List Details Violations Across Several Locations in Türkiye

Columnist Mustafa Mutlu has questioned whether President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's chief adviser Mehmet Uçum calculated the cost of withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) after Uçum said Turkey could leave the convention if necessary. Uçum's remarks came two days after the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) found Turkey guilty once again and demanded the immediate release of jailed philanthropist Osman Kavala. In his column published on Diken, Mutlu listed ten potential consequences of a withdrawal from the ECHR.

He said Turkey would be expelled from the Council of Europe and would no longer be considered a European country, adding that the country would be excluded from all European organizations, including sports tournaments. Mutlu also argued that Turkey's EU full membership candidacy would completely end, the country's credit rating would be downgraded to "non-investment" level, and the cost of borrowing from abroad for the state and domestic companies would rise exorbitantly. He further stated that the customs union partnership and trade agreements with the EU would end, exports would come to a standstill, and the Turkish lira would suffer its biggest depreciation in history.

Mutlu added that legal arrangements not recognized in EU law, including the death penalty, would be paved the way, the EU would stop financially supporting all projects in Turkey, and the country would be declared unsafe, causing tourist numbers to plummet. In any case, he receives his salary on time and continues to pontificate, Mutlu wrote, referring to Uçum.