Sep 29, 2020 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
The ICJ and IHOP today put the spotlight the lack of independence of the judiciary and the abuse of criminal and anti-terrorism laws in Turkey, speaking at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
The statement, made during the consideration of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Turkey, reads as follows:
The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and the Human Rights Joint Platform (IHOP) welcome the acceptance by Turkey of recommendations to ensure the independence of the judiciary (recommendations 45.112, 45.113, 45.114, 45.115, 45.118, 45.120, 45.121, 45.124, 45.125, 45.126, 45.127, 45.128, 45.129, 45.132, 45.133).
The ICJ and IHOP however regret to report that, based on their research and experience, the statements by the Turkish Government that the recommendations on the independence of the judiciary have already been implemented is simply not correct.
On the contrary, during the state of emergency more than 4000 judges and prosecutors were dismissed, more than 2000 judges and prosecutors were detained, through arbitrary processes that did not meet international standards.
The judiciary in Turkey does not enjoy basic guarantees of institutional independence because its Council of Judges and Prosecutors is fully appointed by the Legislative and Executive powers contrary to international standards on judicial independence.
The ICJ and IHOP further regret that Turkey only noted and did not explicitly support the recommendations to reform its penal and counter-terrorism legislation in line with international standards on freedom of expression (recommendations 45.90, 45.91, 45.92, 45.93, 45.94, 45.95, 45.96, 45.97, 45.98, 45.99, 45.100, 45.101, 45.102, 45.103, 45.104, 45.148, 45.158).
The statement by the Government that “legal amendments have already been adopted” and that these laws are in line with international standards is also fundamentally incorrect.
Anti-terrorism laws and other criminal offences continue to be abused to unjustifiably prosecute political opposition members, judges, lawyers, prosecutors and human rights defenders.
To actually implement the recommendations accepted by Turkey, ICJ calls on Turkish authorities to
- radically reform the governance of the judiciary to restore its independence in line with international standards;
- promptly finalize all criminal and administrative cases concerning former judges and prosecutors, respecting international standards of judicial independence;
- truly reform the country’s anti-terrorism law, and
- stop all arbitrary prosecution of human rights defenders, lawyers, judges, prosecutors and academics.
Contact:
Massimo Frigo, ICJ Senior Legal Adviser, e: massimo.frigo(a)icj.org, t: +41797499949
Sep 23, 2020 | News
The ICJ called today on the Public Prosecutor Office of Istanbul to drop criminal charges and investigations against the President and Board Members of the Istanbul Bar Association for having publicly displayed a photograph of lawyer Ebru Timtik, who died following a hunger strike while in detention.
“These charges have been brought as a direct result of the lawyers’ exercise of their freedom of expression,” said Massimo Frigo, Senior Legal Adviser with the ICJ Europe and Central Asia Programme. “ They should be dropped immediately.”
On 21 September, the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office of Istanbul notified to the 11 members of the board of the Istanbul Bar Association, including its President Mehmet Durakoğlu, that they were under criminal investigation.
The charges are not yet known but it is confirmed that the investigation concerns their hanging of a large picture of lawyer Ebru Timtik out of the window of the Istanbul Bar Association’s headquarters.
Lawyer Ebru Timtik died last 27 August on the 238th day of her hunger strike, while in detention on remand. She was a lawyer in the Progressive Lawyers Association and was under trialto answer to the unfounded accusation of being a member of a terrorist organisation. She undertook the hunger strike to protest against these accusations, which are often used in Turkey to silence political opposition and human rights defenders.
Following the bar association’s display of Ebru Timtik’s photograph, Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu targeted the İstanbul Bar, saying, “I strongly condemn the ones who hung the photograph of a terrorist organization member on the İstanbul Bar Association.” Minister of Justice Abdulhamit Gül also said, “It is unacceptable that the bar association has become a backyard for illegal and marginal structures.” President Erdoğan also stated in the opening speech of the new legal year that “In the next period, we will do what is necessary to cut the bloody road extending from being attorneys to terrorists.”
“It is particularly worrying that these investigations were triggered after statements by the Minister of the Interior and the President, besmirching the legitimate work of lawyers and bar associations as linked to ‘terrorism,” added Massimo Frigo.
International standards
The UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers state:
18. Lawyers shall not be identified with their clients or their clients’ causes as a result of discharging their functions.
