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Joint Statement – IFTD

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Today, 14 June 2021, marks the inaugural International Fair Trial Day (IFTD) which will be observed for the first time worldwide. The focus country of the IFTD this year is Turkey, a country that is and has been suffering for many years, from systemic human rights violations and a serious lack of fair trial standards. On the occasion of the IFTD, drawing attention to the deteriorating situation in the country, the undersigned organisations call upon the Turkish authorities to take the necessary steps urgently to instate the right to a fair trial in Turkey and to create an environment under which these fundamental procedural rights can effectively be protected. The undersigned organisations also call upon the international community to increase their efforts to draw attention to the situation in Turkey with a particular focus on the issues around the fair trial principles.

Background of the IFTD

In response to the serious failure of the judicial system in Turkey to protect and respect fair trial principles, lawyers Ebru Timtik and Aytaç Ünsal began a hunger strike in January 2020. They expressed a common demand of many thousands who were subjected to arbitrary investigations, trials, arrests, detentions, and wrongful convictions. They called on the Turkish government to comply with its obligations to secure and respect the right to a fair trial and to end practices constituting systemic violations of this fundamental right. On 5 April 2020, on Lawyers’ Day in Turkey, they turned their hunger strike into a death fast to underline the vital importance of this demand. Ebru Timtik lost her life on 27 August 2020, the 238th day of her death fast, while Aytaç Ünsal ended his protest on 4 September 2020 following a temporary release order by the Supreme Court which was later withdrawn. He was returned to prison on 10 December 2020.

Fundamental rights and freedoms and principles of the rule of law are under attack not only in Turkey but globally. In many countries, including European countries, there are reports documenting governmental oppression and practices undermining international human rights obligations. Thus, those who carry out activities to condemn, draw attention to and criticise these practices are under constant pressure from the state apparatus, including pressure from the judiciary, whose independence and impartiality is being seriously undermined. Attempts are being made to silence lawyers, human rights defenders, journalists, opposition politicians, academics and many others raising their voices against such policies through baseless

accusations against them, e.g. under anti-terror legislation, a practice that has been referred to as ‘judicial harassment’.

The International Fair Trial Day was established along with the Ebru Timtik Award to advocate for the re-establishment of fair trial rights in those countries where fair trial rights are under serious threat. The occasion will be used by the international community to focus on the situation in the country chosen for that year as the focus country and to draw attention to the fair trial issues faced there. Also, an annual Ebru Timtik Award will be granted to an individual and/or an organisation from the focus country that has been active in defending and or promoting the right to a fair trial in that specific country.

Taking into account the background of the IFTD and the continuing deterioration of the situation in the country, Turkey was chosen this year as the focus country. In future years other countries will be chosen to reflect the challenges to the right to fair trial being experienced in those respective jurisdictions.

Call to Action on Turkey

The state of human rights and rule of law in Turkey have been declining particularly since the Gezi Park protests in 2013 which were followed by the collapse of the peace talks in 2015 and the state of emergency declared after the 15 July 2016 coup attempt which remained in place for 2 years until July 2018. The mistreatment of lawyers, journalists, human rights defenders, opposition politicians, academics, and others who are critical of the current situation reflects a far wider practice in the country of failing to respect fair trial rights, among other fundamental rights and freedoms, especially since the attempted coup of July 2016.

The rapid deterioration seen in human rights has been widely reported and reflected on by the international community, including the UN and Council of Europe organs, each of which has identified serious issues ranging from the lack of independence of the judiciary to the collapse of the main pillars of a democratic system, including separation of powers. Criticisms from these international bodies and from the international community generally have been far ranging from undue interference in fundamental rights and freedoms for political purposes to serious violation of political participation rights of the minority groups such as Kurds.1

Reflecting on the issues identified in these reports, we the undersigned organisations, call on the Turkish authorities to implement the following steps to ensure full protection of the right to a

1 See e.g. the Working Group on the United Nations Universal Periodic Review, adopted on 29 September 2020 at the 45th session of the Human Rights Council of the UN; Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee), the functioning of democratic institutions in Turkey, Report | Doc. 15272 | 21 April 2021, https://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/Xref- XML2HTML-en.asp?fileid=29155&lang=en ; World Justice Project, Rule of Law Index 2020, https://worldjusticeproject.org/our-work/research-and-data/wjp-rule-law-index-2020

fair trial in the country and to create an environment enabling effective protection of its underlying principles:

  • take necessary legislative and other measures to ensure the independence and impartiality of the judiciary and end all practices constituting direct interference, pressure or influence with respect to judicial conduct, including those from the executive;
  • implement the recommendation of the numerous human rights oversight mechanisms, including of the Human Rights Council in the UN Universal Periodic Review2 and Venice Commission,3 to introduce a constitutional amendment to make the Council of Judges and Prosecutors independent of the executive and ensure that its decisions are open to judicial review;
  • amend the relevant articles of the Turkish Penal Code and the Law No. 3713 on Prevention of Terrorism, that are found to be broad, vague and arbitrarily applied against critical voices, to meet the requirements of clarity and foreseeability and the principles of legal certainty and no punishment without law;
  • immediately end the systematic abuse, detention and prosecution of lawyers, judges, other legal professionals, journalists, human rights defenders, opposition politicians, academics and others where there is no cogent evidence of specific criminal misconduct presented in proceedings that comply with international fair trial standards;
  • guarantee and respect the principle of presumption of innocence in all criminal investigations and prosecutions;
  • stop any practices preventing enjoyment of the rights protected under international human rights treaties such as freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly, including by way of using the exercise of such freedoms as grounds for arbitrary prosecutions and lengthy and punitive pretrial detention;
  • ensure that the rights to fair trial embodied in article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights and article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights are respected in all criminal prosecutions in Turkey’s criminal courts at all levels;
  • repeal state of emergency amendments passed into law, which amendments seek to enable the dismissal of judges and prosecutors without a fair hearing and which seek to limit the rights of lawyers to discharge their professional duties, the rights of suspects to legal counsel, and the right of lawyer-client communications, as well as to impose other 2 Ibid.
    3 European Commission for Democracy Through Law (Venice Commission), Draft Opinion on dhe Draft Law on Judges and Prosecutors of Turkey, 8 March 2011, opinion no 610/2011, https://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/?pdf=CDL(2011)003-e

