European Lawyers report Massive Human Rights Violations in Diyarbakir (Turkey)

London/Düsseldorf, 25th January 2016

Press Release:
European Lawyers report Massive Human Rights Violations in Diyarbakir (Turkey) due to curfew –immediate international action needed

A delegation* of 10 lawyers from Austria, Belgium, Germany, and Italy visited Diyarbakir, Turkey, from 21st to 24th of January 2016 to monitor the impact of the curfew on the population. The mission was coordinated by two European lawyers’ organisations, the European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and Human Rights (ELDH) and the European Democratic Lawyers (EDL), and also the “Unione delle Camere Penali Italiane”.

The lawyers had meetings with the bar association, human rights organizations, the chamber of doctors, families of victims, a women’s organization, the co-mayor of the city and the People’s Democratic Party. In the course of these meetings, they received reports about a dramatic situation.

In the Sur district, the ancient centre of Diyarbakir, as well as other cities and districts of the region, curfews are being imposed by the government. In Sur, the 125.000 inhabitants of 6 neighbourhoods are completely isolated by the curfew. Around 22,000 people had left the curfew areas, some of them deliberately, most of them forced by the military. People living in the area subject to curfew are not allowed to leave; exit is allowed only in rare moments when the curfew is lifted and even then subject to the arbitrary decisions of the army officers. People who leave those areas are not sure that they will be allowed to go back to their homes. On the contrary, no one who is not a resident of Sur can enter. This results also in a serious lack of transparency. No one is able to assess the real situation because no international delegation or independent person is allowed to see with his own eyes. Therefore no- one has a chance to collect evidence, participate in an autopsy etc. This makes it easy for the state to claim that; “everyone who had died was a terrorist” or was “killed by terrorists”.

The population is not properly informed about a temporary lifting of the curfew and about the time when it was re-imposed. For this reason in some cases people, among them several school-children, have been shot by military snipers because they were not aware of the restart of the curfew. The curfew in Sur has lasted already for more than 50 days, day and night. The consequence is that the basic needs of citizens of Sur are violated. They have no access to medical care; access to drinking water, food and electricity is limited. In the whole region, an estimated 1.5 million people are directly or indirectly affected by the curfews and the military atrocities.

The inhabitants of Sur are taken hostage by the military, and are subjected to ill-treatment and to extreme violence. The delegation could hear gun-fire day and night, and observed helicopters and fighter jets flying over the city and armoured vehicles patrolling the streets. The rights to education, health and health care and free movement are being violated. Houses are destroyed by the military and water pipes and electricity lines are interrupted and/or destroyed.

The Turkish government boasts to have killed hundreds of fighters. They don’t mention the hundreds of civilians, among them many children, who have been killed and wounded. Wounded people remain on the street because they are prevented from receiving medical treatment and die because of their injuries. Corpses of men, women and children remain on the streets often for many days, because their families are prevented from burying them.

Every morning, fully equipped doctors demand access to the curfew zone but are pushed back by police.

This curfew violates Turkish as well as international law. According to the Turkish constitution and the State of Emergency Law, the prerequisite for the declaration of a curfew is the declaration of a state of emergency. The Council of Ministers did not declare a State of Emergency. International human rights treaties which have been ratified by Turkey are not respected.

The lawyers call upon

  • The Turkish Government to put an immediate end to the unlawful curfew and to respect national and international law and treaties;
  • The European Institutions to do all they can to end this human tragedy. The legally questionable cooperation between the EU and Turkey against the free movement of refugees cannot justify the silence of the European Union towards the crimes, which are being committed right now in Diyarbakir, Cizre and other towns in the region;
  • The United Nations to convene urgently a meeting of the UN Security Council on the deteriorating situation of the civilians under curfew.

 

For more information, contact

Silke Studzinsky
E-mail: sist@rajus.de

Tel.: +49 (0) 177 5034907

Journée de l’avocat en danger 2016 – Mobilisons-nous en faveur des avocats de Honduras !

Depuis le coup d’état de 2009, les violations graves des droits de l’homme, commises à grande échelle, ont fortement affecté la population du Honduras. L’absence de réaction de l’Etat à la hauteur de la gravité de la situation est largement dénoncée par les organes des Nations-Unies et la Commission interaméricaine des droits de l’homme.

