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L’AED dénonce le traitement infligé à l’avocat Bernard RIPERT

L’association des avocats européens démocrates (AED), informée de l’arrestation suivie de l’hospitalisation d’office dont a été victime ce 23  mai, Bernard RIPERT, avocat à Grenoble,  exprime son indignation et ses plus vives préoccupations face au traitement infligé à notre confrère.

L’annonce de la levée de  son hospitalisation forcée décidée le 25 mai est un soulagement qui ne saurait toutefois, dissiper le malaise profond provoqué par ces évènements.

Arrestation, menottes,  garde à vue, internement, suspension provisoire… de telles mesures décidées dans le prolongement de poursuites pénales et disciplinaires diligentées pour sanctionner l’indocilité d’un avocat dans l’exercice de sa profession, interpellent.

La démesure des moyens judiciaires et policiers employés et les conditions dans lesquelles ils ont été mis en œuvre, portent gravement atteinte aux garanties reconnues aux avocats dans l’exercice de leur droit de défense.

Ces garanties comprennent notamment, le droit pour l’avocat d’exercer sa profession en toute liberté et en toute indépendance, sans subir aucune entrave, ni ingérence de la part des pouvoirs publics (voir principes de base relatifs aux rôles des Barreaux Adoptés par le huitième Congrès des Nations Unies pour la prévention du crime et le traitement des délinquants qui s’est tenu à La Havane (Cuba) du 27 août au 7 septembre 1990).

Ces principes semblent sérieusement malmenés ici, dès lors que, relaxé des poursuites disciplinaires dont il faisait l’objet, notre confrère se trouve  confronté à une forme d’acharnement procédural que traduisent tant l’appel du Parquet qui a pour effet de prolonger la suspension provisoire dont il faisait l’objet, que l’interpellation musclée et la mesure  d’internement psychiatrique qui ont suivi.

L’ AED  suivra donc avec la plus grande attention le déroulement  de la procédure disciplinaire d’appel engagée contre Maître RIPERT et dont l’audience aura lieu le 2 juin prochain devant la Cour d’appel de Grenoble.

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On the current situation for asylum seekers in Greece

Last summer about 800.000 asylum seekers arrived in Greece. Until that moment most aslym seekers arrived through the land borders. After the fence has been build and other measures were taken (f.i. push backs) the stream of refugees started to arrived over sea. Most arrived on Lesbos or Chios. In the summer there was a new development in the form of the Balkan-route. From summer until October about 10.000 people per day arrived through the Greek-Macedonian border. Slowly different countries started to take measure to block this stream of people. First only Afghans and Syrians were allowed to pass, then only the people that had passports. After December the people got stuck in Greece. With 10.000 people arriving per day, the number accumulated quickly. Now more than 50.000 people are stuck on the Greek mainland and more on the islands.

There are two categories: people that are stuck because of the blockage of the Balkan-route and people who arrived on the islands (black status) who can’t be registered because of the EU-Turkey deal. In 2010 there was a new migration plan in Greece with the follow pillars: (1) a better organization of examination of the claims; (2) a civil organization where asylum seekers would be helped throughout the registration process.

While the stream of asylum seekers got bigger, the running centers could no longer function as detention centers. These centers have now been transferred into hotspots. The centers were first focused on detention and return procedures, but should now be used for registration and eventually return. Just on Lesbos there are 3000-4000 asylum seekers. They are being held without any procedure. They do not have access to legal aid or the asylum procedure itself.

Normally, according to Greek law, people cannot be detained for more than 25 days for the purpose of registration. Once they are registered, they should be freed from detention. Many people are now detained for much longer than those 25 days without being registered. About 7000 people are currently detained since the EU-Turkey deal.

The Afghans have sometimes gotten documents for legal stay for 30 days and the Syrians and Iraqis have gotten those documents for 6 months (a document that just says that they are being tolerated). They have not gotten any legal assistance nor access to social services during this period. These people don’t know whether they will be allowed to travel on to the mainland.