limitations on the justice system, as outlined in the report of Human Rights Watch published in April 20194;

  • end the practice of mass trials of lawyers, judges, journalists, opposition politicians, human rights defenders and others, in particular on bogus charges, such as the charge of membership in a terrorist organization, aimed at preventing their legitimate activities and silencing them; and
  • create an open dialogue with the international oversight mechanisms and national and international NGOs to address and resolve the structural human right issues in the country and, as a first step, promptly agree to requests by the UN Special Rapporteur on Judges and Lawyers and other special procedures to conduct country visits to Turkey. We call on the international community to respond effectively to the deteriorating state of human rights and rule of law in Turkey and to increase its efforts to effectively address these issues with international stakeholders for increased awareness and attention.
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Call to Solidarity

CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS ATTACKED DURING SOLIDARITY ACTIONS FOR THE RESPECT OF THE LAW FOR THE HUNGER STRIKER DIMITRIS KOUFONTINAS

LAWYERS’ BLOCK GETS REPEATEDLY BEATEN BY THE POLICE FORCES

During the last weeks, the hunger strike of the life prisoner Dimitris Koufontinas, member of the “Revolutionary Organization 17 November”, has given rise to a series of legal debates and solidarity actions all over Greece, demanding the respect of the law and his transfer to the Korydallos prison, as per the legal provisions in force.

The Greek government has contested the mobilization in favor of Dimitris Koufontinas with an unprecedented level of suppression of the constitutional right to assembly and to the freedom of expression: demonstrations were dispersed minutes before they even began, while in parallel the Facebook pages of persons and organizations were massively blocked when they circulated information or comments regarding the hunger strike, or even mentioned the name of Dimitris Koufontinas, on the basis that they breached the community standards.  

Greek lawyers have increasingly participated in these events, proving their strong commitment to fundamental rights. On February 24th some 50 lawyers organized a gathering in front of the Ministry of Justice, while a committee composed of representatives of the Alternative Initiative (a left-wing union of the Bar Association of Athens) and of our Lawyers’ Union for the Defense of Fundamental Rights was received by the Secretary of Justice and handed over to him a letter of protest signed by 1.000 lawyers. It should be noted that while the Greek National Commission for Human Rights -the instrument established by the law as the independent advisory body to the Greek State in human rights’ issues- and the Association of Greek Judges and Prosecutors signed resolutions in favor of a humanitarian and fair handling of the claims of D. Koufontinas, most of the Bar Associations of Greece, including that of Athens were reluctant to act similarly.

Following this first action, the “Initiative of Lawyers and Jurists” was formed spontaneously, calling to daily demonstrations during the whole week and participating in them with a distinct block, while the hunger striker’s health has been significantly deteriorating every day. It was on Friday, March 5th, when the government decided to disperse the demonstration of peaceful lawyers and attacked them totally unreasoned with water cannons and tear gas. Although this escalation was met with a wave of protests, the police repeated their brutality on Saturday morning, attacking the new demonstration once more, even before the citizens had an opportunity to start protesting. It is important to note that the lawyers participating in the protest, clearly declaring their legal capacity, were among the first to be deterred to even begin the demonstration, with the extended use of water cannons.

The official statement of the police, as stated below, is a milestone in the country’s transition to a new era of disproportionate police violence and clear disrespect of constitutional rights:

“At 12.00 today (Saturday, March 6, 2021), on the initiative of the “assembly of solidarity to the hunger striker D. Koufontina” and other associations, gathered (200) people in the area of Syntagma Square and tried to occupy the road of Filellinon Street.

The police forces, who rushed immediately, repulsed them using the necessary means, so that there would be no further escalation.

Subsequently, groups of protesters tried to occupy the road first on Stadiou Street, then on Panepistimiou and Akadimias Streets, obstructing the traffic of vehicles and pedestrians. And in these new efforts, the police forces repulsed them using the necessary means.

The groups of those gathered left in different directions at 13.15.

(29) people were detained by the police forces.

The traffic was obstructed for 15 minutes in a section of Stadiou and Panepistimiou streets.

The following video makes pretty clear what the Greek police understands under “necessary means”:

https://www.facebook.com/561137318/videos/10158867095812319/

These attacks signal a serious breach of fundamental rights as well as a repression against lawyers, paving the way towards unknown totalitarian attitudes.

We demand:

Respect of constitutional rights

End of police brutality

We stand in solidarity with the lawyers in Greece!

Keep your hands off the lawyers!

