The Dutch State has not yet responded to the application for amnesty made ex officio by the prosecutor's office for Kurdish leader Hüseyin Baybaşin, who is still detained after 28 years. According to his many supporters, Hüseyin Baybaşin was unjustly sentenced to “life imprisonment” despite the fact that the Turkish government had proven to be heavily involved in the case. According to the legal regulation regarding this application, which was made ex officio by the state, a decision should have been made on March 27, 2026 at the latest.
After the Advisory Commission for Life Imprisoned Sentences, established by the Minister of Justice, recommended to the Minister in 2023 that Baybaşin be granted a royal pardon and the process of returning to public life be initiated, Baybaşin has been and continues to be prevented constantly and in many different ways in this process.
The basis of this scandalous process lies in the Netherlands-Türkiye crisis, which started in April 1995 when the Netherlands facilitated the establishment of the Kurdish Parliament in exile at the Hague Congress Center. This development caused great anger in Turkish politics. Since that date, Dutch politics has been under the threat of disclosing some information that the Dutch government would not like. How else can it be explained that there is a constant "Turkish intervention" behind the blocking of Baybaşin's release?
The attack carried out by a Turkish agent against Baybaşin's nephew in Germany in December 2025 - although his uncle had no connection with the incident - is now used as justification to stop the reintegration process. In addition, Baybaşin was transferred to a prison with an extremely strict regime, where all communication with the outside world was cut off.
All this shows that the Netherlands, contrary to international conventions (ECHR/EVRM), prefers to leave a person to rot in his cell rather than disturbing Turkey. This situation strengthens the views of those who believe that Baybaşin was indeed unfairly sentenced to life imprisonment for political reasons.
Regardless of whether the conviction is justified or unfair, in accordance with European conventions and domestic law rules, this person has the right to proceed on the path to amnesty like everyone else, after 25 years of detention and expert evaluations stating that there is no risk of re-offending.
Continuously denying a person the opportunity to return to a normal life after 30 years of detention – even though a life outside the Netherlands is at stake – is against human rights!
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