Conditional release of Ramazan Demir and Ayşe Acinikli, members of the Association of Lawyers for Freedom (OHD)
URGENT APPEAL - THE OBSERVATORY
New information
TUR 003 / 0316 / OBS 025.2
ConditionalRelease/
JudicialHarassment
Turkey
September 8, 2016
The Observatory for the Protection of Human RightsDefenders, a partnership of FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture(OMCT), has received new information and requests your urgent intervention inthe following situation in Turkey.
New information:
The Observatory has beeninformed by reliable sources about the conditional release of Mr. Ramazan Demir and Ms. Ayşe Acinikli, members of theAssociation of Lawyers for Freedom (Ozgurlukcu Hukukcular Dernegi – OHD).
According to theinformation received, on September 7, 2016, the 14th Heavy PenalCourt of Istanbul ordered the conditional release of Mr. Ramazan Demir andMs. Ayşe Acinikli.Both were set free at the end of the day, after 156 days of pre-trialdetention.
The September-7 hearing was monitored by Mr. Martin Pradel, lawyer at theParis Bar Association, within the framework of a trial observation mandated bythe Observatory, as well as by other lawyers from the Paris Bar Association.The Deputy Consul General of France also attended the whole hearing.
The court session started three hours late,allegedly because of “troubles to bring the detainees” to the courtroom. As itwas the case in June, a violation of the publicity of debates was alsohighlighted, as the doors of the courtroom were locked.
In the course of yesterday's hearing, Mr.Ramazan Demir was accused by the Public Prosecutor, inter alia, of“denigrating Turkey because of complaints he filed before the European Court ofHuman Rights and the contacts he had with foreign lawyers”.
Ms. Ayşe Acinikli was in turn accused of“visiting her clients in jail after their trial” and “receiving complimentsfrom her clients” through phone-tapped calls. In both cases, what was at stakewas the criminalisation of their work as independent lawyers.
During the same hearing, clear violations ofthe right to a fair trial were also witnessed. On the one hand, because ofstate emergency, Mr. Ramazan Demir and Ms. Ayşe Acinikli were notably notallowed to be represented by more than three lawyers. On the other hand, thelatter were denied the right to speak to their clients throughout the courtsession.
It is also to be noted that a preliminarymotion filed by Mr. Demir's lawyer to contest the systematic recording ofconversations between lawyers and their clients was rejected by the Courtwithout justification.
Besides, the legal counsels of both Ms.Acinkli and Mr. Demir were further accused of "association ofwrongdoers", for having shared a car to visit their clients in jail.
At the end of the hearing, the PublicProsecutor nonetheless requested their conditional release, on the grounds thatthere were no risks of escape or of destruction of evidence or testimonies. TheCourt accepted the request, and ordered Mr. Ramazan Demir and Ms. Ayse Acinklito be released on condition.
The Observatory welcomes the decision of the14th Heavy Penal Court of Istanbul to conditionally release Mr. RamazanDemir and Ms. Ayşe Acinikli, and requests the judicial authorities to drop allthe charges against them as they only aim at sanctioning their legitimate humanrights activities.
The Observatory moregenerally urges the Turkish authorities to put an end to the ongoingharassment, including at judicial level, against them and more in generalagainst all human rights defenders and lawyers in the country.
Background information:
Inthe early morning of March 16, 2016, OHD members Messrs. İrfan Arasan, Hüseyin Boğatekin, Şefik Çelik, Adem Çalışçı, Tamer Doğan, Ramazan Demir and Mustafa Ruzgar, as well as Ms. AyşeAcinikli and Ms. Ayşe Gösterişlioğluwere arrested and saw their houses in Istanbul raided by the police, within theframework of an anti-terrorism operation which targeted at least 89 individualsin several cities (Aydın, Diyarbakır, Bingöl, Ağrı, Konya, Bitlis, Erzurum,Mus, Mardin, Şırnak, Siirt, Elazığ, İzmir, Muğla, Urfa, Antep, Maraş andSakarya).