Signatures

  1. European Democratic Lawyers (AED – EDL)
  2. Ένωση Δικηγόρων για την Υπεράσπιση των Θεμελιωδών Δικαιωμάτων (Ελλάδα)
  3. Legal Team Italia (Ιταλία)
  4. VSAN-Vereniging Sociale Advocatuur Nederland (Ολλανδία
  5. ÇHD – Progressive Lawyers’ Association (Τουρκία)
  6. RAV – Republikanischer Anwältinnen- und Anwälteverein (Γερμανία)
  7. European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and World Human Rights (ELDH)
  8. Giuristi Democratici (Ιταλία)
  9. Legal Centre Lesvos
  10. Evelyn Durmayer, IADL permanent representative at the United Nations in Vienna (Austria)
  11. Catalan Association for the Defense of Human Rights (ACDDH)
  12. the National Association of Democratic Lawyers of South Africa
  13. the Center for Research and Elaboration on Democracy/Group of International Legal Intervention (CRED/GIGI)
  14. International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL)
  15. Portugueses Association of Democratic Lawyers
  16. Ομάδα δικηγόρων για τα Δικαιώματα Προσφύγων και Μεταναστών/Group of Lawyers for the Rights of Migrants and Refugees (Athens)
  17. Ukrainian Association of Democratic Lawyers
  18. American Association of Jurists
  19. Özgürlük için Hukukçular Derneği (ÖHD)
  20. Hellenic Action for Human Rights “Pleiades”/ Ελληνική Δράση για τα ΑΝθρώπινα Δικαιώματα”Πλειάδες” (Greece)
  21. Lawyers WIthout BordersGreece/ Δικηγόροι χωρίς Σύνορα Ελλάδας
  22. DYYAD – Network for the Support of Human Rights Defenders/ ΔΥΥΑΔ – Δίκτυο Υποστήριξης Υπερασπιστών Ανθρωπίνων Δικαιωμάτων (Greece)
  23. Εναλλακτικη Παρεμβαση Δικηγόρων Αθήνας/ Alternative Intervention, Greece
  24. Legal support team/Ομάδα Νομικής Υποστήριξης “Ως Δαμέ” (Cyprus)
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International Fair Trial Day

The right to a fair trial has long been recognised by the international community as a fundamental human right.  Without a fair trial every individual risks becoming the victim of a miscarriage of justice.  Either as an innocent suspect wrongly convicted, or as a victim unable to secure justice for a wrong perpetrated against them.

Ebru Timtik was one of 18 lawyers in Turkey who were members of the Progressive Lawyers Association, some of which were working at the People’s Law Office, made subject to a prosecution in the Istanbul 37th Assize Court under Articles 314 and 220 of the Turkish Penal Code for terrorist offences. She and her colleagues were convicted on 20 March 2019 after a trial during which basic procedural safeguards and internationally recognised fair trial principles were ignored. Her conviction was based on the testimony of anonymous witnesses, many of which gave inconsistent testimony in relation to alleged facts and time periods. Documents allegedly obtained from government authorities in Belgium and Holland were never authenticated but they were nevertheless used as grounds for convictions without her lawyers having access to them. The originals of digital documents which were allegedly seized in a musical centre were also not made available to the defence lawyers. They could not see, analyse or challenge these documents which were never shown to have existed. Lawyers acting in her defence were frequently prevented from participating in the proceedings and in some circumstances were excluded.

The defects in the trial process led Ebru Timtik together with one of her colleagues, Aytaç Ünsal, to commence a “death fast” following a hunger strike which began on 5 April 2020, the Turkish “Day of the Lawyer”. Sadly, on 27 August 2020 Ebru Timtik died whilst continuing to protest both her innocence of the charges on which she had been convicted, and the lack of respect for fundamental fair trial principles in the criminal justice system which had prejudiced both her and her colleagues, and many thousands of other individuals in Turkey.

In recognition of her sacrifice, and in order to focus attention on the plight of those in countries around the globe who are facing prosecution in circumstances where fair trial principles are not being observed or respected, a number of international bar associations and lawyers organisations have come together to arrange an annual “International Fair Trial Day” which will be observed every year on 14 June.

Steps are also being undertaken to introduce a new annual Ebru Timtik Award to recognise an individual or an organisation who has or which has made an exceptional contribution towards securing fair trial rights in the country on which the International Fair Trial Day is focusing for the year in question. Each year a conference will be held, either online or at a physical location in a country chosen because of the level of concern with regard to the lack of respect for fair trial rights in that jurisdiction at that time. There will also be events in the countries across the word on each International Fair Trial Day to raise awareness of the situation in the focus country. The steering group consisting of Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE), European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and World Human Rights (ELDH), European Bars Federation (FBE), European Democratic Lawyers (EDL-AED), French National Bar Council (CNB), International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL), International Association of Lawyers (UIA), International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI), Italian National Bar Council (CNF), Law Society of England and Wales, Lawyers for Lawyers (L4L), Ayşe Bingöl Demir and Serife Ceren Uysal agreed that the first conference will be held as a virtual event on 14 June 2021 and will focus on fair trial rights in Turkey.

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Sign and make vaccines & treatments a global public good

2020 was a year of remarkable human acts of solidarity. 

Be it from doing groceries for vulnerable neighbours to scientists working day and night to find a solution to end all of this.

Luckily, we can start 2021 with the hope of being close to a safe and effective Covid-19 vaccine.

However, there are still lots of unanswered questions.

Pharmaceutical companies refuse to share their knowledge, although their research was funded with public money.

In fact, we risk paying millions for Big Pharma’s profits, money needed for our health systems. 90% of people in the lowest income countries likely won’t receive a vaccine in the next year.

We need to keep vaccines and treatments against COVID-19 affordable, safe and accessible to all.