23. Lawyers like other citizens are entitled to freedom of expression, belief, association and assembly. In particular, they shall 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 action or their membership in a lawful organization. In exercising these rights, lawyers shall always conduct themselves in accordance with the law and the recognized standards and ethics of the legal profession.
24. Lawyers shall be entitled to form and join self-governing professional associations to represent their interests, promote their continuing education and training and protect their professional integrity. The executive body of the professional associations shall be elected by its members and shall exercise its functions without external interference.
Contact
Massimo Frigo, Senior Legal Adviser, e: massimo.frigo(a)icj.org, t: +41797499949; twitter: @maxfrigo
Sep 21, 2020 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
At the interactive dialogue with the Working Group on Enforced and Involunatary Disapparances during the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, the ICJ has called on Tajikistan and Turkey to comply with the recommendations by the Working Group and to end practices of abduction and forced return.
The Chair of the Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disapperances in his replies to the questions pressed Turkey to implement the recommendations of the Working Group’s report.
The oral statement read as follows:
Mr Vice-President
The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) welcomes the report by the Working Group on the follow up of its recommendations on its visit to Turkey (A/HRC/45/13/Add.4) and shares its concerns at the lack of implementation by the Turkish authorities and at the State-sponsored practice of “abductions and forced returns” (para 8). The ICJ agrees with the Working Group that a critical factor that fosters impunity in Turkey is “the lack of judicial independence and impartiality” (para 17).
The ICJ also welcomes the Working Group’s report on Tajikistan (A/HRC/45/13/Add.1). The ICJ shares its concern at the forcible return of Tajikistan nationals to the country, involving enforced disappearances (para 53), the harassment of lawyers (para 9) including the lengthy imprisonment of Buzurgmehr Yorov and Nuriddin Makhkamov, the obstruction of lawyers’ access to detainees, and inadequate judicial review of detention (para 47).
The ICJ urges both countries to fully implement the recommendations of the Working Group and particularly:
- on Tajikistan, to end forced return of their nationals, and to ensure prompt and confidential access to lawyers for detainees and prompt and independent judicial review of detention.
- on Turkey, to stop all practices of abduction and forced return from other countries and to restore the independence of its judiciary.
Sep 14, 2020 | News
The ICJ expressed today its deep concern at the arrest order of some 60 lawyers in Turkey on grounds allegedly linked to the representation of their clients, in breach of Turkey’s international law obligations.
The ICJ understands that around 47 lawyers have been arrested on 11 September in Turkey while 13 others are being searched by police for allegedly acting on behalf of clients accused of participation in the Gülenist movement, called by Turkish authorities the “Fetullahist Terrorist Organisation” (FETO). It has been reported that lawyers were interrogated about their professional activities.
“Lawyers should never be arrested or sanctioned for representing their clients, or identified with their clients causes,” said Roisin Pillay, Director of the ICJ Europe and Central Asia Programme,
“This is a basic principle of the independence of the legal profession and international law and its respect is essential to ensure that everyone has the right to a fair trial.”
The ICJ will follow the case closely to ensure that international law and standards are respected concerning any action against the lawyers arrested.
“If the sole charges against the lawyers arrested are related to their work as lawyers representing their clients, they should be immediately released,” added Roisin Pillay.
The ICJ stressed that they should not be subject to arrest for the legitimate exercise of any human rights and fundamental freedoms. In the event that any of them are subject to charges for cognizable crime consistent with Turkish and international law, they must be brought immediately before a court to consider whether any continued detention is lawful. If charged, they must be in ensured all rights of fair trial by independent and impartial courts.
The UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers say that “lawyers shall not be identified with their clients or their clients’ causes as a result of discharging their functions” (article 18).
Contact:
Roisin Pillay, e: roisin.pillay(a)icj.org
Massimo Frigo, e: massimo.frigo(a)icj.org – t: +41797499949
Sep 7, 2020 | News
Turkish authorities should immediately release human rights defender Osman Kavala, in compliance with the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers’ decision of 3 September 2020, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), Human Rights Watch and the Turkey Human Rights Litigation Support Project said today.
The decision followed a Committee of Ministers hearing to assess the execution of the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Osman Kavala. The Committee, acting in its supervisory capacity for Court Judgments, ordered the Turkish authorities, “to ensure the applicant’s immediate release,” pointing to, “a strong presumption that his current detention is a continuation of the violations found by the Court.”
