Türkiye
22.10.03
Urgent Interventions
Turkey: Trial against the Turkish NGO “GÝYAV”
Press Release
TURKEY
Trial against the Turkish NGO “GÝYAV”
Ankara, 22 October 2003 - The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders – a joint programme of the FIDH and the OMCT – and the Euro-Mediterranean Network for Human Rights (EMHRN) mandated two observers to attend the hearing against the founding members of the Turkish NGO “GÝYAV” (Migration and Humanitarian Assistance Foundation) , before the Adana State Security Court on October 20, 2003. In addition to the representatives of the Observatory and EMHRN, a large delegation of lawyers from the Adana and Mersin Bar Associations were present in the audience.
Twenty-one members of GÝYAV faced legal proceedings on the basis of article 169 of the Turkish Penal Code (TPC) concerned with “abetting and harboring an illegal organisation”. The members were accused, amongst others, of using such expressions as “Kurdish mother tongue”, “multi-culturalism”, “forced migration” and “state of emergency practices”.
The Adana State Security Court acquitted GIYAV members for violating article 169 and ordered that legal and administrative documents confiscated earlier this year by the Public Prosecutor be given back to the organisation. Indeed, due to the change brought by Article 2 of Law N°4928 (6th harmonization package) to article 169 of the TPC (deleting the statement “… and facilitates its actions in any way” from the text), Turkish courts are no longer able to charge and condemn people on the basis of article 169 for giving presentations in panels, signing/distributing petitions, using the expression “Kurdish mother tongue” or denouncing violations.
However, seven GIYAV members – ie. Mustafa Erdoðlu, Kadir Arikan, Hikmet Özcan, Mehmet Barut, Ayse Bakaç, Remzi Erkut and Ömer Doðan, who were members of GIYAV executive board in April 2002, when the judicial proceeding was opened – will be referred to the Mersin Penal Court of first instance on thebasis of article 312/1 of TPC (“praising a crime”).
The Observatory and the EMHRN welcome the acquittal of GIYAV members. However our organisations are worried about the continuation of judicial proceedings against seven of the organisations’ members. Furthermore, our organisations are concerned that Article 312 of the TPC may now be used as a way to get round the amendments made to Article 169, with the aim to go on targeting human rights defenders. We are worried that this might be the case in the coming trial of the seven GIYAV members as well as in other pending trials in Turkey. The use made of the possibilities to circumvent these recent legal changes clearly shows their limitations.
Our organisations are finally concerned by the fact that intelligence reports submitted by the prosecutor to the SSC have been used as evidence against the defendants.
The Observatory and the EMHRN urge the Turkish authorities to:
1. drop the charges against the seven members of GÝYAV before the Mersin Penal Court of first instance on the grounds of article 312/1 of the TPC, since they only aim at limiting their freedom of expression as human rights defenders ;
2. stop any kind of repression and judicial harassment against human rights defenders in Turkey, especially by using Article 312 to silence any person, who advocates for a democratic, political and peaceful resolution of the Kurdish question;
3. conform wirh the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the United Nations General assembly on December 9, 1998;
4. urgently to comply with to the accession criteria to join the European Union by implementing the recently adopted legislative reforms without delay.
Press contact :
- The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (FIDH / OMCT):
Elsa Le Pennec : 00 90 544 29 041 86
- The EMHRN:
Marit Floe Joergensen, mfj@euromedrights.net . Tel: +45 32 69 89 12
TURKEY
Trial against the Turkish NGO “GÝYAV”
Ankara, 22 October 2003 - The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders – a joint programme of the FIDH and the OMCT – and the Euro-Mediterranean Network for Human Rights (EMHRN) mandated two observers to attend the hearing against the founding members of the Turkish NGO “GÝYAV” (Migration and Humanitarian Assistance Foundation) , before the Adana State Security Court on October 20, 2003. In addition to the representatives of the Observatory and EMHRN, a large delegation of lawyers from the Adana and Mersin Bar Associations were present in the audience.
Twenty-one members of GÝYAV faced legal proceedings on the basis of article 169 of the Turkish Penal Code (TPC) concerned with “abetting and harboring an illegal organisation”. The members were accused, amongst others, of using such expressions as “Kurdish mother tongue”, “multi-culturalism”, “forced migration” and “state of emergency practices”.
The Adana State Security Court acquitted GIYAV members for violating article 169 and ordered that legal and administrative documents confiscated earlier this year by the Public Prosecutor be given back to the organisation. Indeed, due to the change brought by Article 2 of Law N°4928 (6th harmonization package) to article 169 of the TPC (deleting the statement “… and facilitates its actions in any way” from the text), Turkish courts are no longer able to charge and condemn people on the basis of article 169 for giving presentations in panels, signing/distributing petitions, using the expression “Kurdish mother tongue” or denouncing violations.
However, seven GIYAV members – ie. Mustafa Erdoðlu, Kadir Arikan, Hikmet Özcan, Mehmet Barut, Ayse Bakaç, Remzi Erkut and Ömer Doðan, who were members of GIYAV executive board in April 2002, when the judicial proceeding was opened – will be referred to the Mersin Penal Court of first instance on thebasis of article 312/1 of TPC (“praising a crime”).
The Observatory and the EMHRN welcome the acquittal of GIYAV members. However our organisations are worried about the continuation of judicial proceedings against seven of the organisations’ members. Furthermore, our organisations are concerned that Article 312 of the TPC may now be used as a way to get round the amendments made to Article 169, with the aim to go on targeting human rights defenders. We are worried that this might be the case in the coming trial of the seven GIYAV members as well as in other pending trials in Turkey. The use made of the possibilities to circumvent these recent legal changes clearly shows their limitations.
Our organisations are finally concerned by the fact that intelligence reports submitted by the prosecutor to the SSC have been used as evidence against the defendants.
The Observatory and the EMHRN urge the Turkish authorities to:
1. drop the charges against the seven members of GÝYAV before the Mersin Penal Court of first instance on the grounds of article 312/1 of the TPC, since they only aim at limiting their freedom of expression as human rights defenders ;
2. stop any kind of repression and judicial harassment against human rights defenders in Turkey, especially by using Article 312 to silence any person, who advocates for a democratic, political and peaceful resolution of the Kurdish question;
3. conform wirh the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the United Nations General assembly on December 9, 1998;
4. urgently to comply with to the accession criteria to join the European Union by implementing the recently adopted legislative reforms without delay.
Press contact :
- The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (FIDH / OMCT):
Elsa Le Pennec : 00 90 544 29 041 86
- The EMHRN:
Marit Floe Joergensen, mfj@euromedrights.net . Tel: +45 32 69 89 12