That’s why AED-EDL supports the Right to Cure European Citizens’ Initiative.

We need 1 million signatures to make the European Commission assure that future COVID-19 vaccines and treatments will be a global public good, freely accessible to everyone, and drop deadly patents on life-saving vaccines and treatments. 

Sign the European Citizens Initiative

COVID-19 spreads like wildfire. Solutions must travel even faster. No one is safe until everyone has access to safe and effective treatments and vaccines.

We all have the right to a cure

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We demand the immediate transfer of Dimitris Koufodinas to Korydallos Prison

Dimitris Koufodinas is serving multiple life sentences after being convicted as a member of the “Revolutionary Organization November 17th” (17N).

From 2002 onwards Dimitris Koufodinas was permanently detained in a special underground wing of the Korydallos prison (Athens) until he was transferred to the Volos agricultural detention facility in 2018. Although he had been entitled to temporary prison leaves since 2010, he was granted the first one in 2017 (and five more times thereafter). Since spring 2019, Koufodinas’ temporary prison leave has been denied on grounds of his political beliefs and his refusal to express remorse – something that is not a reason for refusing prison leave under Greek law, confirmed in 2019 by the Areos Pagos, the highest Greek court.

Last autumn a law was passed with a provision that those convicted of “terrorist” crimes are excluded from custody leave and from serving their sentences in agricultural prisons. The only convict of this category who was in an agricultural prison was Koufodinas. During the legislative debate in Parliament, he was personally named as the addressee of this law.

On December 23, 2020, Koufodinas was transferred from the agricultural prison to Domokos prison. There he was locked together with two other prisoners in a suffocating small cell.

Dimitris Koufodinas, now 63 years old, is experiencing an essential worsening in his detention conditions, with severe consequences for his mental and physical health (the latter is weakened because of the hunger strikes to which he proceeded in the past).

The transfer to Domokos prison violated even the provisions of the aforementioned “anti-him-only” law, as he should have been returned to Korydallos, where he had been held for the first 16 years of his imprisonment. The ministry issued a written confirmation with false claims. Accordingly, he was moved to Korydallos and then with a new decision to Domokos, but in reality he was driven straight away to Domokos.

After the deliberately inaccurate confirmation of the Ministry, on Jan 8, 2021 Dimitris Koufontinas decided to protest against these methods and to demand to be transferred to Korydallos, as provided for in the recent law, and to go on hunger strike. His health condition has deteriorated rapidly since.

Today he is under medical observation in the Lamia hospital since from time to time he loses consciousness. We call for the transfer of Dimitris Koufontinas to the Korydallos Prison and to end his systematically discriminatory treatment.

Athens, 13th of February 2021

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Joint Letter on Oya Aslan

To the president of
Istanbul 37. Heavy Penal Court No: 2020/247

Düsseldorf, Barcelona, Vienna, Brussels. 11.01.2020

LAWYERS’ ASSOCIATIONS DEMAND THE IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF TURKISH LAWYER OYA ASLAN

We, the undersigned international lawyers’ associations, have for many years condemned the criminal prosecutions and investigations targeted against lawyers in Turkey and internationally for performing the duties of their profession and representing people opposed or allegedly opposed to government policies.

Ten lawyers from the Peoples’ Law Office and other members of the Progressive Lawyers Association have been in prison for more than three and half years. Eighteen lawyers from the Progressive Lawyers Association were sentenced to a total of 159 years and 2 months imprisonment following an unjust trial. Their right to defense and right to a fair trial were violated from the beginning to the end. The Turkish Supreme Court affirmed the unlawful convictions for fifteen of the accused lawyers. We have already published a detailed report on this ongoing prosecution and in this report we underlined that there are significant and unacceptable violations of the European Convention. Our report can be accessed via: https://www.aeud.org/2020/06/fact-finding-mission-on-chd-trials-in-turkey/

During their incarceration, lawyers Ebru Timtik and Aytac Ünsal mounted a hunger strike to protest the unlawfulness of their convictions and demanded a fair trial for themselves and for every other person arrested. Tragically, Ebru Timtik died on the 238th day of her hunger strike. On the other hand, Aytac Ünsal, who was conditionally released by the Supreme Court due to his critical health condition, was arrested once again while his medical treatment was still going on. His mother, Nermin Ünsal – who is a former judge and a lawyer – reported that he is not able to access his medicines or consult with his doctors. Together with the threat posed by the covid-19 epidemic, his health is under a serious risk.

Oya Aslan is one of the defendants in this very same case. She is a member of Progressive Lawyers Association and worked in the Peoples` Law Office. She was arrested on December 27, 2019. She was subjected to torture during her detention and this appalling and outrageous situation was observed and reported upon by the international trial observers. The trial observers also reported that she demanded the court to make a complaint about the torture, however the court rejected her demand and did not take any action.

It is obvious that the Turkish government does not follow its domestic law, and it also systematically violates the Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers (known as the Havana Principles). Under these principles, “Governments shall ensure that lawyers are able to perform all of their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference.” In addition, “Where the security of lawyers is threatened as a result of discharging their functions, they shall be adequately safeguarded by the authorities.” But it is the Turkish government that is threatening the security of these lawyers for discharging their functions. The principles further provide, “Lawyers shall not be identified with their clients or their clients’ causes as a result of discharging their functions.”

Governments are obliged to remove obstacles to the professional activity of lawyers and they should prevent any kind of harassment or unlawful interference against lawyers. However, in Turkey the harassment of the legal profession has become the policy of the government itself.

