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Another lawyer from Turkey has been arrested! Free Seda Saraldı

LAWYERS’ ASSOCIATIONS PROTEST ARREST OF TURKISH LAWYER SEDA SARALDI

 

We, the undersigned international lawyers’ associations, have for many years condemned the Turkish government’s systematic attacks on lawyers and bar associations for representing people allegedly opposed to government policies.

 

Ten lawyers from the Peoples’ Law Office and other members of the Progressive Lawyers Association have been in prison for more than three years. Eighteen lawyers from the Progressive Lawyers Association were sentenced to a total of 159 years and 2 months imprisonment following an unjust trial. Their right to defense and right to a fair trial were violated from the beginning to the end. The Turkish Supreme Court recently affirmed the unlawful convictions for fifteen of the accused lawyers.

 

During their incarceration, lawyers Ebru Timtik and Aytac Ünsal mounted a hunger strike to protest the unlawfulness of their convictions and demanded a fair trial for themselves and for every other person arrested. Tragically, Ebru Timtik died on the 238th of the day of her hunger strike.

 

Seda Saraldi, another lawyer who is a member of Progressive Lawyers Association and worked in the Peoples` Law Office as the intern of Ebru Timtik, was detained on 28 October, together with 101 clients of her office. Saraldi was arrested at her family’s home at midnight. According to her defense lawyers, the police broke the door of the house and Saraldi was subjected to violence during her arrest.

 

After finishing her internship, Saraldi began working as an attorney in the Peoples` Law Office. She was one of the lawyers campaigning for the freedom of Ebru Timtik and Aytac Ünsal. During the one year she has practiced law, Saraldi has represented hundreds of vulnerable people, including the imprisoned lawyers.

The Turkish government does not follow its domestic law, and it also systematically violates the Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers (known as the Havana Principles). Under these principles,

“Governments shall ensure that lawyers are able to perform all of their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference.” In addition, “Where the security of lawyers is threatened as a result of discharging their functions, they shall be adequately safeguarded by the authorities.” But it is the Turkish government that is threatening the security of these lawyers for discharging their functions. And, the principles provide, “Lawyers shall not be identified with their clients or their clients’ causes as a result of discharging their functions.”

Governments are obliged to remove the obstacles to the professional activity of lawyers and they should prevent any kind of harrasment or unlawful interference against lawyers. However, in Turkey the harrasment of the legal profession has become the policy of the government itself.

 

We demand again that the Turkish government live up to its obligations under the law. We also demand the immediate release of Seda Saraldi and all the other detained lawyers. Turkey must stop harrasing lawyers and bar associations who are on the front lines of providing the right to defense.

 

International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL)

European Democratic Lawyers (EDL – AED)

European Association of Lawyers for Democracy & World Human Rights (ELDH)

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AED/EDL IN SUPPORT OF THE SPANISH LAWYERS ISABEL ELBAL AND GONZALO BOYE

AED/EDL would like to proclaim its support for our colleagues, the Spanish lawyers Gonzalo Boye and Isabel Elbal, concerning the suspicious attacks they have suffered in their offices, which have been burglarized twice in 9 months, stating the following:

1.- First and foremost, we must recall that lawyers should not be identified with their clients, or with the causes they defend, since such confusion is detrimental to the independence and dignity of lawyers and the whole legal profession, and ultimately affects the right of defense itself as a fundamental right.

This circumstance was already acknowledged in The Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, approved at the Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and Treatment of Offenders, held in Havana (Cuba), from the 27th of August to the 7th of September 1990, which establishes in its guarantee n° 18 that “Lawyers will not be identified with their clients or with the causes of their clients as a consequence of the performance of their duties”. Furthermore Resolution 26/7 (10th july 2014) of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC- A/HRC/RES/26/7) (2) provides in its point n° 104 that “It must be prohibited to assimilate lawyers and their clients or their causes and to express anticipation for the adoption of measures aimed at preventing such assimilation“.

 

2.- Regardless of the foregoing, we express our most outright rejection of all the intimidating, threatening or humiliating messages that lawyers have been receiving in recent times due to their practice of the legal profession, and specifically in the case of our colleagues because of their work as defense lawyers of clients linked to the so-called Catalonian “procés”. Likewise, we strongly reject such illegitimate attacks, and show our solidarity and support to the recipients.

 

3.- We reiterate the need for legal professionals, and specifically lawyers, to be able to develop their constitutional function with the most absolute freedom and autonomy, without which, it is impossible to speak of the rule of law and of the existence of fair trials without discrimination.

