Strasbourg, France — In a powerful demonstration calling attention to ongoing human rights violations in Turkey, approximately 5,000 protesters gathered in front of the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) during the fourth annual “Justice Gathering for Turkey.” Organized by the international human rights platform Peaceful Actions, the demonstration called on European institutions to take concrete steps to ensure the implementation of ECHR rulings by Turkish authorities.
Wearing yellow shirts and holding balloons and banners calling for freedom and justice, demonstrators marched through the city chanting slogans such as “Justice for All.” The protest drew participants from across Europe, including civil society representatives and activists who traveled from five countries by bicycle as part of the “Pedal for Rights” initiative.
The crowd featured symbolic appearances by pop culture characters like Pikachu, Superman, and Batman, which have become iconic in Turkish protests demanding judicial reform. The gathering highlighted ongoing concerns over political repression in Turkey, particularly the imprisonment of high-profile opposition figures such as Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, philanthropist Osman Kavala, Kurdish leader Selahattin Demirtaş, and journalists Hidayet Karaca and Mehmet Baransu
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Protesters wore masks of these individuals and held placards demanding their immediate release. Specific mention was made of 15-year-old Sümeyra Gelir, who died earlier this year after caring for her younger siblings when their mother was imprisoned.
Human rights representatives delivered formal letters to ECHR President Mattias Guyomar, Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset, and Human Rights Commissioner Michael O’Flaherty. The letters urged these institutions to act decisively against Turkey’s continued disregard for legally binding ECHR decisions.
Six members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) joined the protest and voiced strong support. French MP Emmanuel Fernandes, Spanish MP Laura Castel, Belgian MPs Benjamin Dalle and Christophe Lacroix, French MP Sandra Regol, and German MP Vinzenz Glaser all condemned the Turkish government’s erosion of democratic norms and legal safeguards.
Speakers included journalist Erkam Tufan Aytav, writer Hilal Nesin, former NBA player and activist Enes Kanter, Paris Bar human rights lawyer Anaïs Lefort, French activist Valerie Thatcher, former Norwegian MP and author Odd Anders With, and Dag Aakre from the Norwegian Church Dialogue Center. Video messages of solidarity were also shared by international human rights advocates.
The event concluded with a unified call for the Council of Europe to uphold its founding principles by ensuring Turkey complies with ECHR rulings—especially in the cases of Yalçınkaya, Kavala, and Demirtaş—and to prevent arbitrary detentions based on politically motivated charges.
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