The nine lawyers were arrested on charges of“membership of an illegal organisation” reportedly for events that took placebetween 2011 and 2014. During their interrogation, they were questioned aboutinterviews they gave in the media, complaints they lodged before the EuropeanCourt of Human Rights (ECtHR) and visits to their clients. According to ourinformation, the authorities have yet to disclose the reasons behind thealleged offences that led to the searches and arrests. To date the case file onthe arrests remains confidential pursuant to the Article 153.2 of the TurkishCriminal Code Procedure (No. 5271).
On March 17, the lawyers were to plead thecase of the 46 lawyers tried for participating in the defence ofMr. Abdullah Öcalan, one of the founding members of the Kurdistan Workers’Party (PKK). During the hearing, the lawyers who could be present said thatthey could not defend adequately their clients whilst their colleagues were incustody. A delegation of lawyers from France, the Netherlands, Switzerland andthe United Kingdom was also attending the trial.
Moreover, as a civil society group attemptedto deliver a press statement outside the court to denounce the illegal arrestand detention of the nine lawyers, the gathering was attacked by Turkish policein riot gear, equipped with tear gas and water cannons.
On March 18, Istanbul First Criminal Court ofPeace, chaired by judge Mr. Bakır Altun ordered the release of Messrs.İrfan Arasan and Mustafa Ruzgar.
On March 19, the Istanbul First CriminalCourt of Peace ordered the release of the seven remaining ÖHD lawyers arguingthat the evidence provided was insufficient and that detention was adisproportionate measure of restraint under the circumstances. The publicprosecutor, Mr. Orhan Aydın, objected this decision in a hearing thatlasted 13 hours. As the court confirmed its decision, the public prosecutorobjected the court’s decision.
On March 21, the Istanbul First CriminalCourt of Peace rejected the public prosecutor’s objection a second time. Thepublic prosecutor filed an objection before the Istanbul Second Criminal Courtof Peace.
On March 22, the Istanbul Second CriminalCourt of Peace, chaired by Judge Mr. Durmuş Karacalı, accepted theobjection and ordered the arrest of four lawyers, namely Hüseyin Boğatekin,Ayşe Acinikli, Ramazan Demir and Ayşe Gösterişlioğlu, together with 17 otherindividuals. The court argued that there was enough evidence showing that theyhad committed the alleged crime, and that they could run away or damage theevidence. The court did not inform the defense lawyers of the hearing andfailed also to ask for counter arguments. The defense lawyers filed anobjection against this order.
The same day, Mr. Hüseyin Bogatekin andMs. Ayse Gösterişlioğlu were arrested and detained in the courthouse, while thepolice could not find Ayşe Acinikli and Ramazan Demir. Overnight, the IstanbulEight Criminal Court of Peace, chaired by Mr. Atila Öztürk, heard HüseyinBogatekin and Ayse Gösterişlioğlu. The court limited the number of defenselawyers to three per accused. It decided to remand them to detention in MetrisPrison for males in Istanbul and Bakırköy Prison for females respectively.
On April 6, Mr. Demir and Ms. Acinikliwere referred by the Istanbul Public Prosecutor Office to the Istanbul 3rdCriminal Court of Peace, which remanded them in custody.
On May 25, Judge Bulent Dalkiran, Presidentof the Istanbul 14th Criminal Court of Peace, assisted by magistrates MehmetCelik and Ferhat Korkmaz, denied the request for release that had been filed byMr. Demir and Ms. Acinikli’s lawyers on May 18. The judge justified hisdecision on the grounds that he had “not been able to hear the accused”.
On June 22, 2016, the trial of Mr. Demirand Ms. Acinkli opened before the 14th Heavy Penal Court of Istanbul, whichdecided to extend their detention until the next hearing of September 7, 2016.
In the course of that the June-22 hearing,Mr. Demir’s and Ms. Acinkli’s lawyers argued that the detention of theirclients had been ordered in contravention of Turkish law, and that much of theevidence gathered against them, including phone-tapped conversations, had beenobtained in an illegal manner. In addition, as the case file againstMr. Demir’s and Ms. Acinkli’s has been made confidential pursuant toArticle 153.2 of the Turkish Criminal Procedure Code, the latter are stillunable to access and challenge the charges levied against them, therebyseriously undermining the equality of arms principle. Besides, it was reportedthat although the prosecutor declared that Mr. Demir’s and Acinkli’s detentionhad “lasted long enough”, the 14th Heavy Penal Court refused to release them onbail, reportedly to avoid risks of escape, and to prevent destruction ofevidence or testimonies.