We demand once again from your respected court to live up to its obligations under the law. We also demand the immediate release of Oya Aslan and all the other detained lawyers. Turkey must stop harassing lawyers and bar associations who are on the front lines of providing the right to defense. The hearing that is scheduled to be held on 12.01.2021 should open the window to reverse the ongoing unlawful implementation of the law. Your respected court has the chance to take a step forward for the rule of law, fair trial rights and the protection of lawyers. It is apparent that such a decision will be remembered as a natural, yet courageous, act of the court.

International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL)
Avocat.e.s Européen.nes Démocrates / European Democratic Lawyers (AED / EDL) European Association of Lawyers for Democracy & World Human Rights (ELDH)

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AYTAÇ ÜNSAL has to be released

Berlin, Barcelona, Madrid, Utrecht, Paris, Rome, Brussels, Athens, 16th December 2020

It is unacceptable that lawyer Aytaç Ünsal, convicted in an unfair trial, has been tortured and sent to prison despite his health conditions. Our colleague has to be released immediately.

People’s Lawyer Aytaç Ünsal, was taken into custody in Edirne in the evening of the 9th of December 2020. Previously, on the 3rd of September 2020, he had been released by the Court of Cassation, which postponed the execution of his sentence due to the deterioration of his health as a result of his long hunger strike (213 days) demanding the right to a fair trial. The other lawyer who went on hunger strike with him, Ebru Timtik, died from her prolonged fast.  

Recently, on the 23rd of November, police raided the house where Aytaç Ünsal was being treated. The raid put him on high risk of infection due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the collapse of his already weak immune system. Furthermore, Aytaç Ünsal’s colleagues, who were present in the house during the police raid, were also detained and their belongings plundered.

Aytaç Ünsal, in very fragile health conditions as a result of the hunger strike, was tortured by the political police when he was taken into custody in Edirne. Our colleague was taken off the vehicle and laid on the ground, stepped on, and his head hit the asphalt ground. Due to this fall, Aytaç Ünsal’s face and various parts of his body were injured.

AED/EDL calls on the Turkish authorities to restore the rule of law and stop the practice of targeting lawyers. By aggressing the Defence, personified in this case by Aytaç Ünsal, Turkish authorities are in fact attacking the rule of law and human rights in Turkey.

It must be highlighted that Aytaç Ünsal has been attacked in his role as a human rights defender and we therefore call on the Turkish authorities to let him, as well as all other lawyers, to work freely and safely.

The international community is alarmed by the way Turkish judiciary displays, especially in terrorism-related cases, unprecedented levels of disregard for even the most basic principles of law, such as presumption of innocence, the necessity of a crime to justify a punishment, the non-retroactivity of crimes and the principle of non bis in idem (that is, not being judged for the same facts twice, as is the case in two ÇHD trials). At the same time, procedural guarantees such as adversarial proceedings, equality of arms and the right to a lawyer, are clearly and permanently eroded in these trials against lawyers.

Therefore, we call on the Turkish authorities to guarantee the independence of lawyers, and to protect procedural fair-trial guarantees. Furthermore, we raise concerns about recent developments jeopardising the effectiveness of the defense of human rights in Turkey. We stress the importance of civil society organisations and human rights defenders in a democratic society, as a vital and fundamental body for the defence of fundamental rights.

Finally, AED/EDL would like to draw attention to the worrying information we have received concerning the arrest and detention of human rights lawyers working for the non-governmental organization People’s Law Office (HALKIN HUKUK BÜROSU) under accusations of membership in a terrorist organization.

According to the information received:

We express grave concern regarding the allegations of arrest and prosecution under accusation of membership in a terrorist organization of the above-mentioned lawyers of the People’s Law Office. Moreover, serious concern is expressed at the mounting number of human rights defenders and lawyers under investigation for alleged links to terrorist organizations in Turkey, which seems to evidence a pattern of using this type of offence to target individuals and organizations legitimately expressing dissent with the policies of the current Turkish Government.

We declare the detention of this Human Rights defendants arbitrary, and we demand the Turkish Government to take all necessary measures to guarantee their right not to be deprived arbitrarily of their liberty and to ensure fair proceedings before an independent and impartial court, in accordance with articles 9, 10 and 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), ratified by Turkey on 23 September 2003.

We would also like to draw attention to the Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, which stipulate that governments have the duty to ensure that lawyers are able to perform all of their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference, and that lawyers shall not suffer, or be threatened with, prosecution or administrative, economic or other sanctions for any action taken in accordance with recognized professional duties, standards and ethics (Principle 16).

We would lastly like to highlight the fundamental principles set forth in articles 1 and 2 of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, which provide for the right to promote and to strive for the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

In view of the urgency of the matter, we urge the Turkish authorities to safeguard the rights and life of lawyer Aytaç Ünsal, in compliance with international instruments and to free him immediately.

We urge the Turkish authorities to provide clear information on the measures adopted to respect the fundamental rights and life of Aytaç Ünsal.

Founded in 1987, the Association of European Democratic Lawyers (AED) is a confederation of trade unions and lawyers’ organizations with the same democratic, modern and humane ideals in Europe. The AED intends to defend the rights of citizens by preserving the independence of lawyers with regard to any political, social, economic or ordinal power. As a professional organization, its international purpose is to ensure respect for the rights of the defense and, in particular, to safeguard the physical integrity and political and economic freedom of lawyers. The association also works to ensure that all individuals have access to national and international judicial appeals, particularly those who are in the most precarious situations and whose basic rights are not recognized or poorly recognized.

