Turkey still pledged to human rights post-coup bid: FM

By Murat Unlu

STRASBOURG, France (AA) – Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu Wednesday stressed Turkey's continued commitment to human rights, even in the wake of the July 15 defeated coup attempt when suspects in the coup bid are being detained.

“We assure you that this process [in the wake of the foiled coup] will be transparent. The supervision of the European Court of Human Rights is still in use.

"The [European] Convention of Human Rights is a guide for Turkey even in these hard times,” he told a news conference alongside his Estonian counterpart Marina Kaljurand and Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland.

On proposals to revive the death sentence in the failed coup’s wake, Cavusoglu added, “Today, there is a more rational environment for discussing this issue.”

Jagland, for his part, said, “It is not acceptable on European territory for a country’s tanks to attack its people and for its jets to drop bombs on parliament.”

Also on Wednesday, Cavusoglu held a closed-door meeting with Johannes Hahn, the EU’s commissioner for European neighborhood policy and enlargement negotiations.