Possibly all asylum requests will be denied because Turkey will be designated as a safe third country (the applications will them be declared inadmissible). The first judgments from the courts about Turkey being a safe third country are expected soon. These decisions should have been taken within two days, but it has now already taken 15 days without any news. The persons whom it concerns are all being detained. The decisions in first instance have been taken by an EASO expert from Germany (probably from Frankfurt, it has been said that there had been a lot of complaints against this person in Germany). It all concerns people that have not been registered in Turkey, but have just traveled through there.

It is possible to give legal assistance, but this needs to be organized well. When the interviews are being held by EASO officers, why not have international lawyers for legal assistance? At the courts, this wouldn’t be possible, because the appeals need to be signed by a Greek lawyer. The decisions are now taken in English, the interviews are also being held in English. If you want to get a ‘power of attorney’ from a client, this sometimes takes a full day to arrange. There are hundreds of asylum seekers, so there are way too little lawyers available.

During the procedures in second instance, there is suspensive effect to the legal remedies. When there is a judgment from the Greek court, the lawyers will go to the ECHR to ask for a Rule 39 as soon as possible. Pro Asyl is currently paying for legal assistance for some people that are being detained right now. There are about 3 to 4 lawyers working on Lesbos for a total of 3000 people. Nobody wants to put money to legal assistance, all the money currently goes to accommodation etc.

The Procedures Directive has not been implemented correctly in Greece, as there is no compensation for legal aid in the second instance. The procedure itself costs about 600 euro. The lawyers who are working in Lesbos belong to different NGO’s. The procedure is mainly a written procedure, there are usually no hearings. In a detention procedure where someone was being held in detention without a decision underlying the detention, the case was being dismissed as inadmissible, because there was no decision and the court ruled that the criteria for lodging a case hadn’t been met.

In the decisions that are being taken now no legal arguments are being given whatsoever. For detention it is, for instance, necessary that advice has been asked from the Asylum Service, but in practice this never happens.

A lot of people find themselves ‘in limbo’ à in detention without any rights, without any access to legal assistance.

Legal aid for asylum seekers

The main problem is not only the lack of lawyers, but also the lack of information. The volunteers in Greece are able and willing to distribute information (on internet, through flyers). In Piraeus many people were being threatened with detention. This was fought against by providing the information that the asylum seekers should apply for asylum, so that they couldn’t be detained or deported. Unfortunately, the next day the access to these people for lawyers was not granted anymore.

Social groups have functioned as a mediator. Appointments for asylum applications need to be made through Skype, but there is no one behind the computer to answer. There are certain time slots for each language and country of origin. This has to be done from the camps / hotspots and this is being used as an excuse to lure people into the camps. A group of Afghans was told that they would get a paper granting legal stay in Greece for 30 days if they would go to the camp. This paper was just written by a police officer and stamped by him. People that were convinced got into the bus and were transported to the camps without any security or guarantee.

Legal aid for helpers of the asylum seekers

A man that helped asylum seekers to arrive safely from sea to Greece is being prosecuted for the help to illegals. The same counts for many people that have offered help to asylum seekers in Greece (that helped with squatting, getting medical care for asylum seekers, etc.).

The profile of the asylum seekers has changed: only a third are Syrians. There are a lot of women and children coming, including many unaccompanied minors (it is totally unclear what happens to them; it concerns f.i. 13-year old girls from Iraq).