 

 

Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, Rome, Berlin, Brussels, Amsterdam

3rd of October 2020

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Open statement in connection with the detention of Belarusian lawyers Ilya Salei and Maksim Znak

September 10, 2020

We express our deep concern at the detention of lawyers Ilya Salei and Maksim Znak on September 9, 2020, in Belarus, in a criminal case which is undeniably politically motivated. We consider this to be a gross violation and interference with their professional legal activities and with their rights to express professional opinions, as established by international legal standards. This case is a direct consequence of a dire situation, problems and violations of professional rights of attorneys and lawyers and overall functioning of the legal profession in the Republic of Belarus. These problems were highlighted by both international organizations and representatives of the legal community before.[1]

According to information posted on the website of the Main Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of the Republic of Belarus, “the investigation of the criminal case opened by the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Belarus under Part 3 of Art. 361 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus. At the moment, in the course of the investigation, evidence has been obtained that testify to the commission by individuals of a non-governmental organization called the Coordination Council, actions aimed at destabilizing the socio-political, economic situation and public awareness in the country, causing harm to the national security of the Republic of Belarus. These actions were carried out using the media and internet resources. With regard to the suspects Maria Kolesnikova and Maksim Znak, with the approval of the prosecutor, a preventive measure was chosen in the form of detention. Ilya Salei was also detained on suspicion of committing this crime.”[2]

However, detained Ilya Salei is a lawyer of Maria Kolesnikova, one of the leaders of the Belarusian protest movement and a member of the Presidium of the Coordination Council, who is also in jail.[3] Second detained lawyer Maksim Znak was representing Viktor Babariko, who ran for the President of the Republic of Belarus, but was not allowed to register as a candidate and was recognized as a political prisoner. Maksim Znak was also an attorney for the former presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, on whose behalf he created the Coordination Council. As a member of the Presidium of the Coordinating Council, Maxim Znak was providing legal assistance as an attorney. Maxim Znak’s lawyer Dmitry Laevsky notes: “all his statements, appeals, comments were public, transparent, their content was absolutely legal and did not carry any illegal intentions.”[4]

We would like to emphasize that, in accordance with the United Nation’s Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers[5], governments must ensure that lawyers can perform all of their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment, or improper interference. Lawyers, like other citizens, are entitled to freedom of expression, belief, association and assembly. In particular, they have the right to take part in public discussion of matters concerning the law, the administration of justice and the promotion and protection of human rights, and to join or form local, national or international organizations and attend their meetings, without suffering professional restrictions by reason of their lawful actions or their membership in a lawful organization.

The Belarusian Helsinki Committee appealed to the UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers with a report about the situation of lawyers Maksim Znak and Ilya Salei.[6] The report called for urgent action to be taken in connection with the detention of the lawyers and requested to send an urgent message to the Government of Belarus on the need to comply with the Basic Principles concerning the role of lawyers.

Belarusian lawyers and jurists have made an open statement in connection with the detention of their colleagues.[7]

We also demand from the authorities of the Republic of Belarus to:

– immediately release lawyers Maksim Znak and Ilya Salei and comply with international legal standards of the independence of legal profession and the exercise of the right to defense;

– stop the persecution of lawyers and attorneys who are exercising their constitutional right of free expression by expressing their opinions[8] while performing professional functions;

– strictly observe the provisions of Art. 62 of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus: “everyone has the right to exercise and protect rights and freedoms, including the right to use at any time the assistance of lawyers and their other representatives in court, other state bodies, local government bodies, at enterprises, institutions, organizations, public associations and in relations with officials and citizens. Opposition to the provision of legal assistance in the Republic of Belarus is prohibited by law.”[9]

Download in English and Russian

Signatories:

