From 21 to 24 of January 2016, a delegation of 10 lawyers from Austria, Belgium, Germany and Italy visited Diyarbakır, Turkey. The mission was coordinated by two European lawyers’ organizations—the European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and Human Rights (ELDH) and European Democratic Lawyers (EDL)—and the Unione delle Camere Penali Italiane. It was supported by the ÇHD (Çağdaş Hukukçular Derneği) (Contemporary) Progressive Lawyers Association.

Here is their account of the situation.

The delegation submits that there is strong evidence that the Turkish authorities who order(ed) and implement(ed) the curfews may have committed offences against humanity pursuant to Article 77 of the Turkish Penal Code.

 

Further, the committed crimes amount to a collective punishment39 against all inhabitants of the areas under curfew and the security zones. Civilians are to be protected under all circumstances.

 

The delegation concludes that further investigations must be conducted to hold those accountable for the crimes committed.

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