Les avocats ne sont pas épargnés par cette situation. La pratique du droit est en soi génératrice de risque dans un contexte de perte totale de confiance de la population envers l’institution judiciaire et ses différents acteurs.

Le nombre d’avocats enregistrés auprès du barreau national du Honduras s’élève à 18.000.

La Commission nationale des droits de l’homme (CONADEH) a enregistré entre 2010 et mars 2015, 89 cas de mort violente de professionnels du droit (avocats, juges et membres du parquet).

Dans la grande majorité, ces meurtres ont été commis à l’arme à feu et dans au moins 82% des cas, le ou les auteurs de ces crimes restent impunis.

L’absence de mise en place de programmes spécifiques de protection pour les acteurs de justice par les autorités a été régulièrement dénoncée par la Commission interaméricaine des droits de l’homme. Tous réclament de l’Etat autant la mise en place des mesures nécessaires à la protection de leur intégrité physique et morale.

Trop souvent l’avocat est rendu responsable des disfonctionnements de la justice ou même simplement du fait que le juge a tranché en faveur de la partie adverse. Dans un pays où la violence est omniprésente,  la frustration ressentie par les justiciables se règle trop souvent par des attaques, souvent fatales, à l’encontre des avocats ou magistrats.

Un avocat au Honduras doit être formé à la sécurité, pouvoir être sélectif dans les dossiers qu’il accepte et exclure tout dossier potentiellement générateur de danger en raison de la personnalité des parties ou des enjeux présents.

Une telle situation n’est pas conforme à la mission de l’avocat et est dénoncée par tous comme ayant des conséquences graves sur la capacité des professionnels du droit à exercer leurs fonctions de façon indépendante et impartiale.

European Lawyers Delegation visits Diyarbakir

A delegation of European lawyers will visit Diyarbakir from 21st to 24th January 2016. The 13 participants come from Belgium, Germany, Italy, and Austria. Two European lawyers’ organisations are supporting this initiative, the European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and Human Rights (ELDH) and the European Democratic Lawyers (EDL) and also the “Unione delle Camere Penali Italiane”

ELDH and EDL are gravely concerned about the deterioration of human rights in the region which has escalated since the Turkish government stopped the peace negotiations with the Kurdish Workers Party PKK. For many weeks now a curfew has been imposed upon several towns in the region of Diyarbakir and Şırnak and upon a great part of the centre of Diyarbakir. The Turkish government boasts that it has killed several hundred PKK fighters. It fails to mention the civilians who have also died, in particular due to the use of heavy weapons by the Turkish army inside densely populated areas of several towns. On 28th November 2015 the President of the Diyarbakir Bar Association was killed on the street when he gave a press conference asking for a peaceful solution of the conflict. In press releases ELDH and EDL condemned the murder of Tahir Elçi and demanded an international independent investigation into the circumstances.

The former judge of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), Riza Türmen, who is now a CHP Member of Parliament, stated that the long-term military curfew constitutes a violation of state responsibility. Several victims of the curfew have complained to the ECtHR demanding an end to the military operations and the lifting of the curfew. Nevertheless the court ruled on 13th January 2016 that the evidence at its disposal was not sufficient for it to order interim measures. However the court asked the applicants to keep it informed of any further developments. Lastly, given the gravity of the situation, the Court indicated to the Government “to take any necessary steps to ensure that physically vulnerable individuals can have access to treatment if they so request”.

The European lawyers visiting Diyarbakir are going to investigate

  • the dimension and the character of the human rights violations
  • civilian casualties
  • the curfew, the number of concerned people, the impact of the curfew on the populations andif the government meets the demands of the ECtHRThe members of the delegation will talk to representatives of HDP, the Diyarbakir Bar Association, the Diyarbakir Chamber of Medicine, the Human Rights Association of Diyarbakir, a women’s association, the family of Tahir Elçi, the families of victims. They will also talk to a lawyer who represents victims of the curfew in Diyarbakir before the European Court of Human Rights.

    After their visit the lawyers will publish a report.

Download the press release.