  1. Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, Poland
  2. ARTICLE 19, United Kingdom
  3. The Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe
  4. The Bar Association of Luxembourg
  5. The Swedish Bar Association
  6. The French and German speaking bars association of Belgium AVOCATS.BE
  7. The European Association of Lawyers AEA-EAL
  8. Lawyers for Lawyers, The Netherlands
  9. FIDH – International Federation for Human Rights
  10. Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights YUCOM, Serbia
  11. OMCT World Organisation Against Torture
  12. Human Rights House Foundation, Norway
  13. Centre de la protection internationale, France
  14. Human Rights Monitoring Institute, Lithuania
  15. International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR), Belgium
  16. The Norwegian Helsinki Committee
  17. Freedom Now, USA
  18. Crude Accountability, USA
  19. All-Ukrainian Association of Lawyers Providing Free Legal Aid – Odesa Division, Ukraine
  20. Center for the Development of Democracy and Human Rights, Russia
  21. Pskov Regional Human Rights Environmental Public Movement “Svobodnyi Bereg”, Russia
  22. Kharkiv Regional Foundation Public Alternative, Ukraine
  23. German-Russian Exchange in St. Petersburg
  24. Stichting CAAT Projects, The Netherlands
  25. MEMORIAL Deutschland e. V. Haus der Demokratie und Menschenrechte, Germany
  26. Legal Policy Research Center, Kazakhstan
  27. Public Association Dignity, Kazakhstan
  28. Human Rights Movement “Bir Duino-Kyrgyzstan”
  29. Belarusian Helsinki Committee
  30. Human Constanta, Belarus
  31. Center for Participation and Development, Georgia
  32. Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly – Vanadzor, Armenia
  33. Association of Ukrainian Human Rights Monitors on Law Enforcement, Ukraine
  34. SOVA Center for Information and Analysis, Russia
  35. Souchastiye v Sud’be, Blagotvoritel’nyy Tsentr, Russia
  36. Human Rights Embassy, Moldova
  37. Libereco Partnership for Human Rights, Germany
  38. Public Verdict Foundation, Russia
  39. Human Rights Group “Grazhdanin, armia, pravo”, Russia
  40. DRA – German-Russian Exchange, Germany
  41. Social Action Centre, Ukraine
  42. Helsinki Committee of Armenia
  43. Helsinki association, Armenia
  44. Macedonian Helsinki Committee
  45. Swedish OSCE-network
  46. Albanian Helsinki Committee
  47. Bulgarian Helsinki Committee
  48. Women of the Don, Russia
  49. Moscow Helsinki Group, Russia
  50. Human Rights House Zagreb, Croatia
  51. Human Rights Center, Georgia
  52. Mogilev Human Rights Center, Belarus
  53. Netherlands Helsinki Committee
  54. Human Rights Center ZMINA, Ukraine
  55. The Barys Zvozskau Belarusian Human Rights House
  56. “Ekumena” Center, Belarus
  57. Youth Memorial – Perm, Russia
  58. Human Rights House in Chernihiv, Ukraine
  59. The Georgian Centre for Psychosocial and Medical Rehabilitation of Torture Victims
  60. Östgruppen – Swedish initiative for democracy and human rights, Sweden
  61. IDP Women Association Consent, Georgia
  62. Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and the Rule of Law, Kazakhstan
  63. Czech Bar Association, The Czech Republic (tbc)
  64. Civil Initiative Against Lawlessness in Courts and Prosecutor’s Office, Belarus
  65. AED-EDL (Avocat.e.s Européennes Démocrates / European Democratic Lawyers), Barcelona, Spain
  66. Freedom House, USA
  67. Independent Social Ecological Movement – NESEHNUTI, Brno, The Czech Republic
  68. Stichting CAAT Projects, the Netherlands
  69. La Asociación Libre de Abogados, Spain
  70. RAW for Women and Girl Survivors of War (Raw in War)
  71. Citizens Network Watchdog, Poland
  72. ORDRE DES AVOCATS DE PARIS / Paris Bar, France
  73. The Сouncil of the Warsaw Bar Association of Advocates, Poland
  74. Russian LGBT Network
  75. Board of the EU-Russia Civil Society Forum
  76. Freedom of Religion and Believe – FORB, Belarus
  77. Human Rights Center Memorial, Russia

[1] See https://www.hfhr.pl/en/report-on-the-situation-of-legal-profession-in-belarus/ https://probusiness.io/law/7462-kogda-slesari-bastuyut-advokatam-stydno-molchat-obrashchenie-advokatskogo-soobshchestva-belarusi.html, https://fondadvokatov.ru/belarus

[2] See https://sk.gov.by/ru/news-ru/view/sledstvennym-komitetom-prodolzhaetsja-rassledovanie-ugolovnogo-dela-o-publichnyx-prizyvax-k-dejstvijam-9248/

[3] Coordination Council – public initiative, created with the goal of overcoming political crisis in Belarus and ensuring peace and understanding, and also for protection of sovereignty and independence of the republic of Belarus. More information about the Council please see https://rada.vision/en

[4] See https://news.tut.by/economics/699898.html

[5] Adopted by the Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, Havana, Cuba, 27 August to 7 September 1990, see https://www.un.org/ru/documents/decl_conv/conventions/role_lawyers.shtml

[6] See https://belhelcom.org/be/node/1244

[7] https://news.tut.by/economics/699922.html

[8] Article 33 of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus https://kodeksy-by.com/konstitutsiya_rb/33.htm

[9] See https://kodeksy-by.com/konstitutsiya_rb/62.htm

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OBITUARY – Ebru Timtik will always be in our minds and hearts!