MEMBER ASSOCIATIONS:

– Syndicat des Avocats de France (S.A.F.- France)

– Republikanischer Anwältinnen und Anwälteverein (RAV – Germany)

– Associació Catalana per a la Defensa dels Drets Humans (A.C.D.D.H- Catalonia)

– De Vereniging Sociale Advokatuur Nederland (VSAN – Holland)

– Syndicat des Avocats pour la Démocratie (S.A D. – Belgium)

– Asociación Libre de Abogados y Abogadas (ALA – Madrid)

– Legal Team Italia (L.T.I. – Italy)

– Çağdaş Hukukçular Derneği (ÇHD – Turkey)

– ΕΝΩΣΗ ΔΙΚΗΓΟΡΩΝ ΓΙΑ ΤΗΝ ΥΠΕΡΑΣΠΙΣΗ ΤΩΝ ΘΕΜΕΛΙΩΔΩΝ ΔΙΚΑΙΩΜΑΤΩΝ (Greece)

– Komaleye Hıquqnasên ji bo azadiyê (ÖHD – Kurdish)

https://www.aeud.org

https://www.facebook.com/aed.edl1987/

twitter: @AED_EDL

telegram: https://t.me/AED_EDL

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Open statement in connection with the detention of Belarusian lawyers Ilya Salei and Maksim Znak

September 10, 2020

We express our deep concern at the detention of lawyers Ilya Salei and Maksim Znak on September 9, 2020, in Belarus, in a criminal case which is undeniably politically motivated. We consider this to be a gross violation and interference with their professional legal activities and with their rights to express professional opinions, as established by international legal standards. This case is a direct consequence of a dire situation, problems and violations of professional rights of attorneys and lawyers and overall functioning of the legal profession in the Republic of Belarus. These problems were highlighted by both international organizations and representatives of the legal community before.[1]

According to information posted on the website of the Main Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of the Republic of Belarus, “the investigation of the criminal case opened by the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Belarus under Part 3 of Art. 361 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus. At the moment, in the course of the investigation, evidence has been obtained that testify to the commission by individuals of a non-governmental organization called the Coordination Council, actions aimed at destabilizing the socio-political, economic situation and public awareness in the country, causing harm to the national security of the Republic of Belarus. These actions were carried out using the media and internet resources. With regard to the suspects Maria Kolesnikova and Maksim Znak, with the approval of the prosecutor, a preventive measure was chosen in the form of detention. Ilya Salei was also detained on suspicion of committing this crime.”[2]

However, detained Ilya Salei is a lawyer of Maria Kolesnikova, one of the leaders of the Belarusian protest movement and a member of the Presidium of the Coordination Council, who is also in jail.[3] Second detained lawyer Maksim Znak was representing Viktor Babariko, who ran for the President of the Republic of Belarus, but was not allowed to register as a candidate and was recognized as a political prisoner. Maksim Znak was also an attorney for the former presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, on whose behalf he created the Coordination Council. As a member of the Presidium of the Coordinating Council, Maxim Znak was providing legal assistance as an attorney. Maxim Znak’s lawyer Dmitry Laevsky notes: “all his statements, appeals, comments were public, transparent, their content was absolutely legal and did not carry any illegal intentions.”[4]

We would like to emphasize that, in accordance with the United Nation’s Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers[5], governments must ensure that lawyers can perform all of their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment, or improper interference. Lawyers, like other citizens, are entitled to freedom of expression, belief, association and assembly. In particular, they have the right to take part in public discussion of matters concerning the law, the administration of justice and the promotion and protection of human rights, and to join or form local, national or international organizations and attend their meetings, without suffering professional restrictions by reason of their lawful actions or their membership in a lawful organization.

The Belarusian Helsinki Committee appealed to the UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers with a report about the situation of lawyers Maksim Znak and Ilya Salei.[6] The report called for urgent action to be taken in connection with the detention of the lawyers and requested to send an urgent message to the Government of Belarus on the need to comply with the Basic Principles concerning the role of lawyers.

Belarusian lawyers and jurists have made an open statement in connection with the detention of their colleagues.[7]

We also demand from the authorities of the Republic of Belarus to:

– immediately release lawyers Maksim Znak and Ilya Salei and comply with international legal standards of the independence of legal profession and the exercise of the right to defense;

– stop the persecution of lawyers and attorneys who are exercising their constitutional right of free expression by expressing their opinions[8] while performing professional functions;

– strictly observe the provisions of Art. 62 of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus: “everyone has the right to exercise and protect rights and freedoms, including the right to use at any time the assistance of lawyers and their other representatives in court, other state bodies, local government bodies, at enterprises, institutions, organizations, public associations and in relations with officials and citizens. Opposition to the provision of legal assistance in the Republic of Belarus is prohibited by law.”[9]

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Signatories:

