Joint Rule 9.2 Submission on the implementation of the judgments under the Ülke Group of cases

17 April 2023

The Conscientious Objection Watch, War Resisters’ International, The European Bureau for Conscientious Objection, Connection e.V and International Fellowship of Reconciliation jointly submit a Rule 9.2 Submission on the implementation of the judgments under the Ülke Group of cases.

The Ülke group of cases pertain to violations of Article 3, the prohibition of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment; Article 9, the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion and Article 6 the right to fair trial enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights, stemming from the applicants’ repetitive convictions and prosecutions for having refused, on account of their religious beliefs or convictions as pacifists and conscientious objectors, to carry out compulsory military service. There are a total of seven cases in the Ülke group under the enhanced supervision of the Committee of Ministers (CM). The judgment on the first case, Ülke v. Turkey, became final on 24 April 2006.