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The Ban of the People’s Democratic Party

The undersigned organisations, active in the field of democracy and human rights protection and promotion, are deeply concerned about the ongoing case before the Constitutional Court in Turkey regarding closure of the opposition party Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP). HDP was founded on October 15, 2012 and has since been a vital part of political life in Turkey. Our organisations urge the authorities to uphold the right to political representation in Turkey, and to ensure that any proceedings against political parties and their representatives fully comply with international standards for a fair trial, including the right to an independent and impartial tribunal established by law and defence rights.

Following HDP’s final round of written and oral defences, the Constitutional Court is expected to announce its decision in the coming months. Should the Constitutional Court endorse the Chief Public Prosecutor’s request and rule in favour of its demand to close the HDP permanently or partially, or to completely deprive it of treasury aid, HDP will cease to exist. Its representatives who are allegedly responsible for the facts that – in the Chief Public Prosecutor’s opinion – would warrant the party’s dissolution will also be banned from political activity for 5 years.

The Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Supreme Court of Appeals referred its indictment to the Constitutional Court on June 7, 2021. The indictment requested the dissolution of HDP and banning of 451 party members, including HDP Co-Chairs Mithat Sancar and Pervin Buldan, from politics for 5 years. The words and actions of 69 party members are stated to be the main ground of the demand for closure of the political party. No concrete or reliable evidence attributable to the HDP as an institution was presented in the indictment, and no justification was given for the request for the party’s dissolution, which would violate the right to political representation of over 10% of the voters in the last elections.

Following the preliminary defence presented by the HDP in November 2021, the Chief Public Prosecutor presented its views on the merits to the Constitutional Court, which were notified to the HDP on January 20, 2022. The views on the merits repeat the claims and demands contained in the indictment, without any indication that the Prosecutor’s office took notice of the detailed defence presented by the HDP.

The proceeding takes place against the backdrop of severe democratic and rule of law backsliding in Turkey. Despite constitutional amendments introduced as part of the European Union accession process in the 2000s that made party closures – common in the 1990s – more difficult, the Constitutional Court shut down the Party for a Democratic Society (DTP), a political party preceding the HDP, in 2009. Turkey has been repeatedly condemned in recent years by the European Court of Human Rights for violating the convention. This includes cases regarding the DTP’s closure, HDP and its members, where the Court found the procedures initiated against them to be in violation of the complainants’ rights under the Convention. The Turkish government has consistently failed to comply with ECtHR judgements, which warranted the launch of an infringement procedure against Turkey by the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers on February 2, 2022.

Repeated statements by ruling party AKP and its ally MHP’s spokespersons, calling for HDP’s closure and for its members to be banned from politics also point to an attempt by the government to undermine the ECtHR’s authority and interfere in proceedings before national courts, including the Constitutional Court, in breach of the principle of judicial independence from other State powers.

Our organisations are deeply concerned about the impact that the Constitutional Court’s decision could have on the defendants’ rights and on political democracy in Turkey. We call on the Constitutional Court to ensure that judicial proceedings take place in full compliance with domestic and international fair trial standards, including the principle of judicial independence and impartiality and the rights of the defence. We also urge the Turkish government to respect the independence and impartiality of the judiciary by refraining from directly or indirectly influencing the Court’s decision, and to uphold the rights to political representation and democratic participation, which are a pre-condition for the respect of democracy, the rule of law and human rights in Turkey.