Ebru passed away yesterday after 238 days on Hunger Strike. She fought until her last breath for the right to a fair trial and independence of lawyers. The Turkish State is responsible because it ignored her claims.

Last October we visited her and the other colleagues of the ÇHD in Silivri hight security prison (near Istanbul) with an International Delegation of lawyers, we spoke with her about her determination to continue denouncing all forms of injustice.

We know that the right to a fair trial has been violated in the so called ÇHD2 Case. We have seen, observing the trial, that the Court was unfair. The lawsuit was a masquerade (not enforcing procedural rules, nonsense statements of a secret witness were the base of the decision, and the verdict was given before the right of defence was exercised). The international delegation of Lawyers, in which AED-EDL and the Foundation Day of Endangered Lawyer participated monitoring the trial, has been expulsed from the Courtroom before the last statement was given by the defence lawyers and before the final decision.

The denying of the demand Ebru made for a fair trial made her choose the way of a hunger strike. This hunger strike was not meant as a special request for herself but for the whole profession of lawyers and for the Kurdish and Turkish people. When her situation was already very grave on the 14th of August a request to release Ebru and her colleague Aytaç Unsal was denied by the Constitutional Court of Turkey.

Everyone has to know that the death of Ebru could have been prevented. For all of us, her death will be remembered as a shame for the Turkish Judiciary.

The lesson we can obtain of Ebru’s death is that we must be more conscious to fight for fundamental Rights in Turkey and other Countries. Her action will help and motivate us to defend the right to a fair trial.

Ebru, your life was brilliant, your death is very sad, and your example is a light in this time of troubles in Turkey!

 

Rest in peace, our sister.

 

28.08.2020

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Fact-Finding Mission on CHD Trials in Turkey

 

Breach of a fair trial, independence of the judiciary and principles on the role of Lawyers.

October 2019, Istanbul

A group of 15 lawyers from 7 European countries met in Istanbul from 13 till 15 October 2019 for a fact-finding mission to clarify the legal circumstances that led to the conviction of the following 18 Turkish lawyers by the 37 High Criminal Court of Istanbul in March 2019:

– For “founding and leading a terrorist organization” – Barkin TIMTIK: 18 years and 9 months For “membership of a terrorist organization” – Ebru TIMTIK and Özgür YILMAZ: 13 years and 6 months – Behiç ASÇI and Sükriye ERDEN: 12 years – Selçuk KOZAGACLI (President of the ÇHD) : 11 years and 3 months – Engin GÖKOGLU, Aytac ÜNSAL and Süleyman GÖKTEN : 10 years and 6 months – Aycan ÇIÇEK and Naciye DEMIR: 9 years – Ezgi CAKIR: 8 years

– For “willfully and knowingly aiding a terrorist organization” – Aysegül CAGATAY, Yagmur EREREN, Didem Baydar ÜNSAL and Yaprak TÜRKMEN: 3 years 9 months – Zehra ÖZDEMIR and Ahmet MANDACI: 3 years, 1 month and 15 days (sentence reduced because of their presence at the hearing on 20 March 2019, unlike the other defendants).

The European lawyers of the monitoring team came from Austria, Belgium, Catalonia/Spain, Greece, Germany, France, and Italy. They represented, among others, two international associations of lawyers, two European lawyers’ organizations, the European umbrella association of bar associations, various national and regional bar associations and lawyers’ organizations.

These are their findings: REPORT

The lawyers of the monitoring team represented the following organizations:

  • ELDH – European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and World Human Rights
  • AED-EDL – European Democratic Lawyers
  • The foundation The Day of the Endangered Lawyer
  • IADL – International Association of Democratic Lawyers
  • Progress Lawyers Network
  • Giuristi Democratici
  • CCBE The Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe
  • CNB – French National Bar Council (Conseil national des barreaux)
  • OIAD – Observatoire International des Avocats en Danger (The International Observatory
    of Endangered Lawyers)
  • UCPI – Unione delle Camere Penali Italiane
  • Consiglio Nazionale Forense (Italian National Bar Association)
  • DSF AS – Défense Sans frontière – Avocats Solidaires
  • UIA International Association of Lawyers
  • OBFG/Avocats.be (Association of French speaking Bars of Belgium)
  • Paris Bar Association
  • Athens Bar Association
  • Barcelona Bar Association
  • Berlin Bar Association
  • Brussels (French-speaking) Bar Association
  • Brussels (Dutch-speaking) Bar Association (NOAB)
  • Liège Bar Association
  • Vienna Bar Association
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Covid-19 – No time to lose ! – Why imprisoned lawyers must be released immediately