“After the finding by the European Court of Human Rights that Kavala’s detention is unlawful, the Committee of Ministers has affirmed that Turkey is continuing to violate his rights by keeping him in detention” said Roisin Pillay, director of the Europe and Central Asia Programme at the International Commission of Jurists. “European Court rulings are binding, and Osman Kavala should be released immediately.”
Despite the unlawful detention and an acquittal by the Turkish criminal court presiding over his trial, Osman Kavala has been kept behind bars under a newly issued charge of “espionage” since March 2020. His lawyers are currently challenging the lawfulness of the detention before Turkey’s Constitutional Court. However, the Committee of Ministers indicated in its decision that Turkey should not wait for a ruling of the Constitutional Court but should release Kavala immediately.
In June, the ICJ, Human Rights Watch and the Turkey Human Rights Litigation Support Project made a detailed submission to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, which oversees enforcement of European Court of Human Rights judgments. The submission argued that the sequence of events and repeated local court decisions to ensure Kavala’s detention subsequent to the European Court’s ruling in December 2019 demonstrated that Turkey was prolonging the violations found by the European Court.
The European Court judgment in Kavala v. Turkey (Application no. 28749/18) found violations of the following provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights: Article 5(1) (right to liberty and security), Article 5(4) (right to a speedy decision on the lawfulness of detention), and the rarely used Article 18 (limitation on use of restrictions on rights) taken together with Article 5(1). The Court required Turkey to release Kavala and said that any continuation of his detention would prolong the violations and breach the obligation to abide by the judgment in accordance with Article 46(1) of the Convention.
The judgment on Osman Kavala’s case is particularly significant because it is the first final ruling of the European Court of Human Rights against Turkey in which the Court determined that, in interfering with an individual’s rights, Turkey acted in bad faith and out of political motivations, violating Article 18 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Court said that by detaining Kavala since November 2017 and prosecuting him, the Turkish authorities had “pursued an ulterior purpose, namely to silence him as human rights defender.”
Kavala has been held in detention since November 2017, initially on bogus allegations that he used the 2013 Istanbul Gezi Park protests as a pretext for an attempt to overthrow the government, and that he was involved in the July 15, 2016 attempted military coup. On February 18, 2020, Kavala and his eight co-defendants were acquitted on charges of “attempting to overthrow the government by force and violence” in the Gezi Park trial.
But Kavala was not released, and a court ordered his detention again immediately on one of the grounds for his initial detention on 1 November 2017, namely the charge of “attempting to overthrow the Constitution by force and violence” because of the ongoing July 15, 2016 coup attempt-related investigation against him. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had publicly criticized his acquittal just before he was detained again. Weeks later a court ordered his detention a second time on another charge (“espionage”) but under the same investigation file on the coup attempt and relying on the same evidence.
“The decision by the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers confirms our submission that political considerations are behind the court orders prolonging Osman Kavala’s detention , and that there has been a concerted official effort to prevent Kavala’s release,” said Emma Sinclair-Webb, Turkey director at Human Rights Watch.
“Instead of complying with the European Court’s judgment, Turkey has continued to violate Kavala’s human rights.”
The targeted harassment in Turkey of rights defenders is part of a wider practice of arbitrary detentions and abusive prosecutions of journalists, elected politicians, lawyers, and other perceived government critics. This practice has been well-documented in many reports by the Council of Europe, the European Union, and human rights organizations.
“The campaign of persecution against Osman Kavala and the failure to release him and drop all charges have perpetuated a chilling environment for all human rights defenders in Turkey,” said Ayşe Bingöl Demir, co-director of the Turkey Human Rights Litigation Support Project.
“Ending this blatantly unlawful detention, which has been ongoing for over 1000 days, will not only play a role in preventing further violations to Osman Kavala’s rights, it will also give a strong signal to the human rights defenders community that the oversight mechanisms in place to ensure Turkey’s compliance with its international human rights obligations can still be effective.”
