Ms. Hacer Nar remains indeed detained in Bakirköy prison since April 12, 2009. She was formally charged with being member of an illegal organisation (Article 314.2 of the Turkish Penal Code).
The first hearing in this case will take place on November 23, 2009 before the Heavy Penal Court of Istanbul.
Ms. Nar was arrested in the street as she was going to her office on April 12, 2009. A few days before her arrest, on April 9, 2009, security forces had broken into the offices of the "Mothers for Peace" association. The search had been allowed by court decision. They searched the premises and confiscated a computer, a hard drive as well as working documents of the association.
The material seized has still not yet been returned to the association.
The Observatory denounces the continuation of the arbitrary detention of Ms. Hacer Nar, which seems to merely aim at sanctioning her human rights activities.
The Observatory therefore urges the Turkish authorities to guarantee in all circumstances her physical and psychological integrity, and to release her immediately and unconditionally.
The Observatory further calls upon the European Commission Delegation in Turkey, European Union member-States’ embassies and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to observe the upcoming trial against Ms. Nar and to report on violations noted throughout the hearings.
More generally, the Observatory calls upon the Turkish authorities to put an end to any kind of harassment - including at the judicial level - against Ms. Hacer Nar, her association, as well as against all human rights defenders in Turkey, in conformity with the 1998 UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders as well as with international and regional human rights instruments ratified by Turkey.