New information
TUR 002 / 0613 / OBS 059
Judicial harassment / Arbitrary detentions /
Releases
Turkey
June 28, 2013
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), has received new information and requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Turkey.
New information:
The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources of the ongoing judicial harassment faced by 47 lawyers, one journalist, one legal secretary and two drivers [1], and the continued provisional detention of 15 lawyers, Messrs. Mehdi ÖZTÜZÜN, Faik Özgür EROL, Muharem ŞAHİN, Fuat COŞACAK, İbrahim BİLMEZ, Emran EMEKÇİ, Cengiz ÇİÇEK, Doğan ERBAŞ, Hatice KORKUT, Ömer GÜNEŞ, Mehmet Sani KIZILKAYA, Mehmet BAYRAKTAR, Bedri KURAN and Sabahattin KAYA, and Ms. Asya ÜLKER, and journalist Cengiz KAPMAZ under terrorism charges.
Almost all lawyers had been involved in the legal representation of the leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), Abdullah Öcalan, and are accused of “passing orders”. Some were also engaged, as defence lawyers, in the Kurdish Communities Union (KCK) [2] main trial held before Diyarbakır Heavy Penal Court No. 6 and had taken a stance against the ban to use the Kurdish language before the Diyarbakır courts. All accused are prosecuted under charges of being “members” or “executives” “in an illegal organisation”, in this case the KCK.
According to the information received, on June 20, 2013, the Istanbul Heavy Penal Court No. 6 held in the Campus of the Silivri Prison the fifth hearing in the long running mass trial of lawyers. The court heard several of the accused and decided to provisionally release seven of the accused lawyers, mostly some it had heard at the previous hearing. Defence lawyers raised several irregularities in the act of indictment. The prosecution of another lawyer, Mr. Bekir KAYA, was joined to this case. The Court postponed the hearing to September 17, 2013.
The Observatory mandated an international trial observer for this hearing, as well as for the four previous hearings.
The Observatory is deeply concerned by this ongoing judicial harassment and the continued arbitrary detention of 15 lawyers and one journalist, which seems to merely aim at sanctioning the legitimate exercise of their profession, and calls upon the Turkish judicial authorities to release them immediately and unconditionally and drop the charges. It also regrets the splitting of the hearing into several one-day hearings, which undermines the right to a defence.
The Observatory further recalls that dozens of human rights defenders are currently subjected to prolonged judicial harassment for abusive terrorism charges in Turkey. In this context, members of Human Rights Association (İnsan Haklari Derneği - İHD) have particularly been the subject of a systematic campaign of judicial harassment, as a direct result of their human rights work in Turkey, in particular on Kurdish issues.
This trial is one of dozens of ongoing mass show trials of Kurdish intellectuals and activists in Turkey. Since 2009, over 8,000 people have been arrested in the name of the KCK investigations – counter-terrorism operations that in reality have little to do with countering terrorism, but rather have been used as a means of criminalising peaceful dissent and Kurdish political and cultural expression.
Background information [3]:
On November 22, 2011, an unprecedented broad campaign of arrest was launched and targeted dozens of lawyers from the Ağrı, Ardahan, Batman, Bursa, Diyarbakır, Denizli,Hakkari, Istanbul, Izmir, Kars, Mersin, Mus, Siirt, Sırnak, Urfa, Van Bar Associations, one journalist and three staff working for Asrin Law Firm (one legal secretary and two law office drivers) in the scope of an anti-terrorism operation. Several of the lawyers belonged to Asrin Law Firm. They were taken into custody in Istanbul for their alleged membership in KCK under charges of “membership in an illegal organisation” and “directing an illegal organisation”.
All were remanded into custody pending the end of the investigation after they had been interrogated at the Beşiktaş (Istanbul) Heavy Penal Court No. 11 and detained in İstanbul Bakırköy Closed Prison for Females or Kocaeli Kandıra F Type Closed Prison No. 2. Some were arrested a few weeks or months after. At the beginning of the detention, communication between some of the lawyers and their families was restricted.
