I, the representative of Osman Murat ÜLKE, the applicant in the above proceedings before the Committee of Ministers, would like to inform the Committee about recent developments. (...) Consequently, the lifting of the arrest warrant against ÜLKE is unfortunately not sufficient to solve his problem. My client, ÜLKE, believes that the ECtHR verdict can only be considered as settled if the Turkish authorities acknowledge his legalization in a written and publicly conveyable manner.

(...) 12. In this respect, given that no arrest warrant is in force, the Government would like to draw the Committee's attention to the fact that the applicant could fully exercise all of his civic rights without any hindrance. For instance, there is no obstacle for the applicant to get a passport and move freely.

War Resisters’ International is concerned about the recent sentencing of Juma Nazarov, a Jehovah’s Witness, for his conscientious objection to military service. Juma Nazarov, 19, was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment on 23 July for refusing military service on grounds of religious faith.

Turkey’s first conscientious objector to mandatory military service passed away at the age of 54 due to a heart attack on Monday night. A doctor by training, Tayfun Gönül had made critical contributions to the antimilitarist movement in Turkey, according to his friends. Gönül had already spent a long period in an intensive care unit following a cardiac infarct he suffered on Feb. 16 but was discharged from hospital about two months ago, Serkan Sultan, a close friend of Gönül’s, told bianet. Following his discharge, Tayfun Gönül’s condition had rapidly begun to improve, Sultan said, adding they had even briefly toured across the Aegean region, but that he finally gave in on Monday night at around 23:30 when he had a heart attack.

On the 20^th of July, 2012, Mohamed Fathy Abdo Soliman – 23 years old – declared his conscientious objection to being a recruit in a compulsory military service, because it contradicts his beliefs and his believing in peace. He sent letters to the minister of defense, the president of the republic, the chief of the parliament and the chief of the shura council, asking for exclusion from military service and replacing it with a civilian service.