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.

Defense Minister İsmet Yılmaz has said his ministry is continuing to work on options for dealing with conscientious objectors. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, the minister said their efforts are aimed at protecting the Turkish state from new fines to be imposed by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) due to Turkey’s policy of mandatory military service. In Turkey, military service is compulsory for all male citizens over the age of 20; however, if a man is enrolled in an institution of higher learning, he is allowed to delay his service until he completes his education.

CO Yaniv Mazor, 31 years old from Jerusalem, was arrested on 11 June, his birthday, for his refusal to take part in the Reserve Military Force. He was sentenced to 20 days of imprisonment in prison No. 4 near Tzrifin military base. Yaniv served in the military from 1999 to 2002 and returned a few times to do reserve service. After a personal process, he decided he can not do it any more and decided to refuse.