ADVOCACY IN HONDURAS: A COMPLEX ROAD

Lawyer Jose Luis Valladares Guifarro

Spanish version

 

I come from a small and wonderful country numbed by the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Honduras is an ancient land, the cradle of one of the most prominent before the discovery of America astronomical centers : the Mayan city of Copan and likewise one of the most important so far in the XXI Century findings : the White City or Town Monkey God, recently enhanced by the National Geographic.

 

In Honduras miraculous events occur and therefore inexplicable, like the rain of fish; which they are collected in fields and streets by the inhabitants of a village inland.But such beauty of unspoiled landscapes with flora, fauna and habitats polychrome culture, aromas and flavors, complemented by the work of industrious and noble people in camps and cities; has been overshadowed in recent years, violence against professional association of lawyers.The exercise of the profession of law has become a risky job because the volatility of the social scene in Honduras was wroth with two particular professions: journalism and advocacy.

 

Lecture, in minutes, about the reality of the lawyer in Honduras is not an easy task, because we must examine several edges that have become real threats to the professional journal future of who we take care of defending the heritage, honor and good behalf of our constituents.We are, first, subjected to a permanent change required adaptability same as professionals and humans. Of subjects receiving the change, we become agents of change for a thirsty society of justice, unhappy with impunity and willing to have honest professionals, having only steeped in his eyes the reflection of the Goddess Themis to act with honesty and ethics.It’s not an easy road the practice of law because although we fault, end up being because of our passion and deep commitment we made to bring them to fruition.In Honduras, as in dozens of nations of the world we live in difficult times punctuated by the anguish of personal insecurity, the untimely arrival of new criminal agents, rapid social decomposition and a bewildering storm, which seeks to eliminate the values ​​that we have always believe and with which we have always lived.There are 12 variables that influence the spread of violence and insecurity and hitting directly or indirectly, not only the legal system but also the practice of the profession of law in Honduras: 1. Poverty and marginalization that has been part of the national reality for years.2. Domestic and family violence 3. Proliferation of youth gangs 4. Organized crime 5. Growing number of national arms trafficking and indiscriminate use of alcohol 6. Insufficient presence of authority 7. Corruption, impunity and imparting justice delayed8. Impairment of the culture of legality 9. Internationalization of crime 10. Social, economic, political, environmental and cultural 10. Security complex mix of factors with Threats 11. Volatility policy by the fragility of democratic institutions 12. Drug trafficking and money laundering

Amid this changing environment that has come to cover pain to society, to stall the public, private and foreign investment; is the figure of the lawyer, who with his wisdom and insight struggle to bring light of justice and redemption to an environment, often hostile, which is difficult to work without fear but at the same time, it encourages direct its work to build a more just country, with a better distribution of wealth and equal opportunities for all and especially in governing the rule of law.Practice the profession of law in Honduras; it has become in the last 6 years a risky activity that has created a climate of death and uncertainty among lawyers and their families.While the mission of the magistrate of the law is to ensure that you will respect the rights of everyone, and ensure that there is prompt justice for those who deserve; recent years have been tragic for the family of the Honduran Bar 97 lawyers who have been assassinated the period from 2010 to October 2015.Citing both the Bar Association of Honduras as a report published by the National Commissioner of Human Rights in Honduras (CONADEH), the following data show the high risk of the exercise of the profession of law in the country:

 