  • Asociación Americana de Juristas (AAJ)
  • Associació Catalana per a la Defensa dels Drets Humans (ACDDH) – Catalonia
  • Asociación Libre de Abogadas y Abogados, (ALA), Madrid
  • Association for Monitoring Equal Rights
  • Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD)
  • Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU)
  • Campaign Against Criminalising Communities (CAMPACC)
  • Center of research and elaboration on democracy/Group for international legal intervention (CRED/GIGI)
  • Civic Space Studies Association
  • Confederation of Lawyers of Asia and the Pacific (COLAP)
  • Coordinamento Italiano Sostegno Donne Afghane (CISDA)
  • Democratic Lawyers Association of Bangladesh (DLAB)
  • Demokratische Juristinnen und Juristen Schweiz (DJS)
  • Eskubideak, Basque Country
  • European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and World Human Rights (ELDH)
  • European Democratic Lawyers (AED-EDL)
  • General Federation of Trade Unions (UK)
  • Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers
  • Human Rights Agenda Association
  • Human Rights Association
  • Human Rights Foundation of Turkey
  • International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI)
  • Italian Democratic Lawyers / Giuristi Democratici
  • International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL)
  • International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
  • KulturForum TürkeiDeutschland e.V.
  • Legal Team, Italy
  • Life-Memory-Freedom Association (Yaşam Bellek Özgürlük)
  • MAF-DAD e.V (Association for Democracy and International Law )
  • National Lawyers Guild International (USA)
  • National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers, Philippines (NUPL)
  • People’s Law Office / International
  • Progressive Lawyers’ Association (ÇHD)
  • Republikanischer Anwältinnen – und Anwälteverein e.V. (RAV), Germany
  • Rete Jin Italia (Jin Net)
  • Rights Initiative Association
  • Rosa Women’s Association
  • Social Policy, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation Studies Association (SPoD)
  • Syndicat des Avocats de France (SAF)
  • Syndicat des Avocats pour la Démocratie, Belgium (le SAD)
  • The Indian Association of lawyers
  • The National Association of Democratic Lawyers, (NADEL), South Africa
  • Transport Salaried Staffs Association
  • Ukrainian Association of Democratic Lawyers
  • Vereinigung Demokratischer Juristinnen und Juristen (VDJ)
  • Vereniging Sociale Rechtshulp Nederland
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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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Stop Police and Judicial Cooperation with the Turkish Republic!

Press release, 26.11.2019

 

We call for the immediate Stop of Police and Judicial Cooperation with the Turkish Republic!

Turkey’s recent history has been marked by the destruction of internal standards of the rule of law and external aggression and war crimes contrary to international law. Neither the bombing of its own civilian population in 2015 and 2016 nor the transformation of the Turkish state into a presidential authoritarian regime in subsequent years resulted in a decisive reaction from our Governments. Neither the dismissal of more than one hundred thousand civil servants, the imprisonment of hundreds of journalists and lawyers, the draconian persecution and punishment of those who exercised their democratic rights, election manipulations, nor the non-recognition of election results Erdoğan did not like, as well as the attack on the Syrian-Kurdish region Afrin, which violated international law, were grounds for our Governments to question the cooperation with the Erdoğan regime. An unspeakable reason for this silence is the alliance formed with Erdoğan to prevent the further migration of refugees to core Europe.

In view of the current events in Northern Syria, we demand from our Governments to finally draw the long overdue consequences given the violations of human rights and international law by the Turkish authoritarian regime.

Athens-based lawyer Yiota Massouridou of AED-EDL explains: »The Turkish state has openly justified its aggression against the North-Syrian Kurds, which is contrary to international law, with the aim of exchanging the current population. A state which propagates ethnic ›cleansing‹, in which fundamental civil and human rights do not apply, in which arbitrariness prevails and which commits crimes against international law must not be treated as a partner by any European government«.

We demand:

  • the immediate cessation of police and judicial cooperation with Turkey
  • the termination of the so-called refugee deal and
  • the revocation of any powers of persecution in State security proceedingsrelating to Turkey. The Turkish state in its current constitution can neither be a partner in refugee policy nor an object of protection under criminal law.

In view of the political persecution of any opposition, the violent oppression of the Kurdish minority and the obvious cooperation of the Turkish state with terrorist organizations such as the Islamic State, police and judicial cooperation with the Republic of Turkey bears the real danger of the involvement of European authorities in oppression, torture and state terrorism.

Berlin-based Lawyer Stefan Kuhn of the Organisationsbüro der Deutschen Strafverteidigervereinigungen clarifies: »Only by strictly refraining from judicial and police cooperation with Turkish authorities, it can be ruled out that repressive measures, torture and unjust judgments are carried out in Turkey through information provided by any European authority. Conversely, courts and authorities in EU member states may not use any information suspected of having been obtained by methods contrary to the rule of law. The EU Governments must not support a criminal regime«.

Avocats Européen Démocrates / European Democratic Lawyers (AED/EDL)
European Association of Lawyers for Democracy & World Human Rights (ELDH)  Komitee für Grundrechte und Demokratie e.V.
Organisationsbüro der Strafverteidigervereinigungen
Republikanischer Anwältinnen- und Anwälteverein e.V. (RAV)
Vereinigung Demokratischer Juristinnen und Juristen e.V. (VDJ)

 

Kontakt:

Republikanischer Anwältinnen- und Anwälteverein Geschäftsstelle
kontakt@rav.de
www.rav.de

Tel. +49 (0)30 41 72 35 55

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No to the aggression of the people of North-East Syria (Rojava)

The AED-EDL expresses its firm condemnation of Turkish military
operations aiming at the invasion of Northern Syria-Rojava.

