President Gul receives former ECHR judge Turmen

President Abdullah Gul yesterday received Riza Turmen, former Turkish judge on the European Court of Human Rights, at a luncheon. Afterwards, Turmen said that he had been invited by the president and added, "We have an old friendship. We've known each other since the president was taking part in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). We shared our memories." He added, "The president follows developments at the ECHR very closely and also places great importance on Turkey's European Union accession." Stating that he had the chance to share his experience on this issue, Turmen said that they also discussed globalization's influence on the law and how to bring European standards to Turkey. DATE.15-07-08