The European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and Human Rights (ELDH) and the European Democratic Lawyers (AED-EDL) are European lawyers’ organisations with members in over 20 European countries, including Turkey. Both organisations have been monitoring court cases in Turkey for many years, especially the mass trials against lawyers of their two member organisations ÇHD – Çagdas Hukukular Dernegi – (Progressive Lawyers Association) and ÖHD – Ozgurlukcu Hukukcular Dernegi – OHD (Association of Lawyers for Freedom). The foundation The Day of the Endangered Lawyer’s goal is to promote the unobstructed practice of the lawyers’ profession anywhere in the world who, under repressive regimes come to the defence or support of clients whose human rights are at stake.

Currently, 7 lawyers of the CHD are detained (Selçuk Kozağaçlı, Behiç Aşçı, Engin Gökoğlu, Aytaç Ünsal, Aycan Çiçek, Barkın Timtik, Oya Aslan, Ebru Timtik; Sulçuk Kozağaçlı is the ÇHD President, a human rights attorney who received several Human Rights Awards. and Doğukan Ünlü, Halil İbrahim Vargül, Semra Özbingöl Çelik are lawyers of the ÖHD.

The worldwide spread of the C-19 epidemic does not stop at the prison gates. On the contrary, the overcrowding of prisons increases the risk of proliferation among prisoners and staff. The Turkish government has therefore rightly decided to release almost a third of the more than 300,000 prisoners from prison or place them under house arrest. However, those accused of supporting, being a member of or leading a terrorist organization are excluded from this measure. This decision also affects lawyers who, in the exercise of their professional duties, have represented alleged terror supporters in court.

The lawyers began a hunger strike on Feb. 3 in protest of the lengthy jail sentences imposed on them for terrorism charges and after the 30th day of the hunger strike, 4 of them announced a break. Presently 4 lawyers (Ebru Timtik, Barkın Timtik, Oya Aslan, Aytaç Ünsal), who are all members of the Progressive Lawyers’ Association (ÇHD), are on a hunger strike in prison, demanding a fair trial and justice for themselves and for their clients. All the lawyers were arrested in a September 2018 operation. Two of the lawyers have announced to start fasting to death on the 5th of April, that is the Day of Lawyers in Turkey.

Lawyers around the world and human rights representatives of international organisations have repeatedly appealed to the all governments to release prisoners as far as possible.

  • The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights urged governments and relevant authorities to work quickly to reduce the number of people in detention.
  • 32 Turkish bar associations demanded on 19 March 2020 that the Turkish government takes appropriate measures to protect the lives of the detainees from the spreading C-19 epidemic and to release them. The bar associations explicitly mentioned lawyers who have been imprisoned for political reasons.
  • Last week, more than 70 lawyers from all over the world followed the call of the International Association of Democratic Lawyer (IADL), of the two European Lawyers Associations ELDH, AED-EDL, and of the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers (England) for a video conference in solidarity with lawyers imprisoned for political reasons in Turkey, with interventions from Ayşe Bingöl of the Turkey Human Rights Litigation Support Project, Barbara Spinelli of Giuristi Democratici, and Şerife Ceren Uysal, of the Progressive Lawyers Alliance (ÇHD). The lawyers unanimously called for the immediate release of the lawyers detained in Turkey.

The Turkish Government should bear in mind:

  • Although the official number of victims of C-19 in Turkey is still relatively low, Turkey is the country with the fastest increase in the number of victims.
  • The lives of the imprisoned lawyers, including 8 lawyers of the ÇHD and 3 lawyers of the ÖHD, are acutely endangered by the spreading C-19 Pandemic and the prison conditions in Turkey.
  • Because of Ebru Timtik’s hunger strike against unjustified conviction, which has already lasted 90 days for (over 60 days for 3 of them) , her organism is weakened and the risk of death in case of infection is significantly increased. This also applies to the other 2 lawyers who have announced to start the fasting to death on April 5, 2020
  • Many observers of the trials against ÇHD and ÖHD lawyers came to the conclusion that the accusations lack any factual basis and were based on incorrect assessment of the evidence. They expressed severe doubts concerning compliance with the fair trial standards of the ECHR and the independence of the tribunals.
  • Even the competent Turkish court, initially had no reservations about releasing the defendants from custody during the ongoing proceedings. They were released. Only after a questionable exchange of judges was detention ordered again. There is therefore no justification for endangering the lives of the lawyers by the increased risk to them in detention.
  • The lawyers concerned have not yet been finally convicted. They have all appealed against their conviction. As long as the proceedings continue, they must not be treated as if their guilt had been finally adjudicated.