In 2013 29 incidents of violence against lawyers were specified  ü There were 27 victims of which 21 died and six were seriously injuredü Among the 27 victims , they were able to account not only for lawyers who were practicing in his office or private office ; but 1 trial judge , one public prosecutor , 2 former judges , one former candidate for alderman and one alderman from two different political parties, one legal adviser to a company that had a land dispute , one candidate for mayor and 1 intern law degree . In 2014ü This year violently killed 11 lawyers . All firearm . 2015Until October, they killed 10 lawyers From 2010 to October 2015Ø 97 lawyers performed in 10 of the 18 departmentsØ 70% of these violent deaths have been carried out in two departments: Francisco Morazán and Cortés. Most of these cases have not been resolved, some remain under investigation and others, seem to have been forgotten in the drawers of some court or entity clarification of crimes.My purpose in presenting the figures above, is that you have an idea of ​​the delicate and complex situation that is facing the union in the Republic of Honduras. It is a reality we can not ignore and, more importantly, it requires rethinking the role of the lawyer in Honduras, the stigma of being the object of the crime and the lack of guarantees to freely exercise their profession.Before the latent danger everyday along which the legal professional, he can not sit idly by as they should continue the exercise of his career. Without any doubt, this means being more cautious, take urgent safety measures and dismiss some cases carry the risks they entail.It is extremely worrying that last point, because the lawyers took to justice the problems of our customers; however, in the country they are giving aggravating factors and imminent danger, requiring reject the representation of certain cases for the consequences that may bring. Many lawyers and lawyers have lost their lives just because of taking over a case in which they have been involved one or more of the twelve variables outlined a few minutes ago.All the effort and illustration have developed legal professionals for years, they are hampered by the sickly virulence towards them. The most recent crime happened a little over a month, she was carried out by a university young professional, who pushed for ideological reasons and an apparent mental disturbance, killed with unbelievable cruelty in a mall in Tegucigalpa in broad daylight, a lawyer wearing an emblematic case of citizen accused of corruption.The lawyer was not to blame for the alleged crimes attributed to his client. All he performed was the work of representation before the courts; however, the political and ideological criminal –adversaries your represented– assumed that taking the life of the lawyer, avenged its opposite. Despite these turbulent waters through which we sail and to that dark and menacing scene, Honduran lawyers are determined to remain brave sentinels of the truth, and we carry the banner of the Goddess Justice.The creation, implementation and administration of the law, requires wise men and women in the field, with common sense and inexhaustible citizen vocation. The law has come to turn more than a profession, but a vocation … is without doubt a meeting point for the reconciliation of different interests, to help be granted to everyone no less than it belongs, and to hold that vision capability that empowers societies to develop in peace and freedom.The above are generous resolutions to which we aspire lawyers; however, in Honduras we’re almost ready to stop dreaming about these ideals as an adverse environment and full of infamy, it has become the harbinger of a black cloud that threatens the daily work career of laws, and not It allows us to see clearly the future of the profession and of our lives. Because the latent threat to sun to moon students of the Laws, the Honduras Bar Association is developing and proceed to implement a Safety Prevention Project in this Affiliate College and thus improve governance in the country.There are many challenges that accompany the lawyer of the new millennium; But do not forget that before a professional Laws, is a human being who must always be ready to offer its selfless assistance to their counterparts, to try to have a better world where man is not only in harmony with himself, but also the environment and social and economic realities that surround him. We ask of you colleagues from Europe, Asia, Africa, America and Oceania, from the depths of our hearts and from the threads of our souls, solidarity and worldwide support for the twenty thousand and fifty-seven lawyers and lawyers from Honduras, feel they are not alone and that although the hands of criminals and criminal minds want to extinguish the light of justice that dwells in all; There colleagues beyond borders and beyond the oceans, who accompany these painful moments that pass through. We need your support and your company colleagues the world! In Honduras we do not want to live with petrifying fear that grips us; gentleman wish to exercise this office without obstacles preventing us earn a living with dignity.We hope that our professional situation will change, we will again enjoy the freedom we exercised this profession years ago. We have faith that we will walk towards the courts, courts, with the assurance that our profession will be respected by those who despise the triumph of justice.It is our certainty that new and better times are coming to improve our quality of life. And also we are convinced that very shortly with our participation and support of you colleagues in various latitudes of the planet, violence against the guild of lawyers in Honduras, will be a thing of the past of which only retain images pain of so many lawyers killed in the line of duty, and perpetual prayers for their souls enjoy eternal rest.

Lawyers in Honduras

In Honduras, the practice of law has become a high-risk profession for those who practice it. They risk assassination, abductions and threats to their families.

Since the 2009 coup d’état there have been human rights violations that have gravely affected the Honduran population, their effects and repercussions have continued, persisted, and made the situation of the country very complex. The Judiciary in Honduras is currently going through a critical situation because of problems related to judicial independence, which have been notorious in recent years, both before and after the coup of June 2009.

On the 22nd of January, Lawyers all across Europe will demonstrate in their robes in front of the Embassy of Honduras to denounce this situation and urge the Honduran government to take action to protect its citizens

Read the Press statement