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On Migration

The Bureau of the association of European Democratic Lawyers (AED-EDL), meeting in Athens on May 7th, 2016, in view of the flagrant violation of fundamental rights by member states of the EU as well as by the Greek state and of the constant influx of people in need of International Protection, has decided to release the following statement:

 

  1. The closure of EU borders, which encourages all types of mafia and forces people to risk their lives to reach Europe, is absolutely contrary to the fundamental principles recognized in the Declaration of Human Rights and Right to Asylum and the Geneva Convention signed by all member states. Similarly, the closure of European Borders is contrary to European norms.
  1. The absence of a humanitarian corridor to enable the safe passage of those forced into migration as well as the absence of application of legal remedies to this situation demonstrates absolute disregard for human life and respect of international law.
  1. The lack of foresight and the foot-dragging in the implementation of the Schengen visa norms means that thousands of people must entrust their destinies to the mafia while risking their lives and integrity to access the European territory. Meanwhile current regulations already exist to ensure access to the protection of asylum.
  1. The stasis of the EU institutions and the passivity of Member states are unsustainable. They constitute a direct attack to the founding principles of European solidarity and mutual support amongst Member States.
  1. The declaration of Turkey as the first safe country for asylum means the bankruptcy of the right to asylum. The asylum procedure in Greece is currently inexistent; people are kept in detention while their request is pending. They are deprived of their liberty while in most cases their application cannot be filed. And if applications are submitted, they are systematically denied on the grounds that Turkey is considered a safe haven. Expulsions are being made without the slightest guarantee: legal counselling, interpreters, a suspensive procedure ensuring the thorough study of the case, without any guarantees that Turkey will not push them back …
  1. The European Agenda for Migration created by the Commission in May 2015, continues to focus on policies of expulsion, detention and criminalization of displaced people. The common European system is still based on the application of the Dublin III Regulation, and is currently in the process of further modification. This set of mechanisms of European policy has already shown its ineffectiveness.
  1. As an association of European lawyers’ associations, involved in defending the rights of all people and thus in the same way of forced migrants who reach the external borders of the EU, we demand:

  • The scrupulous respect for the right of asylum enshrined in international law.

  • The opening of safe transit routes for people fleeing.

  • Unlocking the granting of visas for humanitarian reasons and as well as diplomatic asylum.

  • The revocation of the EU-Turkey agreement, which is expulsing displaced people outside European borders to a State that does not fully respect human rights.

  • The formulation of a European immigration policy on the basis of integration, the recognition of the right to migration and the gradual European integration hubs, recognition of the right to migrate and gradual equal rights and duties with other EU citizens.

 

Athens, May 7, 2016

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Greek Lawyers on Strike

 

The association of European Democratic Lawyers (AED) has been informed during their meeting in Athens on the 7th of May 2016 of the strike of lawyers in Greece since January 2016.

The conditions of the exercise of the legal profession are seriously threatened by austerity measures.

The A.E.D. recalls that the right of defense in any matter is a fundamental right enshrined in the Charter of the European Union.

Undermining the exercise of the profession directly prejudices the rights of Greek citizens, EU citizens and or all citizens who should receive the protection of the European Union.

The A.E.D. urges the Greek and European authorities to open promptly a dialogue to overcome this crisis and to find a balanced solution for the protection of fundamental rights.

A society deprived of free and independent lawyers, no longer carries the title of democratic society .

Citizens of all origins are in danger.

 

Οι Δικηγόροι Ευρωπαίοι Δημοκράτες (A.E.D.), στη συνάντηση την οποία πραγματοποίησαν στην Αθήνα, στις 7 Μαΐου 2016, ενημερώθηκαν για την αποχή των δικηγόρων στην Ελλάδα, ήδη από τον Ιανουάριο 2016.

 

Οι συνθήκες άσκησης του δικηγορικού επαγγέλματος απειλούνται σοβαρά από τα μέτρα λιτότητας.

 

Η A.E.D. υπενθυμίζει ότι το δικαίωμα υπεράσπισης σε όλους τους τομείς είναι δικαίωμα θεμελιώδες, κατοχυρωμένο από το Χάρτη Θεμελιωδών Δικαιωμάτων της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης. Η προσβολή της άσκησης του επαγγέλματος του δικηγόρου συνεπάγεται την προσβολή των δικαιωμάτων των Ελλήνων και των Ευρωπαίων πολιτών και των πολιτών εκείνων οι οποίοι χρειάζονται την προστασία της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης.