Under these circumstances, the immediate release of the detained lawyers is the imperative for the government if it is not to be responsible for serious damage to the health or even death of the detainees.

 

———-

European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and World Human Rights (ELDH),Thomas Schmidt (lawyer), Secretary General , Platanenstrasse 13, 40233 – Düsseldorf, Germany
PHONE +49 – 211 – 444 001, MOBILEPHONE +49 – 172 – 6810888, Email thomas.schmidt@eldh.eu, Web www.eldh.eu
Day of the Endangered Lawyer Foundation , Hans Gaasbeek, International coordinator Nieuwe Gracht 5a, NL 2011 NB Haarlem, Netherlands, Telephone: +31 (023) 531 86 57,,Email: hgaasbeek@gaasbeekengaasbeek.nl, Web: http://dayoftheendangeredlawyer.eu/
European democratic lawyers federation (AED-EDL), Robert Sabata Gripekoven,
Col·legiat 20381 ICAB C/ Provença, 332, 3er, 08037 – Barcelona
tel / fax (+34) 93 457 83 58, mòbil (+34) 619 30 43 77, http://www.aeud.org/ , robertsabata@icab.cat
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CRIMINALIZATION OF JURISTS FOR THEIR PUBLIC DENUNCIATION OF TORTURE AND MISTREATMENT

The AED-EDL has been informed of the trial against Lorena Ruiz-Huerta, which has taken place on the 10th of February 2020. Lorena Ruiz-Huerta is accused of slander for statements she made on television in 2014, when she was a practicing lawyer and member of ALA, in which she stated that during her professional work as a legal aid lawyer she was aware of the usual praxis of wrongful acts against the rights of detainees by police corps. The lawyer was denounced and accused of the crime of slander by the Unified Police Union, the Union of the Guardia Civil and the Federal Union of Police, as well as by the Public Prosecutor’s Office.

Further, the AED-EDL has also learnt about the complaint of three prison-agents’ trade-unions in Catalonia against Iñaki Rivera, Director of the Observatory of the Criminal System and Human Rights (OSPDH), and the SIRECOVI project of the University of Barcelona, professor of law and researcher, for having stated in a television program that in the prisons of Catalonia there was torture, ill-treatment and abuse. This jurist who defends human rights has deserved the support of the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) in a joint statement on the 21st of December 2018. In their statement, they warned that the misuse of criminal law against statements and messages protected by freedom of expression and information had an inhibiting effect. On the 16th of September 2019 the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) issued a new urgent appeal.

The AED-EDL supports both professionals and denounces the criminalization of lawyers and jurists in the exercise of their profession and in their action to denounce the violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the practice of torture and ill-treatment by public officials. The critical disclosure of these practices is part of the commitment of the legal profession to the promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms and is protected by the freedom of expression and information, thus helping to inform the public and the public debate on the functioning of State institutions, according to point 23 of the Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers (8th UN Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders – Havana, 27 August to 7 September 1990) and as proclaimed, among others, by the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Morice v. France.

Barcelona, on the 15th of February 2020

 

—

LA CRIMINALIZACION DE LOS JURISTAS POR SU LABOR DE DENUNCIA DE LAS TORTURAS Y MALOS TRATOS

La AED ha tenido conocimiento que el día 10/2/2020 tuvo lugar el juicio por delito de calumnias contra Lorena Ruiz- Huerta por unas declaraciones en televisión en el 2014, fecha en que era abogada en ejercicio y miembro de ALA, en las que manifestó que en el ejercicio de su profesión como letrada del Turno de Oficio había tenido conocimiento de la práctica habitual de actuaciones lesivas contra los derechos de las personas detenidas por parte de los cuerpos policiales. La abogada fue denunciada y acusada por el delito de calumnias, por parte del Sindicato Unificado de Policía, la Unión de Guardias Civiles y la Unión Federal de Policía, así como de la Fiscalía.

