Human Rights Defenders, guilty until proven innocent
Paris-Geneva,June 5, 2012. The Observatory for theProtection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the InternationalFederation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture(OMCT), publishes today a report entitled“Turkey: Human Rights Defenders, guilty until proven innocent”, which analysesthe situation of human rights defenders in Turkey.
Thereport is available in English at the followinglinks:
www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/obsrapporttr05062012eng.pdf
http://www.omct.org/files/2012/06/21816/obs_mission_report_turkey_hd.pdf
Raporun Türkçe’sine alttaki linkten ulaşılabilir:
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TURKEY: Human rights defenders, guilty until...par Observatory_HRD
Despitemajor reforms and progresses over the past decade, in today's Turkey, those whospeak out on “sensitive” human rights issues remain the target of an intensecriminalisation. “Sensitive” issues include promoting the right to alternativeidentities (ethnic and religious minorities’ rights, particularly the Kurdishissue, and sexual minorities), and criticising the State and its institutions(the functioning of the institutions, including the independence of thejudiciary and the impunity of the State and the army for human rightsviolations). Key categories of civil society active in the defence of humanrights are affected by this policy: members of non-governmental organisations(NGOs) but also lawyers, trade unionists, journalists, intellectuals andacademics, writers, advocates of the right to conscientious objection andfamily members of victims of serious violations, etc.
Criminalisationis made possible by the existence of repressive administrative practices andcriminal provisions left unchanged by reform packages, notably in the TurkishPenal Code (TPC) and the Anti-Terrorism Law (ATL). Furthermore, law-enforcementbodies, prosecutors and judges, long-accustomed to limiting freedoms and rights, continue to interpret andapply the law in a repressive manner. The ATL has been increasingly usedagainst human rights defenders over the past years, which entails theapplication of a set of rules less protective of the defence’s rights. Thevague definition of terrorism and its interpretation by the courts have made itpossible for prosecutors and judges to consider that the mere criticism of theauthorities’ human rights record may in itself be construed as a form ofsupport to terrorist groups or evidence of membership in terrorist groups.Prolonged pre-trial detention is used very frequently and may be seen as a formof punishment per se, independently of the outcome of the trial.
“A comprehensive overhaulof the Turkish legal system is today more than needed to improve theenvironment of operation of human rights defenders. Justice is used as a weaponto repress, intimidate and punish human rights defenders, through criminalproceedings that blatantly violate the right to a fair trial. Today suchauthoritarian practices have to come to an end”, says Ms. SouhayrBelhassen, FIDH President.
At the beginning of 2012, 105 journalists,44 lawyers, at least 16 members of human rights organisations and 41 tradeunionists were in jail, mostly under terrorism charges. The emblematic cases ofsociologist PınarSelek prosecutedsince 1998, lawyer Muharrem Erbey, detained since December 2009, and publisher Ragıp Zarakolu, detained during more than fivemonths, are only the tip of this deplorable situation.
“We fear that these continuous proceedings may lead the civil society todevelop a certain degree of self-censorship, precisely at a time when a strongand critical human rights community that operate under the protective reach ofthe law is needed",added Mr. Gerald Staberock, Secretary General of OMCT.
The Observatory respectfullyurges the authorities of Turkey to pay the utmost attention to itsrecommendations, take the necessary steps to create and maintain a safe andconducive environment for human rights defenders to operate freely andefficiently in the country, including by fullyrecognising the legitimate role played by human rights organisations, releasingall human rights defenders detained for exercising human rights activities,ending judicial harassment and fully investigating abuses faced by human rightsdefenders.
For further information, pleasecontact:
• FIDH: Karine Appy / ArthurManet: + 33 1 43 55 25 18
•OMCT: Isabelle Scherer: + 41 22 809 49 39