Multiple arbitrary detentions in Diyarbakir

Arbitrary detention /

Judicial harassment

Turkey

June 30, 2020

The Observatory for the Protection ofHuman Rights Defenders, a partnership of FIDH and the World OrganisationAgainst Torture (OMCT), requests your intervention in the following situationin Turkey.

Description of the situation:

The Observatory has beeninformed by reliable sources about the arbitrary detention of Mses. RojdaBarış, Executive of Rosa Women's Association, Ayten Tekeş, member ofthe general assembly of the Confederation of Public Sector Employees Unions, MakbuleÖzbek, member of Diyarbakır Peace Mothers’ Assembly, Arin Zümrüt,board member of Diyarbakır branch Chamber of Mechanical Engineers, and JiyanTaş, member of Rosa Women's Association, as well as the judicial harassmentagainst Ms. Ayşe Kara,journalist and member of Free Women’s Movement (TJA - Tevgera Jinen Azad)and Messrs. Ferhat Erkuş, member of Diyarbakır Medical Association, AzadCan, member of the Turkish Medical Association’s student branch, and BerdanAcun, lawyer and board member of Jurists for Freedom.

According to theinformation received, on June 26, 2020, 45 people, including Mses. Rojda Barış,Ayten Tekeş, Arin Zümrüt, Makbule Özbek and Jiyan Taş and Messrs. Berdan Acun,Ferhat Erkuş and Azad Can, as well as municipal council members, mayors andexecutives from the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), were taken into policecustody in Diyarbakir within the scope of an investigation launched by theProsecutors' Office in Diyarbakır. This investigation is based on informationand documents obtained during the raid of the Democratic Society Congress[1]in October 2018. Initially, arrest warrants had been issued for 64 people, butas of issuing this urgent appeal, only 45 of them had been executed.

On June 28, 2020, theProsecutor requested the detention of 14 people arrested and the release of twounder judicial control.

On the same day, the courtruled for the detention of eight of them, including Mses. Rojda Barış, AytenTekeş and Arin Zümrüt, under accusations of “membership to a terroristorganisation”. The other eight, including Mr. Berdan Acun, were released underjudicial control.

On June 29, 2020, theremaining 29 were referred to various Peace Judgeships in Diyarbakir and theProsecutor requested the release of nine under judicial control, includingMessrs. Ferhat Erkuş and Azad Can, and the detention of 20, including Mses.Jiyan Taş, Ayşe Kara and 70-year-old Makbule Özbek. The judges confirmed therelease of nine under judicial control, including for Messrs. Ferhat Erkuş andAzad Can. Concerning the other 20, whose detention was requested, 15 weredetained on the accusation of “membership to a terrorist organisation”,including Mses. Jiyan Taş and Makbule Özbek, and five were released underjudicial control by judges’ decisions, including Ms. Ayşe Kara. The detainedare being held in Diyarbakır Female Prison and Diyarbakır Type D Male Prison.

During their interrogationat the Anti-Terror Branch in Diyarbakır and at the courts, the above mentionedhuman rights defenders were questioned about their participations in pressstatements, events and assemblies, including the women’s gathering on March 8,2020 and events against gender based violence. They were not questioned by theProsecutor although the Prosecutor had requested the detention of some. Theinvestigation against all 45 by the Prosecutors’ Office is still pending, and adecision whether to press official charges or not, will be made in the upcomingperiod. The details of the investigation remain undisclosed as there is arestraining order on the case.

The Observatory condemns the arbitrarydetention of Mses. Rojda Barış, Ayten Tekeş, Makbule Özbek, Arin Zümrüt, andJiyan Taş, as well as the judicial harassment of Ms. Ayşe Kara and Messrs. Ferhat Erkuş, Azad Can and Berdan Acun, asit seems to be merely aimed at punishing them for exercising their legitimatehuman rights activities.

The Observatory urges the Turkish authoritiesto put an end to all forms of harassment, including at the judicial level,against them and against all human rights defenders in Turkey.

Actionsrequested:

Please write to theauthorities of Turkey asking them to:

i. Guarantee in allcircumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Mses. Rojda Barış,Ayten Tekeş, Makbule Özbek, Arin Zümrüt, Jiyan Taş and Ayşe Kara and Messrs.Ferhat Erkuş, Azad Can and Berdan Acun and all other human rights defenders inTurkey;

ii. Immediately andunconditionally release Mses. Rojda Barış, Ayten Tekeş,Makbule Özbek,Arin Zümrüt and Jiyan Taş and all other human rights defenders arbitrarilydetained in Turkey as their detention is arbitrary since it only seems to aimat punishing them for their human rights activities;

iii. Put an end to all forms of harassment,including at the judicial level, against Mses.Rojda Barış, Ayten Tekeş, Makbule Özbek, Arin Zümrüt Jiyan Taş and Ayşe Karaand Messrs. Ferhat Erkuş, Azad Can and Berdan Acun and against all humanrights defenders in Turkey;

iv. Complywith all the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on Human RightsDefenders adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 9, 1998, in particularits Articles 1, 6(a), 9, 11 and 12.2;

v. Ensure inall circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms inaccordance with international human rights standards and internationalinstruments ratified by Turkey.

Addresses:

· President of the Republic of Turkey, Mr. RecepTayyip Erdoğan, Fax: +90 (312) 525 58 31. Email: contact@tccb.gov.tr

· Minister of Justice, Mr. Abdülhamit Gül. Email: info@adalet.gov.tr. Fax: +90 (0312) 419 33 70

· Minister of Interior, Mr. Süleyman Soylu.Email: diab@icisleri.gov.tr; sti@icisleri.gov.tr

· Ambassador Mr. Mehmet Kemal Bozay, DiplomaticMission of Turkey to the European Union in Brussels, Belgium. Fax: + 32 2 51104 50. Email: info@turkdeleg.org; tr-delegation.eu@mfa.gov.tr

· Ambassador Mr. SadıkArslan, Permanent Mission of Turkey to the United Nations in Geneva,Switzerland. Email: turkey.unog@mfa.gov.tr

Please also write to the diplomatic missions orembassies of Turkey in your respective country.

***

Paris-Geneva, June 30, 2020

Kindly inform us of any action undertakenquoting the code of this appeal in your reply.

The Observatory for the Protection of HumanRights Defenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 by FIDH and the WorldOrganisation Against Torture (OMCT). The objective of this programme is tointervene to prevent or remedy situations of repression against human rightsdefenders. FIDH and OMCT are both members 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

· Tel and fax FIDH + 33 1 43 55 25 18 / +33 1 4355 18 80

· Tel and fax OMCT + 41 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29

[1] A congress of civil society and politicalorganisations, focusing on the democratisation of Turkey as well as theresolution of the Kurdish question and the ongoing armed conflict.