Contact:
Róisín Pillay, Director of ICJ’s Europe and Central Asia Programme, t: +32-2-734-84-46 ; e: roisin.pillay(a)icj.orgMassimo Frigo, Senior Legal Adviser, ICJ’s Europe and Central Asia Programme, t: +41-79-749-99-49 ; e: massimo.frigo(a)icj.org ; Twitter: @maxfrigo
Türkiye: Osman Kavala Serbest Bırakılmalı
Yetkililer, Avrupa Konseyi’nin İnsan Hakları Savunucusunu Serbest Bırakma Kararına Uymalıdır
(Cenevre, 7 Eylül 2020) Uluslararası Hukukçular Komisyonu (ICJ), İnsan Hakları İzleme Örgütü ve Türkiye İnsan Hakları Davalarına Destek Projesi, yaptıkları açıklamada Türkiye makamlarının insan hakları savunucusu Osman Kavala’yı Avrupa Konseyi Bakanlar Komitesinin 3 Eylül 2020 tarihli kararına uygun olarak derhal serbest bırakması gerektiğini ifade etti.
Bu karar, Osman Kavala davasında Avrupa İnsan Hakları Mahkemesi’nin kararının uygulanmasını değerlendiren Bakanlar Komitesi oturumunu müteakiben alındı. Mahkeme kararlarının uygulanmasını denetleme yetkisi olan Komite, Türk makamlarına “başvuranın derhal serbest bırakılmasını sağlama” talimatı vererek “mevcut tutukluluğunun mahkeme tarafından tespit edilen ihlallerin devamı olduğuna dair güçlü bir karine bulunduğuna” işaret etti.
Uluslararası Hukukçular Komisyonu Avrupa ve Orta Asya Programı Direktörü Roisin Pillay,” Avrupa İnsan Hakları Mahkemesi’nin, Kavala’nın tutukluluğunun hukuka aykırı olduğunu tespit etmesinden sonra, Bakanlar Komitesi, Türkiye’nin Kavala’nın tutukluluğunu sürdürerek onun haklarını ihlal etmeye devam ettiğini doğruladı” dedi. Pillay, “Avrupa Mahkemesi kararları bağlayıcıdır ve Osman Kavala derhal serbest bırakılmalıdır” dedi.
Hukuka aykırı tutukluluğuna ve davasının görüldüğü Ceza Mahkemesinin verdiği beraat kararına rağmen, Osman Kavala yeni ileri sürülen bir “casusluk” suçlaması nedeniyle Mart 2020’den bu yana parmaklıklar ardında tutulmaya devam ediliyor. Kavala’nın avukatları, Türkiye’nin Anayasa Mahkemesi önünde tutukluluğun hukuksuz olduğuna ilişkin itirazlarda bulunuyorlar. Ancak Bakanlar Komitesi, kararında Türkiye’nin Anayasa Mahkemesinin vereceği bir kararı beklemeksizin Kavala’yı derhal serbest bırakması gerektiğini işaret ediyor.
Haziran ayında, ICJ, İnsan Hakları İzleme Örgütü ve Türkiye İnsan Hakları Davalarına Destek Projesi, Avrupa İnsan Hakları Mahkemesi kararlarının uygulanmasını denetleyen Avrupa Konseyi Bakanlar Komitesi’ne ayrıntılı bir bildirim sundu. Bildirim, Avrupa Mahkemesi’nin Aralık 2019’daki kararının ardından Kavala’nın alıkonmasını sağlamak için gelişen olaylar serisinin ve tekrarlanan yerel mahkeme kararlarının, Türkiye’nin Avrupa Mahkemesi tarafından tespit edilen ihlalleri devam ettirdiğini gösterdiğini savundu.
Avrupa Mahkemesi, Kavala/Türkiye kararında (Başvuru no. 28749/18), madde 5/1 (özgürlük ve güvenlik hakkı), madde 5/4 (alıkonmanın yasaya uygunluğuna ilişkin ivedi karar alma hakkı) ve nadiren kullanılan madde 18 (haklara getirilecek kısıtlamaların sınırlanması) ile birlikte madde 5/1’in ihlal edildiğine karar vermiştir. Mahkeme, Türkiye’nin Kavala’yı tahliye etmesini zorunlu kılmış, tutukluluğunun devam etmesinin ihlalleri devam ettireceğini ve Sözleşmenin 46(1) maddesi uyarınca AİHM kararlarına uyma yükümlülüğünü ihlal edeceğini belirtmiştir.
Osman Kavala kararı, Türkiye’nin kötü niyetle ve siyasi amaçlarla bir bireyin haklarına müdahale ettiğini ve Avrupa İnsan Hakları Sözleşmesi’nin 18. maddesini ihlal ettiğini tespit eden Türkiye aleyhindeki ilk nihai karar olduğundan özel bir önem taşımakta. AİHM, Osman Kavala’yı Kasım 2017’den bu yana alıkoyup yargılayan Türk makamlarının “başvuranın bir insan hakları savunucusu olarak susturulmasını sağlamak için örtülü bir amaç taşıdığını” tespit etmişti.