This invasion has the sole purpose of putting an end to the experience
of the North-East Syrian Democratic Autonomous Administration, and will
cause suffering and mourning primarily in the civilian population.

The Autonomous Administration was born of the common struggle of the
people of North-East Syria, in all their ethnic and religious components
(not only Kurds but also Arabs, Armenians, Turkmen, Chechens, Yazidi,
Alevi, Muslims, Christians) against ISIS while experimenting a new model
of real democratic coexistence.

The invasion of the Turkish troops with the consent of the American
President, aims to annihilate this political project while terrorizing
and massacring, not only those who valiantly fought and beat the ISIS
but also the civilian population.

This invasion risks returning the area to a reconstitution of the
Islamic State.

Realpolitik cannot justify the inertia towards this crime of countries
that proclaim themselves democratic.

We strongly ask that the European Governments:
– Condemn the aggression of the people living in this region: Kurds,
Arabs, Armenians, Turkmen, Chechens, Yazidi, Alevi, Muslims, Christians
– Impose with immediate effect a ban on arms trade with Turkey

As peace and justice are under threat as result of this military
operation, we demand:
– the immediate suspension of the EU-Turkey agreement, because Turkey is
not a safe third country;
– the resettlement of refugees from Turkey to Europe

We express our solidarity with our Kurdish and Turkish colleagues whose
working and living conditions will be even worse in a state of war. We
also want to show our solidarity to all the Turkish citizens who in
spite of the new wave of repression, protest against this military
aggression. Furthermore, we express our solidarity to the people of the
region, asking from now for an international investigation of the facts.

Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, Colmar, Madrid, Milan,
Paris, Rome, Toulouse, Turin….2019

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Le glas de la démocratie ne cesse de sonner en Turquie

COMMUNIQUE CONJOINT MEDEL – AED-EDL

Le glas de la démocratie ne cesse de sonner en Turquie et le référendum constitutionnel tendant à donner les pleins pouvoirs à Recep Tayyip Edogan le fera résonner une nouvelle fois.

La fin de l’état de droit démocratique en TURQUIE

Tout se passe dans un contexte de répression arbitraire allant crescendo depuis le coup d’état raté du 15 juillet pour atteindre une ampleur considérable : près de 45 000 personnes ont été arrêtées (dont 3800 magistrats, 300 avocats, 140 journalistes, des élus, notamment 12 députés, des universitaires…), plus de 150 000 ont été limogées dont un quart des magistrats en poste à la mi-juillet. Ces chiffres -pouvant varier selon les sources mais restant toujours dans le même ordre de grandeur- traduisent une volonté de faire régner la peur bien au-delà de la sphère « complotiste ».

Dire le droit, rendre la justice, défendre un accusé, écrire un article, couvrir un évènement, enseigner … cela n’est plus possible sauf à se soumettre aux exigences du pouvoir.

La liberté d’expression, la liberté académique, l’indépendance et l’impartialité de la justice, le droit à une défense libre, la liberté d’association et de syndicalisation, autant de principes démocratiques qui n’ont plus de place dans le régime turc. La liste des violations des principes démocratiques est sans fin. Sans oublier le rétablissement de la peine de mort, annoncé « au nom de la volonté du peuple » et retentissant comme un énième acte de défi envers l’Europe et ses valeurs.

Il n’y a plus de justice en TURQUIE

Après l’échec du putsch, la démocratie n’a pas triomphé même si le régime politique civil a été sauvé. Et l’épicentre de ce séisme démocratique est la détérioration de la justice et la mise à mal, qui n’en finit plus, de l’Etat de droit.

Des juges menacés en permanence de destitution et d’arrestation ne peuvent juger de façon indépendante et impartiale. Sans compter la quasi annihilation de la défense par des dispositifs procéduraux d’exception (entretien limité et enregistré avec l’avocat, accès au dossier entravé par « l’ordonnance de confidentialité »…) ou par l’intimidation répressive.