 

Η AED καλεί επειγόντως τις ελληνικές και ευρωπαϊκές αρχές να ανοίξουν τον διάλογο με σκοπό την έξοδο από την κρίση αυτή και την εύρεση μίας ισορροπημένης λύσης για τη διαφύλαξη των θεμελιωδών δικαιωμάτων.

 

Μία κοινωνία δίχως ανεξάρτητους και ελεύθερους δικηγόρους δεν μπορεί να ονομάζεται δημοκρατική. Οι πολίτες κάθε καταγωγής κινδυνεύουν.

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Letters to Turkey

The AED has sent some letters and is now waiting for an answer!

Here is the text of the letter, addressed to the minister of Justice, the President of the Bar association, the ambassador of France in Turkey and the French minister of foreign affairs:

Le 16 mars 2016, à l’aube, neuf avocats turcs ont été interpellés à Istanbul et placés en garde à vue par la police qui a perquisitionné leurs domiciles ou leurs bureaux.

Il s’agit de Ramazan DEMIR, Iffan ARASAN, Ayse ACINIKLI, Hüsein BOGATEKIN, Sefik CELIK, Adem CALISCI, Ayse BASAR, Tamer DOGAN et Mustafa RÜZGAR.

Ces neuf avocats sont tous membres de l’équipe de Défense de 46 autres avocats turcs poursuivis depuis 2012 dans le cadre d’un procès dit KCK2, pour avoir participé à la défense d’un opposant notoire.

Leur interpellation a eu lieu, sans que les motifs en soient connus, la veille de l’audience du procès KCK2 fixée au 17 mars 2016 et à laquelle ils devaient plaider pour leurs confrères.

Leur maintien en garde à vue les a empêchés de remplir leur mission de défense et le procès a dû être renvoyé au 28 juin 2016.

A l’issue du délai de garde à vue et après 13 heures d’interrogatoires et de plaidoiries, ils ont été relâchés le samedi 19 mars, par décision du tribunal mais contre l’avis du Procureur.

Sur appel du Procureur, le 23 mars un autre juge a estimé fondée leur détention provisoire et décerné un mandat d’arrêt contre 4 d’entre eux.

Deux d’entre eux, Hüssein BOGATEKIN et Ayse BASAR ont été immédiatement interpellés et mis en détention.

Ils ont été libérés par la Cour d’Appel le 1er Avril suivant.

Mais le 6 avril, deux autres avocats étaient interpellés et mis en détention : Ramazan DEMIR et Ayse ACINIKLI.

Nous apprenons que leur appel vient d’être rejeté.

Il semble que les principaux griefs invoqués à l’encontre de ces avocats pour justifier ces mesures, soient liés à leur participation à la défense d’opposants notamment de manifestants du parc de GEZI, au dépôt de requêtes auprès de la CEDH, et à la participation à des conférences internationales, ces agissements constituant le dénigrement de l’Etat et la Nation turcs.

Il apparaît donc que ces avocats sont poursuivis, en totale violation des règles et accords internationaux qui régissent la Profession, pour avoir exercé leur mission de défense et leur liberté de parole et qu’ils sont assimilés à leurs clients, ce qui est inacceptable.

Nous vous rappelons que les pouvoirs publics doivent veiller à ce que les avocats ne soient pas assimilés à leurs clients, ou à la cause de leurs clients, du fait de l’exercice de leurs fonctions.

C’est pourquoi nous vous demandons d’intervenir de toute urgence pour que Ramazan DEMIR et Ayse ACINIKLI soient remis immédiatement en liberté et que soit reconnu et protégé, en TURQUIE, le Droit à la Défense pour tous, fondement d’un procès équitable.