  1. Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, Poland
  2. ARTICLE 19, United Kingdom
  3. The Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe
  4. The Bar Association of Luxembourg
  5. The Swedish Bar Association
  6. The French and German speaking bars association of Belgium AVOCATS.BE
  7. The European Association of Lawyers AEA-EAL
  8. Lawyers for Lawyers, The Netherlands
  9. FIDH – International Federation for Human Rights
  10. Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights YUCOM, Serbia
  11. OMCT World Organisation Against Torture
  12. Human Rights House Foundation, Norway
  13. Centre de la protection internationale, France
  14. Human Rights Monitoring Institute, Lithuania
  15. International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR), Belgium
  16. The Norwegian Helsinki Committee
  17. Freedom Now, USA
  18. Crude Accountability, USA
  19. All-Ukrainian Association of Lawyers Providing Free Legal Aid – Odesa Division, Ukraine
  20. Center for the Development of Democracy and Human Rights, Russia
  21. Pskov Regional Human Rights Environmental Public Movement “Svobodnyi Bereg”, Russia
  22. Kharkiv Regional Foundation Public Alternative, Ukraine
  23. German-Russian Exchange in St. Petersburg
  24. Stichting CAAT Projects, The Netherlands
  25. MEMORIAL Deutschland e. V. Haus der Demokratie und Menschenrechte, Germany
  26. Legal Policy Research Center, Kazakhstan
  27. Public Association Dignity, Kazakhstan
  28. Human Rights Movement “Bir Duino-Kyrgyzstan”
  29. Belarusian Helsinki Committee
  30. Human Constanta, Belarus
  31. Center for Participation and Development, Georgia
  32. Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly – Vanadzor, Armenia
  33. Association of Ukrainian Human Rights Monitors on Law Enforcement, Ukraine
  34. SOVA Center for Information and Analysis, Russia
  35. Souchastiye v Sud’be, Blagotvoritel’nyy Tsentr, Russia
  36. Human Rights Embassy, Moldova
  37. Libereco Partnership for Human Rights, Germany
  38. Public Verdict Foundation, Russia
  39. Human Rights Group “Grazhdanin, armia, pravo”, Russia
  40. DRA – German-Russian Exchange, Germany
  41. Social Action Centre, Ukraine
  42. Helsinki Committee of Armenia
  43. Helsinki association, Armenia
  44. Macedonian Helsinki Committee
  45. Swedish OSCE-network
  46. Albanian Helsinki Committee
  47. Bulgarian Helsinki Committee
  48. Women of the Don, Russia
  49. Moscow Helsinki Group, Russia
  50. Human Rights House Zagreb, Croatia
  51. Human Rights Center, Georgia
  52. Mogilev Human Rights Center, Belarus
  53. Netherlands Helsinki Committee
  54. Human Rights Center ZMINA, Ukraine
  55. The Barys Zvozskau Belarusian Human Rights House
  56. “Ekumena” Center, Belarus
  57. Youth Memorial – Perm, Russia
  58. Human Rights House in Chernihiv, Ukraine
  59. The Georgian Centre for Psychosocial and Medical Rehabilitation of Torture Victims
  60. Östgruppen – Swedish initiative for democracy and human rights, Sweden
  61. IDP Women Association Consent, Georgia
  62. Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and the Rule of Law, Kazakhstan
  63. Czech Bar Association, The Czech Republic (tbc)
  64. Civil Initiative Against Lawlessness in Courts and Prosecutor’s Office, Belarus
  65. AED-EDL (Avocat.e.s Européennes Démocrates / European Democratic Lawyers), Barcelona, Spain
  66. Freedom House, USA
  67. Independent Social Ecological Movement – NESEHNUTI, Brno, The Czech Republic
  68. Stichting CAAT Projects, the Netherlands
  69. La Asociación Libre de Abogados, Spain
  70. RAW for Women and Girl Survivors of War (Raw in War)
  71. Citizens Network Watchdog, Poland
  72. ORDRE DES AVOCATS DE PARIS / Paris Bar, France
  73. The Сouncil of the Warsaw Bar Association of Advocates, Poland
  74. Russian LGBT Network
  75. Board of the EU-Russia Civil Society Forum
  76. Freedom of Religion and Believe – FORB, Belarus
  77. Human Rights Center Memorial, Russia

[1] See https://www.hfhr.pl/en/report-on-the-situation-of-legal-profession-in-belarus/ https://probusiness.io/law/7462-kogda-slesari-bastuyut-advokatam-stydno-molchat-obrashchenie-advokatskogo-soobshchestva-belarusi.html, https://fondadvokatov.ru/belarus

[2] See https://sk.gov.by/ru/news-ru/view/sledstvennym-komitetom-prodolzhaetsja-rassledovanie-ugolovnogo-dela-o-publichnyx-prizyvax-k-dejstvijam-9248/

[3] Coordination Council – public initiative, created with the goal of overcoming political crisis in Belarus and ensuring peace and understanding, and also for protection of sovereignty and independence of the republic of Belarus. More information about the Council please see https://rada.vision/en

[4] See https://news.tut.by/economics/699898.html

[5] Adopted by the Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, Havana, Cuba, 27 August to 7 September 1990, see https://www.un.org/ru/documents/decl_conv/conventions/role_lawyers.shtml

[6] See https://belhelcom.org/be/node/1244

[7] https://news.tut.by/economics/699922.html

[8] Article 33 of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus https://kodeksy-by.com/konstitutsiya_rb/33.htm

[9] See https://kodeksy-by.com/konstitutsiya_rb/62.htm

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Covid-19 – No time to lose ! – Why imprisoned lawyers must be released immediately

The European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and Human Rights (ELDH) and the European Democratic Lawyers (AED-EDL) are European lawyers’ organisations with members in over 20 European countries, including Turkey. Both organisations have been monitoring court cases in Turkey for many years, especially the mass trials against lawyers of their two member organisations ÇHD – Çagdas Hukukular Dernegi – (Progressive Lawyers Association) and ÖHD – Ozgurlukcu Hukukcular Dernegi – OHD (Association of Lawyers for Freedom). The foundation The Day of the Endangered Lawyer’s goal is to promote the unobstructed practice of the lawyers’ profession anywhere in the world who, under repressive regimes come to the defence or support of clients whose human rights are at stake.