En outre, l’instauration de l’impunité d’Etat crée un climat propice à des abus de pouvoir à large échelle. Les ONG Human Rights Watch, Amnesty, l’ONU …tous font état de tortures et de mauvais traitements. Or, dans les décrets-lois pris en application de l’état d’urgence, désormais en place depuis plus de 8 mois, a été insérée une disposition accordant l’immunité aux forces de police pour les crimes commis pendant cette période trouble.

En pleine tempête politique : un référendum constitutionnel pour donner les pleins pouvoirs au président

Dans un tel contexte d’état d’exception permanent, de répression arbitraire et d’écrasement des libertés fondamentales, on ne peut imaginer une consultation électorale sereine sur un texte constitutionnel censé organiser la vie publique des prochaines générations et sceller le sort de la Turquie pour les années à venir.

Tout Etat a le droit de choisir son propre système politique, que ce soit présidentiel ou parlementaire, ou mixte. Ce droit n’est cependant pas inconditionnel : les principes de séparation des pouvoirs et de primauté du droit doivent être respectés et pour cela des contre-pouvoirs doivent être intégrés dans le système politique. Alors que le manque d’indépendance de la justice en Turquie est depuis longtemps préoccupant, les modifications proposées ne feraient qu’affaiblir le rôle de la justice. La mainmise du pouvoir exécutif sur le fonctionnement de la justice serait accentuée, notamment, grâce à un contrôle des décisions de nomination, mutation, discipline et révocation des magistrats via le Conseil des juges et procureurs dont les treize membres seraient nommés directement ou indirectement par le président. Il en serait de même pour les 15 membres de la Cour constitutionnelle.

Et bien d’autres dispositions sont considérées comme dangereuses par la commission de Venise dans un avis récent [-29-CDL-AD (2017) 005] qui souligne la dégénérescence démocratique du système proposé s’orientant clairement vers un régime autoritaire et personnel.

L’Europe, empêtrée dans la gestion des flux migratoires, peine à agir efficacement pour soutenir les mouvements des démocrates en Turquie et la Cour Européenne des droits de l’homme déçoit, pour le moment, la confiance mise par ceux-ci en cette justice des droits de l’homme.

Nous ne devons pas rester silencieux face à ce qui se passe en Turquie et Nous MEDEL et AED continuerons à nous mobiliser aux côtés des démocrates turcs en faveur d’un avenir serein de leur pays dans la plénitude d’une démocratie laissant toute sa place à une justice indépendante et une défense libre.

PARIS le 25 April 2017

 

 

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Report on the International lawyer conference in Ankara

Report by Hans Gaasbeek about the international lawyer conference held in Ankara (Turkey) between the 13th and 15thof January, 2017

The ‘International Conference On Law, State of Emergency And Judicial System in Turkey’ was co-organized by different European lawyer organizations like: the AED (European Democratic Lawyers), the ELDH (European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and World Human Rights) and the Foundation Day of the Endangered Lawyer.

The conference was also co-organized by the European organization of judges MEDEL (Magistrats Européens pour la Démocratie et les Libertés). A great number of bar associations of cities in all corners of Turkey was co-organizer and had a big impact on the programme and organization of the conference.

The conference was held in Hotel Plaza in Ankara, where a lot of international colleagues were staying for the weekend.

This was a pleasant hotel with a very well-equipped conference room. There was no special security, except for one unarmed person at the entrance of the hotel. There was a huge interest from Turkish lawyers in the conference. They were coming from over 30 Turkish cities. There were 300/400 lawyers and judges taking part. 6 panels were organized with different speakers, who highlighted their specific subject. The subject of the speeches was the actual situation of the disappearing state of law in Turkey.

It was very different from other lawyer conferences. In this conference there was a lot of attention for the other professionals who are also endangered. There was a journalist panel, a judges panel, a panel of members of parliament. The panels of the journalists, judges and members of parliament and also the international panel and the Turkish lawyer panels have painted a very accurate picture of the actual situation and how the different professions are threatened and have to work in an atmosphere of fear and intimidation.

In the international panel I informed the public about the way the Dutch social lawyers association VSAN works and about the way of working of the Foundation Day of the Endangered Lawyer. I also invited the lawyers of the 30 Turkish cities to manifest themselves on the Day of the Endangered Lawyer for the general position of the lawyers and the attacks on the Rule of Law. I explained how the actual difficult situation in Turkey is seen by the politicians and press in Holland. During the congress I was in contact with a journalist of the Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad a couple of times; he published a small interview with me on the internet (a copy of this interview is attached to this report). I was the only person from the Netherlands present on this international conference.

