights that Turkey has violated the right to free elections in the case of renowned Kurdish Parliamentarian Leyla Zana and 12 other former DEP (Democracy Party) MPs whose party was dissolved by the Turkish Constitutional Court on 16 June 1994; notes that in its ruling the ECHR declared that Turkey had violated the very essence of the right to stand for election and to hold parliamentary office and had infringed the unfettered discretion of the electorate which had elected the applicants; calls on the Government of Turkey to revoke the Constitutional Court Order banning the DEP; and calls for the immediate release of Leyla Zana and the other imprisoned DEP members.

Signatures by party: Labour 25, Scottish National Party 4, Liberal Democrat 3, Plaid Cymru 2, Conservative 1.