John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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120. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the action Ireland has taken to express its objections to the ongoing isolation torture and the periodic denial of access to legal representation in the case of a person (details supplied); the action Ireland plans to take in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4620/21]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I have made known for some time my concerns about the overall human rights situation in Turkey. It is an issue which I raised with Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu when I met him for consultations on 27 January.

The Council of Europe Committee for the Prevention of Torture, in a report it issued in 2019, stated that the restrictions imposed on Abdullah Ocalan and a number of other inmates in the prison on the island of Imrali, including lengthy periods in solitary confinement, were not acceptable.

This forms part of a wider pattern of negative behaviour by Turkey in respect to democracy, rule of law and respect for human rights since the 2016 attempted coup. Ireland raised its concerns about rule of law, due process and the treatment of civil society in Turkey during its Universal Periodic Review last year. At the Human Rights Council in June, we also stressed our profound concern about the detention of human rights defenders in Turkey in our Item 4 Statement.

The EU has continually highlighted these issues through public Statements, Council Conclusions, and the Commission’s Annual Reports, and raised them bilaterally with Turkey. The lack of progress in these areas has meant that accession negotiations are unfortunately at a standstill.

As a candidate country and long-standing member of the Council of Europe, the Turkish authorities should follow-up on the recommendations by the Council of Europe and on the rulings by the European Court of Human Rights. Turkey urgently needs to demonstrate concrete progress on the rule of law and fundamental freedoms, which are cornerstones of EU-Turkey relations. Engagement with and by the EU is vital for the sake of human rights and rule of law in the country.

Ireland, together with our European counterparts, will continue to monitor all aspects of the EU-Turkey relationship, with a particular focus on the fundamentals (respect for human rights, rule of law, and democracy), and continue to voice our concerns bilaterally and multilaterally wherever it is appropriate.