Because of the fear for tensions and possible problems for the organizors of the conference, I had informed and invited the Dutch embassy to take part in the conference. After a few contacts via e-mail we were able to establish a good working relationship with the second secretary of the embassy, who was present during the afternoon programme on the second day of the conference. I introduced him to a lot of judges and lawyers who represented the different Turkish bar associations and the international organizations. He was the only diplomatic visitor, which gave the conference an extra dimension, also from the point of view of safety.

The former German judge Ingrid Heinlein was also present at the conference. We had already been in touch with her in 2016, when the Day of the Endangered Lawyer focused on the difficult situation of the lawyers and judges in Honduras. This judge had taken part in a fact-finding human rights mission in Honduras two years ago. She has already been a member of the international European judges organization MEDEL for more than 20 years, and is also a member of the German ‘judges for judges’-association. I also contacted the Dutch foundation Rechters voor Rechters (Judges for Judges) about the Ankara conference. The president of this foundation had also thought about taking part in this conference.

During the conference, there were no real problems with the Turkish police or justice authorities, apart from one incident: the Italian lawyer Barbara Spinelli – who was going to speak at the conference – was stopped at the airport in Istanbul. They arrested her and made her spend one night imprisoned, before sending her back to Italy the next day. She was hindered in taking part in the conference, while she was one of the speakers of the international panel.

During the conference a lot of information was given to the lawyers and judges present. After the failed coup attempt 70.000/80.000 people were put in prison. Among them were 3007 judges and prosecutors and about 300 lawyers.

Detaining so many judges and lawyers is a very, very intimidating action for these professions and, in my view, it means the abrupt end of the Rule of Law in Turkey. We cannot possibly speak of an independent judicial system anymore, in which no political or other state power influences decisions. At the moment the government exercises extreme power over the judiciary. This is an unacceptable situation for a democracy.

Those present in the conference were told that many radio stations and television stations and newspapers were closed by the government. The speakers in the panels were under the impression that after the coup, many people were arrested arbitrarily and for not very logical reasons. Judges, lawyers and prosecutors were arrested randomly. Furthermore, at the conference it was said that the Turkish government didn’t do any serious investigation on the real perpetrators after the coup. It was even said that the investigation had already been closed or would close very soon.

At one lawyers office 7 lawyers were arrested. One of the people still representing this office gave me a small file with a request for help. The last remaining lawyer at this office – who had not yet been arrested – had to offer legal assistance to his own colleagues.

After being arrested, judges and lawyers are being kept in detention, according to their Turkish colleagues, in opposition to the rules of the European Convention on Human Rights and against the standards of the Turkish detention laws. Arrested lawyers and judges are not allowed to see a lawyer, and if they are, it is – in the best case – only half an hour per week. All contacts with their lawyer and with third parties are being recorded and monitored by police officers in prison. Official papers are being copied by the prison authorities. Besides that, lawyers are directly identified with their clients who are often accused of being part of the Gülen movement.

I was impressed by the very strong solidarity between all the lawyers coming from more than 30 Turkish cities from all over the country. The Turkish lawyers were very happy to have the support of the co-organizing European lawyer organizations and the organizations of judges. All the international guests were treated with big hospitality and personal support.

Among the many arrested lawyers and judges there are also many presidents from local bar associations and even from courts. The Turkish media who are pro-Erdogan and who are pro-the Turkish government are often accusing the arrested jurists of being terrorists, which makes it easier for the government to treat the arrested more severely and facilitates even more restrictions during their detention.

Since July 2016, the Turkish government has lifted c.q. suspended the working of the ECHR, by declaring a state of emergency and prolonging this afterwards. In Turkey groups and individual persons are often being accused of being a member of a criminal organization. Furthermore there have been many house and office searches in the homes and working places of arrested lawyers and judges. There have been many complaints about the treatment of people in detention. Many detained lawyers and judges complain about the fact that they were harmed psychologically and physically because the lights in their cells were on the entire night, so they couldn’t sleep. The detained lawyers and judges are often humiliated; they complained of being exposed in handcuffs in court houses.

There seems to be a situation of growing lawlessness, which is not only increasing for the arrested judges and lawyers, but also for those who have not yet been arrested.

