Turkey’s Emergency Commission Accepts 1,300 Applications of Dismissed Workers

A commission set up by the Turkish government during the state of emergency to review cases of dismissed public workers accepted applications of 1,300 people or institutions.

The commission has received 108,905 applications so far and reached a conclusion over 21,500 cases. Facing a barrage of international criticism, the Turkish government moved to form a seven-member commission called OHAL Commission in January 2017.

But it took another year for the commission to start to function.

After a quick review of the cases, the commission decided to restore 1,289 sacked worker back to their positions, while it ruled for the re-opening of 9 associations, one local TV station and a private dormitory.

The commission outright rejected 18,200 applications. The slowness and arbitrary decision-making of the body have aggravated public frustration.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) rejected applications from Turkey, citing the exhaustion of domestic legal channels and forwarded applications to submit their cases to the government’s OHAL commission.

More than 150,000 public workers have been sacked during the state of emergency.