Cavusoglu, pace head and Turkish deputy, criticizes pre-trial detention, 10% election threshold

Mevlut Cavusoglu, the ruling party deputy who also serves as head of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), yesterday called lengthy pre-trial detentions a serious obstacle to Turkey's democratization process, echoing a recent Council of Europe report. "Turkey needs serious judicial reform," said Cavusoglu, a Justice and Development Party (AK Party) deputy, in an interview. "The length of pre-trial detentions should not be as long as they are. Ten years is a very long time for this, and in that respect, as the legislative power, it is our responsibility to change it." Cavusoglu said the Council of Europe has urged Turkey to shorten such detentions. "Since the length of pre-trial detentions is so long in Turkey, it erodes people's trust in the judicial system," he added. On Turkey's 10 percent election threshold for getting seats in Parliament, Cavusoglu said, "Turkey has the highest threshold in Europe, but it's Turkey's decision whether to change it or not. The Council of Europe can't force Turkey to change it, and some years ago the European Court of Human Rights said the threshold doesn't constitute a violation of rights under European norms. But in my personal opinion, it is a high percentage." A recent Progress Report by the CoE Monitoring Committee criticized pre-trial detention lengths and other problems in Turkey's judicial system, as well as the 10 percent election threshold.