Ramazan Demir and Ayse Acinikli are members of the Association of Lawyers for Freedom (Ozgurlukcu Hukukcular Dernegi – OHD). They were rearrested on April 6, 2016, and have been detained since then - under terrorism-related charges.
Ramazan Demir and Ayse Acinikli had previously faced a brief arrest on March 16, 2016, alongside seven other OHD lawyers, after their houses in Istanbul were raided by the police within the framework of an anti-terrorism operation targeting at least 89 individuals throughout the country. During their interrogation, they were questioned about interviews they gave in the media, complaints they lodged before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and visits to their clients. The hearing of June 22 will address the whole case against the OHD lawyers.
The Observatory for the protection of human rights defenders (an FIDH and OMCT partnership) will send a lawyer to observe this hearing.