Por otro lado, la AED también ha tenido conocimiento de la denuncia de tres sindicatos de funcionarios de prisiones de Catalunya contra Iñaki Rivera, Director del Observatori del Sistema Penal i dels Drets Humans (OSPDH), y del proyecto SIRECOVI de la Universidad de Barcelona, profesor de Derecho e investigador, por haber manifestado en un programa televisivo que en las prisiones de Cataluña existía la práctica de la tortura, los malos tratos y las vejaciones. La criminalización de este jurista defensor de los derechos humanos, mereció el apoyo de la Federación Internacional de Derechos Humanos (FIDH) y de la Organización Mundial Contra la Tortura (OMCT) en un pronunciamiento conjunto de 21/12/2018. En él, alertaron del efecto inhibitorio del uso indebido del derecho penal contra las declaraciones y los mensajes protegidos por la libertad de expresión e información. El 16/9/2019 la Organización Mundial de la Tortura (OMCT) realizó un nuevo llamado urgente.

La AED muestra su apoyo a ambos profesionales y denuncia la criminalización de los abogados y de los juristas en el ejercicio de su profesión y de su acción de denuncia sobre la vulneración de derechos humanos y libertades fundamentales, incluida la práctica de la tortura y de los malos tratos por parte de funcionarios públicos. La divulgación crítica de estas prácticas forma parte del compromiso de la abogacía con la promoción de los derechos humanos y las libertades fundamentales y está amparada por la libertad de expresión y de información, colaborando a informar la ciudadanía y al debate público sobre el funcionamiento de las instituciones del Estado, según el punto 23 de los Principios Básicos sobre la Función de los Abogados (VIII Congreso de NNUU sobre Prevención del Delito y Tratamiento del Delincuente –La Habana, 27 de agosto a 7 de septiembre de 1990-) y como proclama, entre otras, la STEDH de la Gran Cámara en el caso Morice contra Francia.

Barcelona a 15 de febrero de 2020

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Don’t Touch Pakistani Lawyers!

French version below

 

The Day of the Endangered Lawyer is an initiative born in 2012 to highlight the plight of our colleagues in different parts of the world. In many countries, lawyers exercicing the profession are under threat for their work.

On the 24th of January 2020 we will be demonstrating in front of Pakistani embassies in Europe to shed light on the harrasment of lawyers in this country.

Over the past several years lawyers in Pakistan have been subjected to acts of mass terrorism, murder, attempted murder, assaults, (death) threats, contempt proceedings, harassment and intimidation in the execution of their professional duties. They have also been arrested, detained or tortured, and in some cases the family members of the murdered lawyer have also been murdered.  Some lawyers have been threatened with disbarment or had their homes raided by the police.  Sometimes Christian lawyers or members of minority sects have been assaulted or threatened with death.  The most notorious attack on Pakistani lawyers occurred on August 8, 2016 when terrorists attacked the Government Hospital of Quetta with a suicide bombing and shooting which resulted in the death of 56 lawyers. Since there has been an alarming increase in the number of lawyers murdered, with nine reported over the past year. More recently Saif-ul-Malook received serious death threats for representing Asia Bibi, who had been sentenced to death for blasphemy, as a result of which he was forced to flee temporarily to the Netherlands.

The perpetrators of these attacks have been terrorists, religious zealots, the police and unreported sources. There have also been reports that pro-government militias (which still exist today) have been behind some of the murders, and in some cases lawyers have been killed because they are Shia. In response to these repeated attacks, Pakistani lawyers frequently strike, demonstrate, protest and hold boycotts.

The life of a lawyer is at risk the moment he or she takes up a case. It does not matter if it is the opposing party or the very party that the lawyer is representing.

Read the report: in English or in French

and see you on the 24th of January in front of the Pakistani embassy.

 

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La Journée de l’avocat menacé est une initiative née en 2012 pour dénoncer la situation critique de nos collègues dans différentes pays du monde. Dans de nombreux pays, les avocats exerçant la profession sont gravement menacés pour leur travail.

Le 24 janvier 2020, nous manifesterons devant les ambassades pakistanaises en Europe pour faire la lumière sur le harcèlement des avocats dans ce pays.

Ces dernières années, les avocats pakistanais ont fait l’objet d’actes de terrorisme, de meurtre, de tentatives de meurtres, d’agressions, de menaces de mort, de harcèlement judiciaire, de procédure d’outrage et d’intimidation dans l’exercice de leurs fonctions professionnelles. Ils ont également été arrêtés, détenus ou torturés et leur familleest parfois également prise pour cible. Certains avocats ont été menacés de radiation ou ont vu leur maison perquisitionnée par la police.Des avocats chrétiens ou d’autres minorités ont été agressés ou menacés de mort. L’attaque la plus célèbre à l’encontre des avocats pakistanais a eu lieu le 8 août 2016 lorsque des terroristes ont fait exploser l’hôpital gouvernemental de Quetta lors d’un attentat-suicide qui a entrainé la mort de 56 avocats.

