TUR 004 / 0616 / OBS 049.6
Acquittal
Turkey
July 18, 2019
The Observatory for the Protection of
Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of FIDH and the World Organisation
Against Torture (OMCT), has received new information and requests your
intervention in the following situation in Turkey.
New
information:
The Observatory has been
informed by reliable sources about the acquittal of Ms. Şebnem
Korur Fincancı, President of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey
(HRFT), Mr. Erol Önderoğlu, Turkey Representative
of Reporters Without Borders (RWB) and Mr. Ahmet Nesin,
a journalist.
According to the
information received, on July 17, 2019, the
İstanbul 13th Heavy Penal Court announced the acquittal of Ms. Şebnem
Korur Fincancı, Mr. Erol Önderoğlu and Mr. Ahmet
Nesin of the charges of “provoking commission of offence”,“praising the offence
and the offenders” and “propaganda for a terrorist organisation”, crimes for
which they faced up to 14,5 years of prison.
The three defenders participated
in the "Editors-in-Chief on Duty" campaign launched in solidarity
with Özgür Gündem newspaper, which was closed by the Statutory Decree
no. 675. They were arrested on June 20, 2016. While Mr. Önderoğlu and Ms.
Fincancı were released 10 days later on June 30, 2016, Mr. Nesin was released
on July 1, 2016 (see background information).
The Observatory recalls
that of the 56 persons who took part in the solidarity campaign with Özgür Gündem, 49 were prosecuted,
including Ms. Eren Keskin, who was sentenced to 3 years and 9 months of
prison on May 21, 2019[1].
The Observatory also
recalls that this is not the end of judicial harassment against Mr. Erol
Önderoğlu, who is still facing charges of “propaganda for a terrorist
organisation”, along with 16 other activists, for expressing solidarity with
hundreds of academics prosecuted for signing a peaceful petition[2]. The
trial in this case will start on November 7, 2019.
The Observatory welcomes the acquittal of Ms. Şebnem
Korur Fincancı, Mr. Erol Önderoğlu and Mr. Ahmet
Nesin but recalls that they should never have been arrested and prosecuted in
the first place, as they were merely prosecuted because of the legitimate
exercise of their human rights. The Observatory also calls on the Turkish
authorities to immediately end any act of harassment, including at the judicial
level against Ms. Şebnem Korur Fincancı, Mr. Erol Önderoğlu,
Mr. Ahmet Nesin and all the human rights defenders in Turkey.
Background
information:
On June 20, 2016, the
1st High Court of Peace in Istanbul ordered the detention of Ms. Şebnem Korur
Fincancı, Mr. Ahmet Nesin and Mr. Erol Önderoğlu, pending an investigation into
their alleged involvement in the propaganda of terrorism. The human rights
defenders presented themselves after they had received arrest warrants, and
were referred to the First High Court of Peace after testifying before the
Prosecutor on Terror and Organised Crime at the Istanbul Court House in
Çağlayan earlier that day, under accusations of “provoking commission of
offence”,“praising the offence and the offenders” and “propaganda for a
terrorist organisation”.
Ms. Şebnem
Korur Fincancı, Mr. Ahmet Nesin and Mr. Erol Önderoğlu were questioned in
relation to their participation in the “Editor-in-chief on Duty” campaign
launched in early May 2016 in solidarity with the Özgür Gündem newspaper
and to defend press freedom in Turkey[3].
Ms. Fincancı was
detained at Bakırköy Women Closed Prison, while Mr. Önderoğlu and
Mr. Nesin were held in Metris Prison in Istanbul.
On June 30, 2016, the
Istanbul Caglayan 13th Heavy Penal Court ordered the provisional release of Ms.
Fincancı and Mr. Önderoğlu.
On July 1, 2016, the
14th Heavy Penal Court ordered the provisional release of Mr. Ahmet Nesin.
On November 8, 2016,
the Istanbul Caglayan 13th Heavy Penal Court decided to pursue the charges
against Ms. Fincancı, Mr. Önderoğlu and Mr. Nesin and decided to
postpone the hearing to January 11, 2017.
On June 8, 2017, the Istanbul Çağlayan 13th Heavy Penal Court postponed the hearing in the trial of Ms. Şebnem Korur Fincancı, Mr. Erol Önderoğlu and Mr. Ahmet Nesin. The next hearing was scheduled for December 26, 2017. The postponement was justified on the necessity to carry out correspondence with Mr. Ahmet Nesin, who was currently outside Turkey and was being tried in absentia.
Actions requested:
Please write to the
authorities of Turkey asking them to:
i. Guarantee in all
circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Ms. Şebnem Korur Fincancı, Mr. Erol
Önderoğlu, Mr. Ahmet Nesin and all the human rights defenders in Turkey;
ii. Put an end to all
forms of harassment, including at the judicial level, against Ms. Şebnem Korur Fincancı, Mr. Erol
Önderoğlu, Mr. Ahmet Nesin and against all the human rights defenders in
Turkey;
iii. Comply with all
the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders
adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 9, 1998, in particular its
Articles 1, 6(a), 9, 11 and 12.2;
iv. Ensure in all
circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance
with international human rights standards and international instruments
ratified by Turkey.
Addresses:
·
President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Fax: (+90 312) 525 58 31
·
Minister of Justice, Mr. Abdülhamit Gül, E-mail: ozelkalem@adalet.gov.tr
·
Minister of Interior, Mr. Süleyman Soylu, Fax: +90 (312) 425 61 30
·
H.E. Mr. Kaymakci Faruk, Ambassador, Diplomatic Mission of Turkey to the
European Union in Brussels, Belgium, E-mail: tr-delegation.eu@mfa.gov.tr; Fax: + 32 2 511 04 50
·
H.E. Mr. Sadık Arslan, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of Turkey to the
United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, E-mail: turkey.unog@mfa.gov.tr; Fax: +41 22 734 08 59
Please also write to the diplomatic missions or
embassies of Turkey in your respective country.
***
Paris-Geneva, July 18, 2019
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken
quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory for the Protection of Human
Rights Defenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 by FIDH and the World
Organisation Against Torture (OMCT). The objective of this programme is to intervene
to prevent or remedy situations of repression against human rights defenders.
FIDH and OMCT are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union Human Rights Defenders
Mechanism implemented by international civil society.
[1] See
the Observatory Urgent Appeal TUR 003 / 0618 / OBS
087.2, published on May 28, 2019.
[2] See
the Observatory Urgent Appeal TUR 001 / 0119 / OBS
001, published on January 4, 2019.
[3] Özgür Gündem started
the “Editor-in-chief on Duty” campaign on May 3, 2016 to express solidarity and
defend press freedom in the face of a number of investigations faced by the
newspaper. A total of 49 prominent journalists have served as one-day
editors-in-chief since the beginning of the campaign. Some 37 of them have been
investigated up to now. Yet, Ms. Fincancı, Mr. Önderoğlu and
Mr. Nesin were the first persons to be arrested and detained in relation
to the campaign.
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