Nous vous remercions de votre réponse à notre demande et vous prions d’agréer, Monsieur le Ministre, l’expression de notre respectueuse considération.

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Les “Panama Papers” et l’importance de sauvegarder la liberté de presse en Europe

Mossack Fonseca, le cabinet d’avocats panaméen au centre du scandale et dont proviennent les Panama Papers, a répondu aux requêtes des journalistes en concluant avec une mise en garde explicite :

« Il semble que vous ayez eu accès de façon non autorisée à des documents et des informations appartenant à notre entreprise et les ayez présentés et interprétés hors de leur contexte. Nous ne doutons pas que vous sachiez parfaitement qu’utiliser des informations ou de la documentation obtenus illégalement est un crime, et nous n’hésiterons pas à utiliser tous les recours pénaux et civils disponibles. » (1)

Le projet de Directive UE sur la « protection des secrets d’affaires » (2), sur lequel le Parlement Européen se prononcera en séance plénière à Strasbourg le 14 avril prochain, se propose justement de donner à de telles entreprises des moyens juridiques supplémentaires pour poursuivre des journalistes ou des entreprises de presse publiant sans leur consentement des documents et des informations internes.

Ce texte crée un droit au secret pour les entreprises qui est excessif : il menace directement le travail des journalistes et de leurs sources, les lanceurs d’alerte, les syndicalistes, la liberté d’expression des salariés et nos droits d’accéder à des informations d’intérêt public (par exemple sur les médicaments, les pesticides, les émissions des véhicules, etc.).

Une coalition européenne d’associations, de syndicats, de journalistes, de lanceurs d’alerte et de scientifiques (liste à la fin du Communiqué) demande aux membres du Parlement Européen de rejeter ce texte et de demander à la Commission Européenne d’en proposer une version conforme avec les exigences de transparence (3). Une pétition européenne a également été lancée et compte plus de 72.000 signatures après seulement quelques jours.(4)

La définition du secret des affaires prévue par la directive est tellement large que presque toutes les informations internes d’une société peuvent y correspondre. Cela mettra en danger toute personne qui révèle ces informations sans le consentement de l’entreprise.

Pour Patrick Kamenka, du syndicat de journalistes français SNJ-CGT, « les citoyens, les journalistes ou encore les scientifiques ont parfois besoin d’avoir accès à ces informations et de les publier dans l’intérêt général. Ils risqueraient alors, comme Antoine Deltour et Edouard Perrin dans l’affaire LuxLeaks, des poursuites judiciaires pouvant se conclure par des peines de prison et des amendes de plusieurs centaines de milliers d’euros. C’est une manière très efficace d’empêcher les gens de dénoncer des cas de mauvaise conduite des entreprises. Quel rédacteur en chef peut se permettre de risquer la banqueroute de son journal ? »

Et ce n’est pas tout. Si la directive est approuvée au niveau européen, les États membres pourront encore aller plus loin quand ils l’adapteront à leurs droits nationaux, et on peut compter sur les multinationales pour les pousser en ce sens.

Pour Martin Pigeon, de Corporate Europe Observatory, « cette bataille ne sera pas facile : les multinationales mènent un lobbying acharné depuis des années pour obtenir cette directive et ont lourdement influencé la rédaction du texte, mais le grand public n’en sait presque rien. Il n’est aujourd’hui malheureusement plus possible, politiquement, d’amender le texte. Nous devons donc demander aujourd’hui aux députés européens de le rejeter en bloc, mais sans mobilisation des citoyens nous n’arriverons à rien. »

Pour Françoise Dumont, présidente de la Ligue des Droits de l’Homme, « le président Hollande vient de remercier les lanceurs d’alerte et la presse pour leur travail sur les Panama Papers et les rentrées fiscales qu’elles vont permettre. Pourrait-il soutenir publiquement Antoine Deltour (Luxleaks) et exiger que ce texte dangereux pour les lanceurs d’alerte et la presse soit retiré ? »

(1) http://www.irishtimes.com/business/retail-and-services/panama-papers-mos…

(2) Cette directive est officiellement appelée « Directive sur la protection des savoir-faire et des informations commerciales non divulgués (secrets d’affaires) contre l’obtention, l’utilisation et la divulgation illicites ».