Atthe beginning of the hearing, a violation of the publicity of debates wasfurther highlighted when the judge decided to lock the doors of the courtroomin view of the high number of persons willing to observe the trial andeventually decided on a temporary suspension of the court session, after amassive disagreement among the audience.
Actions requested:
Please write to the authorities in Turkey, urgingthem to:
i. Drop all the charges against Ayşe Acinikli and Ramazan Demir as well as all human rightsdefenders in Turkey;
ii. Put an end to all forms of harassment,including at judicial level, against AyşeAcinikli and Ramazan Demir, as well as all human rightsdefenders in Turkey;
iii. Put an end to the crackdown on civil societyunder the pretext of countering terrorism and publicly recognise the legitimaterole of human rights defenders in line with Turkey’s international commitments;
iv. Comply with all the provisions of the UnitedNations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, in particular with:
- its Article 1, which provides that “everyone hasthe right, individually and in association with others, to promote and tostrive for the protection and realization of human rights and fundamentalfreedoms at the national and international levels”;
- its Article 6(a), which foresees that “everyonehas the right, individually and in association with others, to participate inpeaceful activities against violations of human rights and fundamentalfreedoms”;
- its Article 9, which provides that “in theexercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the promotion andprotection of human rights as referred to in the present Declaration, […]everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, interalia: […] (c) to offer and provide professionally qualified legal assistance orother relevant advice and assistance in defending human rights and fundamentalfreedoms”.
- its Article 11, which provides that “everyone hasthe right, individually and in association with others, to the lawful exerciseof his or her occupation or profession”.
- its Article 12.2, which provides that “the Stateshall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competentauthorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, againstany violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination,pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or herlegitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration”;
v. Ensure in all circumstances respect for humanrights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rightsstandards and international instruments ratified by Turkey.
Addresses:
· President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan,Cumhurbaşkanlığı Külliyesi 06560 Beştepe-Ankara, Tel: (+90 312) 525 55 55, Fax:(+90 312) 525 58 31, E-mail: contact@tccb.gov.tr
· Prime Minister of Turkey Ahmet Davutoglu tel:(0312) 422 10 00 ; Fax: +90 (312) 403 62 82
· Minister ofForeign Affairs, Mr. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, No: 8 Balgat / Ankara - Turkey 06100;Tel : +90 (312) 292 10 00
· Minister ofJustice, Mr. Bekir Bozdağ, 06659 Kizilay, Ankara; Tel: +90 (312) 417 77 70;Fax: +90 (0312) 419 33 70; E-mail: info@adalet.gov.tr
· Minister ofInterior, Mr. Efkan Ala; tel: +90(312) 422 40 00; Fax: +90 (312) 425 61 30; Email: ozelkalem@icisleri.gov.tr
· Ambassador Izzet Selim Yenel, DiplomaticMission of Turkey to the European Union in Brussels, Avenue des Arts 36-38,1000 Bruxelles, Belgium; Fax: + 32 2 511 04 50
· Ambassador Mehmet Ferden Çarikçi, PermanentMission of Turkey to the United Nations in Geneva, Chemin du Petit-Saconnex 28B1211 Geneva 19, Tel: +41 22 918 50 80; Fax: +41 22 734 08 59; Email: mission.turkey@ties.itu.int
Please also write to the diplomatic mission orembassy of Turkey in your respective country.
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Paris-Geneva, September 8, 2016
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quotingthe code of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory was created in 1997 by FIDH andOMCT. The objective of this programme is to intervene to prevent or remedysituations of repression against human rights defenders. OMCT and FIDH are bothmembers of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union Human Rights DefendersMechanism implemented by international civil society.
To contact the Observatory, call the emergencyline:
· E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org
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