On April 18, 2012, the court accepted the indictment order submitted to it on April 6. 46 lawyers together with one journalist and three staff working for Asrin Law Firm were charged of “belonging to a criminal organisation” under Article 314 of the TPC [4]. The opening of this case, known as the “Lawyers’ Trial”, was scheduled for July 16, 2012.
The indictment is mostly based on recordings of discussions held between Abdullah Öcalan and his lawyers in the visiting room of İmralı Island Prison, in violation of the principle of confidentiality between lawyer and client, which is fundamental to an effective legal defence or on evidence related to acts ordinarily conducted by lawyers to defend their clients.
On July 16-17, 2012, the trial opened before the Istanbul Heavy Penal Court No. 6 in Çağlayan Justice Palace. At the time, only 36 lawyers and the journalist remained in pre-trial detention. All other had been provisionally released. At the end of this hearing nine lawyers were provisionally released. Dozens of international trial observers monitored the hearing, including one lawyer mandated by the Observatory. Trial observers complained about the very bad material conditions of the hearing, which impaired the right to a fair trial.
Subsequently, one-day hearings took place on November 6, 2012, January 3, 2013 and March 27, 2013 inside the Campus of the Silivri Prison, which has larger courtrooms. But, still, at some hearings, the family of the accused were denied access to the courtroom due to the lack of space. One lawyer was provisionally released on January 3 and four on March 27.
These hearings revealed a series of abuses in the prosecution of these lawyers, including illegal wire-tapping of confidential lawyer-client meetings, illegal searches conducted in law firms and other forms of covert surveillance, the failure of the court to give reasons for its decisions, the unconstitutionality of some of the provisions on which prosecution is based, the vagueness of elements of crime substantiating the prosecution, etc.
Actions required:
Please write to the Turkish authorities, urging them to:
i. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Mehdi ÖZTÜZÜN, Faik Özgür EROL, Muharem ŞAHİN, Fuat COŞACAK, İbrahim BİLMEZ, Emran EMEKÇİ, Cengiz ÇİÇEK, Doğan ERBAŞ, Hatice KORKUT, Ömer GÜNEŞ, Mehmet Sani KIZILKAYA, Mehmet BAYRAKTAR, Bedri KURAN, Sabahattin KAYA, Cengiz KAPMAZ, Asya ÜLKER, Bekir KAYA, Nevzat ANUK, Baran PAMUK, Ergün CANAN, Nezahat PAŞA BAYRAKTAR, Meral ATASOY ATAN, Fırat AYDINKAYA, Yalçın SARITAŞ, Şaziye ÖNDER, Mustafa ERASLAN, Mehmet Sabır TAŞ, Cemal DEMİR, Ümit SİSLİGÜN, Erdal SAFALI, Ayşe BATUMLU KAYA, Nevzat ANUK, Baran PAMUK, Ergün CANAN, Nezahat PAŞA BAYRAKTAR, Meral ATASOY ATAN, Fırat AYDINKAYA, Yalçın SARITAŞ, Mehmet Deniz BÜYÜK, Serkan AKBAŞ, Servet DEMİR, Mehmet AYATA, Şakir DEMİR, Mizgin IRGAT, Mensur IŞIK, Sabahat Zeynep ARAT, Hüseyin KARASU and Sıdık BAL. as well as all human rights defenders in Turkey;