We have been informed that the prosecution of judges and lawyers in Turkey is done with many faults and in a very careless manner. Many people are accused, without any real evidence or proof. Also, most of the times the actual exact accusation is very unclear. Often, it appears that the accusations are quite bizarre like undermining the state, doing terrorist acts or being a member of a criminal organization. Especially since the Turkish government has forbidden many, many organizations, also two well-known lawyer organizations, OHD and CHD, people can now be arrested quickly and be seen as an offender when they are a member of such forbidden lawyer organizations or active in such organizations.

The Turkish colleagues took very good care of their foreign colleagues. We were picked up and brought back to the airport and treated with a lot of hospitality.

From my contacts with many Turkish colleagues at the conference, it appears to me that many people are exhausted because of the continuous pressing political situation. It was clear that the colleagues are suffering because of this actual political situation. In Ankara, there was a lot of police on the street and it was no longer a town with atmosphere.

At the diner in the building from the bar of Ankara, the situation was quite different. After a very nice dinner, we heard people singing Turkish songs and dancing. After saying goodbye to our colleagues we took the bus to the airport and left with mixed feelings. We were leaving while they had to continue living in this difficult situation.

Hans Gaasbeek

International coordinator of the Day of the Endangered Lawyer, president of the Foundation Day of the Endangered Lawyer and vice president of the Dutch League of Human Rights

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Update on Trials in Turkey

A colleague in Istanbul, the lawyer Elvan Olkun, has sent us an update of the trials taking place in Turkey at the moment:

1. Trial of the members of  ÖHD (ÖZGÜRLÜKÇÜ HUKUKÇULAR DERNEĞI – ASSOCIATION OF LAWYERS FOR FREEDOM)

12 lawyers, members of ÖHD (Özgürlükçü Hukukçular Derneği – Association of Lawyers for Freedom) are being tried in front of the 14th Penal Court of Istanbul 14th.

Two of the accused lawyers, Ramazan Demir and Ayşe Acinikli are detained since the 6th of April 2016. There also 38 other accused who are not lawyers. The accused lawyers are : Ramazan Demir, Ayşe Acinikli, Hüseyin Boğatekin, İrfan Araslan, Ayşe Gösterişlioğlu, Tamer Doğan, Mustafa Rüzgar, Sinan Zincir, Raziye Turgut, Ruhşen Mahmutoğlu, Şefik Çelik, Adem Çalişci.

They are accused of being members of the terrorist organization and/or making propaganda for a terrorist organization. The lawyers are accused because of the way they have been conducting their profession.

The next hearing will be heard before 14th Istanbul Penal Court on June 22nd, 2016 at 11.00, at Caglayan Courthouse situated in Sisli District of Istanbul.

It will be the first hearing since the prosecutor submitted his indictment. The purpose of the hearing will be to hear the initial defence of the defendants and submission of their representatives and to determine whether to release the detainees or not.

Ayse Acinikli and Ramazan Demir have been shown as nominees for number of international human rights awards. There have been several international campaigns inviting the authorities to release them but unfortunately they are still imprisoned.

demir&ayse

II) The so-called  KCK Lawyers’ trial

This is one of the biggest trials against lawyers: 46 lawyers are being tried. Some of the lawyers had been detained for long time. During the trials detained lawyers have been released.

Lawyers are accused of being members of terrorist organization. The common point amongst these accused lawyers is that they have all been lawyers of Abdullah Öcalan.

The hearing will take place on the 28th of June 2016 in front of the 19th Istanbul Criminal Court.

The prosecutor and the court seem to be willing to come to an end as soon as possible You can find the summary of the indictment and some previous notes on the trial enclosed to this message.

 

III) ÇHD LAWYERS TRIAL

The president of ÇHD, Selçuk Kozağaçlı, as well as other 8 members of the association are on trial. Nine of the accused lawyers had been detained for long time and then released.

The next hearing of this case will take place on the 5th October 2016 in front of the 23rd Istanbul Criminal Court.

The defence argues that the evidence presented is simply illegal and that the accusation is only based on political grounds. The defence asks the court to follow the origins of this illegal evidence and to remove it from the case file. The defence also asks the Court to interrogate all the witnesses itself, and not authorize different local courts to hear the witnesses.

 

These three trials against lawyers are based on political grounds. The accused lawyers are well known for representing the members of oppositional groups, representing the oppressed, women under threat, workers, students etc. Their work as lawyers disturbs the governing authorities.

 

 

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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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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.