Depuis, le nombre d’avocats assassinés a augmenté de façon alarmante, neuf d’entre eux ayant été assassinés au cours de la dernière année

Le rapport: en Anglais ou en Français.

Rendez-vous le 24 janvier devant l’ambassade du Pakistan!

 

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European Fact-finding mission to clarify the circumstances leading to the conviction of 18 Turkish lawyers

A group of 15 lawyers from 7 European countries met in Istanbul from 13 till 15 October 2019 for a fact-finding mission to clarify the legal circumstances that led to the conviction of 18 Turkish lawyers by the 37th High Criminal Court in March of this year, resulting in long prison sentences.

There are currently two mass trials in Turkey against members of the Turkish lawyers’ organisation ÇHD Çagdas Hukukçular Dernegi (Progressive Lawyers Association). In the first trıal, which opened in 2013, 22 lawyers are accused (CHD I proceedings). In the second, which was opened in autumn 2018, 20 lawyers have been accused (CHD II proceedings). Eight of the lawyers accused in both cases are identical, with the same accusation of being a member of a terrorist group. In the second trial in March 2019, 18 defendants were sentenced to between 3 and 18 years and 9 month imprisonment.  The chairman of the ÇHD was sentenced to 11 years and 3 months. All lawyers were convicted for activities connected with their professional functions and were identified with their clients’ causes. Istanbul Regional Court has rejected the appeal without an oral hearing. All of them will seize the Supreme Court.

The European lawyers come from Belgium, Catalonia/Spain, Greece, Germany, France, UK, Italy and Austria. They represent, among others, two international association of lawyers, two European lawyers’ organisations, the European umbrella association of bar associations, various national and regional bar associations and lawyers’ organisations.

Most of the European lawyers have already participated as observers in the mass trials of lawyers in Turkey and other politically motivated proceedings. Their main focus was on the question of whether Turkish and European law was violated in the proceedings. The results of these observations were recorded in reports.

The observations of the two CHD trials as well as numerous other politically motivated trials in Turkey, raised serious concerns about the respect for the rights of the accused and the defence lawyers. This was particularly the case with the 37th Heavy Criminal Court in Istanbul. Among other cases, it was in charge of the proceedings against Selahattin Demirtaş (one of the two HDP presidents), Canan Kaftancioglu (the Istanbul CHP president), Ahmet Altan (writer and journalist), Şebnem Korur Fincancı (the president of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey and one of the academics for peace), İhsan Eliaçık (theologian and author).

During their stay in Istanbul, the European lawyers held talks with the defence lawyers of the 18 Turkish lawyers convicted, with 4 lawyers imprisoned in Silivri, including the chairman of the Turkish lawyers’ organisation CHD, Selçuk KOZAGAÇLI, with defence lawyers from other politically motivated trials before the 37th High Criminal Court (see above), with the President of the Istanbul Bar Association, and with members of the Turkish Parliament.

They have also examined the question, taking into account the reasons for the judgement,

  • the extent to which the independence of the court was respected in the proceedings
  • whether the principle that no one should be tried twice for the same offence has been respected (ne bis in idem)
  • whether the principles of a fair trial applicable under Turkish and European law have been respected
  • whether the evidence satisfied the legal requirements

Following their visit, the observers will record the results of their visit in a report, draw the necessary legal conclusions and ask the Turkish Minister of Justice for an interview to present the results of their visit and their conclusions.

Represented organisations:

  • ELDH – European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and World Human Rights
  • AED-EDL – European Democratic Lawyers
  • The foundation The Day of the Endangered Lawyer
  • IADL – International Association of Democratic Lawyers
  • Progress Lawyers Network
  • Giuristi Democratici
  • CCBE The Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe
  • French National Bar Council
  • OIAD – Observatoire International des Avocats (The International Observatory of Endangered Lawyers)
  • Unione Camere Penali Italiane
  • Consiglio Nazionale Forense (Italian National Bar Association) .
  • DSF AS – Défense Sans frontière – Avocats Solidaires
  • UIA (International Association of Lawyers);
  • OBFG/Avocats.be (Association of French speaking Bars of Belgium)
  • Paris Bar Association
  • Athens Bar Association
  • Barcelona Bar Association
  • Berlin Bar Association
  • Brussels (French-speaking) Bar Association
  • Brussels (Dutch-speaking) Bar Association (NAOB)
  • Liège Bar Association
  • Vienna Bar Association

 

This is a link from the web site of Pir News Agensa which participated the press statament (only in Turkish) It includes the video recording of the conference.