Currently, 7 lawyers of the CHD are detained (Selçuk Kozağaçlı, Behiç Aşçı, Engin Gökoğlu, Aytaç Ünsal, Aycan Çiçek, Barkın Timtik, Oya Aslan, Ebru Timtik; Sulçuk Kozağaçlı is the ÇHD President, a human rights attorney who received several Human Rights Awards. and Doğukan Ünlü, Halil İbrahim Vargül, Semra Özbingöl Çelik are lawyers of the ÖHD.

The worldwide spread of the C-19 epidemic does not stop at the prison gates. On the contrary, the overcrowding of prisons increases the risk of proliferation among prisoners and staff. The Turkish government has therefore rightly decided to release almost a third of the more than 300,000 prisoners from prison or place them under house arrest. However, those accused of supporting, being a member of or leading a terrorist organization are excluded from this measure. This decision also affects lawyers who, in the exercise of their professional duties, have represented alleged terror supporters in court.

The lawyers began a hunger strike on Feb. 3 in protest of the lengthy jail sentences imposed on them for terrorism charges and after the 30th day of the hunger strike, 4 of them announced a break. Presently 4 lawyers (Ebru Timtik, Barkın Timtik, Oya Aslan, Aytaç Ünsal), who are all members of the Progressive Lawyers’ Association (ÇHD), are on a hunger strike in prison, demanding a fair trial and justice for themselves and for their clients. All the lawyers were arrested in a September 2018 operation. Two of the lawyers have announced to start fasting to death on the 5th of April, that is the Day of Lawyers in Turkey.

Lawyers around the world and human rights representatives of international organisations have repeatedly appealed to the all governments to release prisoners as far as possible.

  • The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights urged governments and relevant authorities to work quickly to reduce the number of people in detention.
  • 32 Turkish bar associations demanded on 19 March 2020 that the Turkish government takes appropriate measures to protect the lives of the detainees from the spreading C-19 epidemic and to release them. The bar associations explicitly mentioned lawyers who have been imprisoned for political reasons.
  • Last week, more than 70 lawyers from all over the world followed the call of the International Association of Democratic Lawyer (IADL), of the two European Lawyers Associations ELDH, AED-EDL, and of the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers (England) for a video conference in solidarity with lawyers imprisoned for political reasons in Turkey, with interventions from Ayşe Bingöl of the Turkey Human Rights Litigation Support Project, Barbara Spinelli of Giuristi Democratici, and Şerife Ceren Uysal, of the Progressive Lawyers Alliance (ÇHD). The lawyers unanimously called for the immediate release of the lawyers detained in Turkey.

The Turkish Government should bear in mind:

  • Although the official number of victims of C-19 in Turkey is still relatively low, Turkey is the country with the fastest increase in the number of victims.
  • The lives of the imprisoned lawyers, including 8 lawyers of the ÇHD and 3 lawyers of the ÖHD, are acutely endangered by the spreading C-19 Pandemic and the prison conditions in Turkey.
  • Because of Ebru Timtik’s hunger strike against unjustified conviction, which has already lasted 90 days for (over 60 days for 3 of them) , her organism is weakened and the risk of death in case of infection is significantly increased. This also applies to the other 2 lawyers who have announced to start the fasting to death on April 5, 2020
  • Many observers of the trials against ÇHD and ÖHD lawyers came to the conclusion that the accusations lack any factual basis and were based on incorrect assessment of the evidence. They expressed severe doubts concerning compliance with the fair trial standards of the ECHR and the independence of the tribunals.
  • Even the competent Turkish court, initially had no reservations about releasing the defendants from custody during the ongoing proceedings. They were released. Only after a questionable exchange of judges was detention ordered again. There is therefore no justification for endangering the lives of the lawyers by the increased risk to them in detention.
  • The lawyers concerned have not yet been finally convicted. They have all appealed against their conviction. As long as the proceedings continue, they must not be treated as if their guilt had been finally adjudicated.

Under these circumstances, the immediate release of the detained lawyers is the imperative for the government if it is not to be responsible for serious damage to the health or even death of the detainees.

 

———-

European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and World Human Rights (ELDH),Thomas Schmidt (lawyer), Secretary General , Platanenstrasse 13, 40233 – Düsseldorf, Germany
PHONE +49 – 211 – 444 001, MOBILEPHONE +49 – 172 – 6810888, Email thomas.schmidt@eldh.eu, Web www.eldh.eu
Day of the Endangered Lawyer Foundation , Hans Gaasbeek, International coordinator Nieuwe Gracht 5a, NL 2011 NB Haarlem, Netherlands, Telephone: +31 (023) 531 86 57,,Email: hgaasbeek@gaasbeekengaasbeek.nl, Web: http://dayoftheendangeredlawyer.eu/
European democratic lawyers federation (AED-EDL), Robert Sabata Gripekoven,
Col·legiat 20381 ICAB C/ Provença, 332, 3er, 08037 – Barcelona
tel / fax (+34) 93 457 83 58, mòbil (+34) 619 30 43 77, https://www.aeud.org/ , robertsabata@icab.cat
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Imprisoned Lawyers in Turkey: how can we show solidarity?

 

How to show solidarity with the situation of lawyers in Turkey? Most of the initiatives of the next months have been cancelled or postponed, to explore the possibilities of continuing our political work you are invited to participate in a zoom conference on Thursday 2nd of April.