Kavala, Kasım 2017’den bu yana, 2013 İstanbul Gezi Parkı protestolarını, hükümeti devirme girişimi için kullandığı ve 15 Temmuz 2016 askeri darbe girişimine müdahil olduğu yönündeki asılsız iddialarla tutuklu. 18 Şubat 2020’de Kavala ve diğer sekiz sanık, Gezi Parkı davasında “cebir ve şiddet kullanarak hükümeti ortadan kaldırmaya teşebbüs” suçlamasından beraat etmiştir.
Ancak Kavala cezaevinden tahliye edilmemiş ve bir hakim kararıyla 2016 darbesiyle ilgili devam eden bir soruşturmayla ilişkili olarak “anayasal düzeni cebir ve şiddet kullanarak ortadan kaldırmaya teşebbüs” suçlamasıyla tekrar tutuklanmıştır. Tekrar tutuklanmasından kısa bir süre önce Cumhurbaşkanı Recep Tayyip Erdoğan halka açık şekilde Kavala’nın beraatini eleştirmiştir. Kavala haftalar sonra, yine bu delillere ve soruşturma dosyasına dayanan bir başka suçlama ile (casusluk) bir kez daha tutuklanmıştır.
İnsan Hakları İzleme Örgütü Türkiye Direktörü Emma Sinclair-Webb,” Avrupa Konseyi Bakanlar Komitesi’nin kararı bildirimimizi doğrulamakta, Osman Kavala’nın tutukluluk halini uzatan mahkeme kararlarının arkasında siyasi değerlendirmelerin olduğunu ve Kavala’nın serbest bırakılmasını önlemek için ortak bir resmi çabanın bulunduğunu ortaya koymaktadır” dedi.
Sinclair-Webb, “Avrupa Mahkemesi’nin kararına uymak yerine, Türkiye, Kavala’nın insan haklarını ihlal etmeye devam etmiştir” dedi.
Türkiye’de insan hakları savunucularına yönelik baskı, daha genel olarak gazetecilere, seçilmiş siyasetçilere, hukukçulara, hükümeti eleştirdiği düşünülenlere yönelik keyfi alıkoymalar ve yargısal tacizin bir parçasıdır. Bu uygulama Avrupa Konseyi, Avrupa Birliği ve insan hakları örgütlerine ait birçok raporla belgelendirilmiştir.
Türkiye İnsan Hakları Davalarına Destek Projesi Eş Direktörü Ayşe Bingöl Demir “Kavala’ya karşı yürütülen yıldırma kampanyası, onun tahliye edilmemesi ve hakkındaki suçlamaların düşürülmemesi, Türkiye’deki tüm insan hakları savunucuları için baskı ortamının sürmesine sebep olmuştur” dedi.
“1000 gün boyunca devam eden açıkça hukuka aykırı olan tutukluluğun sona ermesi, yalnız Osman Kavala’nın haklarının daha fazla ihlal edilmesini önlemek konusunda değil, aynı zamanda insan hakları savunucuları topluluğuna Türkiye’nin uluslararası insan hakları yükümlülüklerine uyumunu denetleyen mevcut gözetim mekanizmalarının hala etkili olabileceği yönünde güçlü bir sinyal verecektir.”
İnsan Hakları İzleme Örgütü’nün Türkiye ile ilgili diğer raporları için tıklayınız:
https://www.hrw.org/europe/central-asia/turkey
Daha fazla bilgi için :
İstanbul’da, Emma Sinclair-Webb (İngilizce, Türkçe): +90-538-972-4486 (Whatsapp); ya da sinclae@hrw.org. Twitter: @esinclairwebb
Cenevre’de, Massimo Frigo (İngilizce, Fransızca, İspanyolca ve İtalyanca): +41-79-749-99-49; ya da massimo.frigo@icj.org. Twitter: @maxfrigo
Brüksel’de, Róisín Pillay (İngilizce, Fransızca): +32-2-734-84-46 (cep telefonu); ya da roisin.pillay@icj.org
New York’ta, Aisling Reidy (İngilizce) +1-917-378-3178 (cep telefonu); ya da reidya@hrw.org