(3) Voir http://corporateeurope.org/power-lobbies/2016/03/trade-secrets-protection

(4) Voir https://act.wemove.eu/campaigns/les-lanceurs-d-alerte-en-danger

Liste des membres de la coalition européenne

Anticor
ATTAC Spain
ATTAC France
Association Européenne pour la Défense des droits de l’Homme
Centre national de coopération au développement, CNCD-11.11.11
Correctiv.org, Germany
BUKO Pharma-Kampagne
CCFD-Terre Solidaire
CGT Cadres, Ingénieurs, Techniciens (UGICT-CGT)
Collectif Europe et Médicament
Collectif de journalistes “Informer n’est pas un délit”
Comité de soutien à Antoine Deltour
Commons Network
Corporate Europe Observatory
Courage Foundation
Ecologistas en Acción
EcoNexus
European Network of Scientists for Social and Environmental Responsibility (ENSSER)
Fédération Syndicale Unitaire (FSU)
Fondation Sciences Citoyennes
Force Ouvrière-Cadres
Genewatch
GMWatch
Health and Trade Network
Inf’OGM
Institut Veblen
International Society of Drug Bulletins
Les économistes atterrés
Ligue des Droits de l’Homme
Observatoire Citoyen pour la Transparence Financière Internationale (OCTFI)
OGM Dangers
Peuples Solidaires
Nordic Cochrane Centre
Pesticides Action Network Europe (PAN-Europe)
Plateforme Paradis Fiscaux et Judiciaires
Public Concern At Work
Solidaires
SumOfUs
Syndicat des Avocats de France (SAF)
Syndicat National des Chercheurs Scientifiques (SNCS – FSU)
Syndicat National des Journalistes (SNJ)
Syndicat National des Journalistes CGT (SNJ-CGT)
Syndicat de la Magistrature
Tax Justice Network
Transparency International France
WeMove.eu
Whistleblower-Netzwerk e.V., Germany
Xnet
Avocats Européens Démocrates
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Report: Lawyer’s Delegation to Kurdistan (jan.2016)

From 21 to 24 of January 2016, a delegation of 10 lawyers from Austria, Belgium, Germany and Italy visited Diyarbakır, Turkey. The mission was coordinated by two European lawyers’ organizations—the European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and Human Rights (ELDH) and European Democratic Lawyers (EDL)—and the Unione delle Camere Penali Italiane. It was supported by the ÇHD (Çağdaş Hukukçular Derneği) (Contemporary) Progressive Lawyers Association.

Here is their account of the situation.

The delegation submits that there is strong evidence that the Turkish authorities who order(ed) and implement(ed) the curfews may have committed offences against humanity pursuant to Article 77 of the Turkish Penal Code.

 

Further, the committed crimes amount to a collective punishment39 against all inhabitants of the areas under curfew and the security zones. Civilians are to be protected under all circumstances.

 

The delegation concludes that further investigations must be conducted to hold those accountable for the crimes committed.

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Titiriteros- Puppeteers

The AED fully sustains ALA in its work- it has denounced the Judge Ismael Moreno who ordered the detention of three puppeteers as preventive measure.

titiriteros

Read the news article in Diagonal here

and

titiriteros2

read the opinion of ALA here

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Turkish Lawyers detained

AED Statement concerning the detention of the lawyers Ramazan Demir, İrfan Arasan, Ayşe Acinikli, Hüseyin Boğatekin, Şefik Çelik, Adem Çalışçı, Ayşe Başar, Tamer Doğan and Mustafa Ruzgar (16th of March 2016, Istanbul) and previously the detention of the “Academics for peace”.

