TUR 003 / 0417 / OBS 044
Arbitrary detention /
Judicial harassment
Turkey
April 20, 2017
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Turkey.
Description of the situation:
The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the arbitrary detention and judicial harassment of Ms. Ayşe Dicle, Co-Chair of the Mesopotamia Association of Assistance and Solidarity for Families with Lost Relatives (MEYA-DER), which was shut down under the state of emergency regulations [1].
According to the information received, on March 9, 2017, as she was visiting one of her relatives at the maternity hospital in Diyarbakır, Ms. Ayşe Dicle was arrested by police officers and taken to Diyarbakır Provincial Security Directorate Anti-Terror Bureau.
She was detained there for six days before the Criminal Judge of Peace in Diyarbakır ordered her detention on charges of “being a member of a terrorist organisation” under Article 314 of the Turkish Penal Code. She is being held at Diyarbakır Prison since March 15, 2017, under poor conditions including overcrowded cells and lack of access to sanitary facilities and medical services.
The accusations pending against Ms. Ayşe Dicle are connected to an investigation opened in 2014 by the Diyarbakır Prosecutor into the “city assemblies” [2] which claims that the Kayapınar City Assembly is an assembly of the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK).
The Observatory strongly condemns the arbitrary arrest of Ms. Ayşe Dicle, which appears to only aim at sanctioning her peaceful and legitimate human rights activities.
Accordingly, the Observatory calls upon the Turkish judicial authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Ms. Ayşe Dicle, and end all forms of harassment against her.
Actions requested:
Please write to the authorities in Turkey, urging them to:
i. Release Ms. Ayşe Dicle immediately and unconditionally, as her detention is arbitrary since it only aims at sanctioning her legitimate human rights activities;
ii. Guarantee Ms. Ayşe Dicle’s right to due process and a fair trial, including access to her lawyer and to information about the judicial procedure against her;
iii. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Ms. Ayşe Dicle as well as of all human rights defenders in Turkey;
iv.Put an end to all forms of harassment, including at judicial level, against Ms. Ayşe Dicle, as well as all human rights defenders in Turkey;
v. Comply with all the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defendersadopted by the UN General Assembly on December 9, 1998, in particular its Articles 1, 5 and 12.2;
vi. Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rights standards and international instruments ratified by Turkey.
Addresses:
· President of Turkey, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Fax: (+90 312) 525 58 31, E-mail: contact@tccb.gov.tr
· Prime Minister of Turkey, Mr. Binali Yıldırım; Fax:+90 (312) 403 62 82
· Minister of Justice, Mr. Bekir Bozdağ, Fax: +90 (0312) 419 33 70; E-mail: info@adalet.gov.tr
· Minister of Interior, Mr. Süleyman Soylu; Fax: +90 (312) 425 61 30;Email: ozelkalem@icisleri.gov.tr
· Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Twitter account: @MFATurkey
· Ambassador Izzet Selim Yenel, Diplomatic Mission of Turkey to the European Union in Brussels, Fax: + 32 2 511 04 50, Email: tr-delegation.eu@mfa.gov.tr
· H.E. Ambassador Mr. Ali Naci Koru, Permanent Mission of Turkey to the United Nations in Geneva, Fax: +41 22 734 08 59; Email: mission.turkey@ties.itu.int
Please also write to the diplomatic mission or embassy of Turkey in your respective country.
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Paris-Geneva, April 20, 2017
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 by FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT). The objective of this programme is to intervene to prevent or remedy situations of repression against human rights defenders. FIDH and OMCT are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu , the European Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented by international civil society.
To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
·E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org
·Tel and fax FIDH + 33 (0) 1 43 55 25 18 / +33 1 43 55 18 80
·Tel and fax OMCT + 41 (0) 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29