ii. Release Messrs. Mehdi ÖZTÜZÜN, Faik Özgür EROL, Muharem ŞAHİN, Fuat COŞACAK, İbrahim BİLMEZ, Emran EMEKÇİ, Cengiz ÇİÇEK, Doğan ERBAŞ, Hatice KORKUT, Ömer GÜNEŞ, Mehmet Sani KIZILKAYA, Mehmet BAYRAKTAR, Bedri KURAN, Sabahattin KAYA and Cengiz KAPMAZ as well as Ms. Asya ÜLKER immediately and unconditionally since their detention is arbitrary as it seems to only aim at sanctioning their human rights activities;
iii. Guarantee human rights defenders full and unconditional access to their lawyers and families, as of the beginning of their arrest;
iv. Put an end to all acts harassment, including at the judicial level, against Messrs. Mehdi ÖZTÜZÜN, Faik Özgür EROL, Muharem ŞAHİN, Fuat COŞACAK, İbrahim BİLMEZ, Emran EMEKÇİ, Cengiz ÇİÇEK, Doğan ERBAŞ, Hatice KORKUT, Ömer GÜNEŞ, Mehmet Sani KIZILKAYA, Mehmet BAYRAKTAR, Bedri KURAN, Sabahattin KAYA, Cengiz KAPMAZ, Asya ÜLKER, , Bekir KAYA, Nevzat ANUK, Baran PAMUK, Ergün CANAN, Nezahat PAŞA BAYRAKTAR, Meral ATASOY ATAN, Fırat AYDINKAYA, Yalçın SARITAŞ, Şaziye ÖNDER, Mustafa ERASLAN, Mehmet Sabır TAŞ, Cemal DEMİR, Ümit SİSLİGÜN, Erdal SAFALI, Ayşe BATUMLU KAYA, Nevzat ANUK, Baran PAMUK, Ergün CANAN, Nezahat PAŞA BAYRAKTAR, Meral ATASOY ATAN, Fırat AYDINKAYA, Yalçın SARITAŞ, Mehmet Deniz BÜYÜK, Serkan AKBAŞ, Servet DEMİR, Mehmet AYATA, Şakir DEMİR, Mizgin IRGAT, Mensur IŞIK, Sabahat Zeynep ARAT, Hüseyin KARASU and Sıdık BAL as well as against all human rights defenders in Turkey and ensure in all circumstances that they are able to carry out their work without unjustified hindrances;
v. Comply with the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998, especially its Article 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”, as well as Article 12.2, which provides that “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration”;
vi. More generally, ensure in all circumstances the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international and regional human rights instruments ratified by Turkey.
Addresses:
President of Turkey, Mr. Abdullah Gül, Cumhurbaskanligi 06100 Ankara, Turkey; Fax: +90 312 468 5026; Email: cumhurbaskanligi@tccb.gov.tr
Prime Minister, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Office of the Prime Minister Basbakanlik 06573 Ankara, Turkey, Fax: + 90 312 417 0476; Email: receptayyip.erdogan@basbakanlik.gov.tr
Deputy Prime Minister Responsible for Human Rights and Counter Terrorism, Mr. Beşir Atalay, Email: besir.atalay@tbmm.gov.tr, Fax: 00 90 (312) 422 13 98
Interior Minister, Mr. Idris Naim Şahin, 06644 Ankara, Turkey; Fax: + 90 312 418 17 95 / +90 312 418 7696,
Justice Minister, Mr. Sadullah Ergin, Ministry of Justice/ Adalet Bakanligi, 06659 Ankara, Turkey; Fax: + 90 312 414 62 26
Foreign Minister, Mr. Ahmed Davudoglu, Office of the Prime Minister, Basbakanlik, 06573 Ankara, Turkey; Fax: +90 312 287 88 11
Ambassador, Mr. Oğuz Demiralp, Permanent Mission of Turkey to the United Nations in Geneva, Ch. du Petit-Saconnex 28b - CP 271, CH-1211, Geneva 19, Switzerland, E-mail: mission.turkey@ties.itu.int, Fax: +41 22 734 08 59
Ambassador, Mr. Izzet Selim Yenel, Diplomatic Mission of Turkey to the European Union in Brussels, Avenue des Arts 36-38, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium, Fax: + 32 2 511 04 50.