Amongst the different cases related to human rights that AED/EDL (Avocats Européens Démocrates/Europeans Democratic Lawyers) follows, the situation in Turkey appears to be especially worrisome.

In the early morning of 16th of March 2016, the police broke into the private homes of several lawyers/attorneys in Istanbul. 8 of them, members of the ÖHD (Özgürlükçü Hukukçular Derneği – Association of Lawyers for Freedom), and one of them, also member of ÇHD (Çağdaş Hukukçular Derneği – Progressive Lawyers Association) have been arrested on charges of terrorism: Ramazan Demir, İrfan Arasan, Ayşe Acinikli, Hüseyin Boğatekin, Şefik Çelik, Adem Çalışçı, Ayşe Başar, Tamer Doğan were taken into custody. Later, yet another lawyer was arrested: Mustafa Rüzgar.

Now, our colleagues are released and free. This is good news, although the judge issued for some of the lawyers a ban on leaving the country.

According to the information we have, there is no justification for these arrests and searches. The lawyers are accused of “working for, or belonging to a terrorist organisation.” Everything indicates that the accusations are based on their professional activities.

Neither the police officers nor the prosecutor have provided information on the grounds of the prosecution and the arrests. Lawyers have been arrested without any indictment and without access to any information concerning their arrest.

Currently, as the EU is negotiating with Turkey a common future policy, this constitutes yet another reason to refuse any attack by the Turkish State against Human Rights defenders, against lawyers, against academics, politicians and citizens who are defending a democratic change for Turkey and for Kurdistan. Anyone working for peace must not and cannot be considered a terrorist and/or member of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) because this means that for the Turkish State the only logic is repression. With such actions Turkey does not comply with the minimum standards of democracy and human rights needed to be a member of the UE.

Moreover, the latest news tell us that last week, and within only 3 days, at least 320 citizens were arrested and accused of being member of, or providing support to the PKK. This wave of arrests of journalists, academics and lawyers for Human Rights must stop.

We consider that all these facts constitute an attack on the people and an attempt to silence the opposition in Turkey. The “Academics for Peace” who signed a petition against the government criticizing the military aggressions of many Kurdish cities, have been arrested, in some cases dismissed, and in many cases punished with disciplinary measures. 3 Academics: Esra Mungan, Kıvanç Ersoy and Muzaffer Kaya were imprisoned.

For these reasons, we urge the Turkish government to:

I.- Respect the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, 1990, namely:

– to permit lawyers to perform all of their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference.

– to permit lawyers to travel and to consult with their clients freely both within their own country and abroad.

– and to ensure that lawyers shall not suffer, or be threatened with, prosecution or administrative, economic or other sanctions for any action taken in accordance with recognized professional duties, standards and ethics.

II.- Ensure the respect of the guarantees set out in Art 6, ECHR: a fair hearing, an independent and impartial tribunal established by law and the right to be presumed innocent, to be informed promptly of the nature and cause of the accusation; and to have adequate time and the facilities for the preparation of the defence.

III.- Guarantee the separation of powers: the one element that creates most discussion and complaints is the way that in this type of cases, the members of the Court are elected by the High Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) dominated by the executive power. This makes impossible the independence of justice and coerces the judges and prosecutors in their work because they are subjected to the political decisions of the Ministry of Justice.

IV.- Ensure the real exercise of the freedom of expression, information and ideological freedom, that are not respected at the present time.

For the above mentioned reasons, we are going to bring these cases to the European Institutions and the European Parliament. We believe that this situation does not ensure the exercise of fundamental and civil rights as contained in the treaties signed by the Republic of Turkey. We believe that currently Turkey cannot become a member of the EU without deep democratic reforms.

Créteil, Madrid, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Milano, Istanbul, Bilbo, Brussels, Berlin,

20th of March 2016,

Please download our press statement in English , French or Spanish and make it turn!