The Arrested Lawyers Initiative

Recent Posts

• Abuse of the Anti-Terrorism Provision by Turkey is steadily increasing (2013-2019)

  By The Arrested Lawyers Initiative on 6 July 2020 • ( 13 )

  

  The statistics highlight that Turkish public prosecutors have filed more than 392,000 charges under Article 314 of the Turkish Penal Code within the last seven-years. What is worse, between 2016 and 2019 more than 220,000 individuals have been sentenced for membership of an armed terrorist organisation.

• Turkey jails Amnesty executives and rights activists in ‘terrorism’ case

  By The Arrested Lawyers Initiative on 3 July 2020

  

  Istanbul Heavy Penal Court has sentenced Taner Kılıç, former chair of Amnesty Turkey, to 6 years and 3 months under Article 314 § 2 of Turkish Penal Code which stipulates the membership of an armed terrorist organisation. İdil Eser former director of Amnesty Turkey, Özlem Dalkıran of Citizens’ Assembly and Günal Kurşun of  the Human Rights Agenda Association were all convicted for 25 months for assisting a terrorist organisation.

• Turkish Government is following ‘divide and conquer strategy’ over Bar Associations

  By The Arrested Lawyers Initiative on 30 June 2020

  

  Updates July 6, 2020 – The Bill was passed by the Justice Commission of the Parliament and referred to the General Assembly for final deliberation and voting. What does the Bill bring? Draft law reduces leading bar associations’ authority, leads… Read More ›

• Turkish Government posed to intervene into elections of Bar Associations

  By The Arrested Lawyers Initiative on 30 June 2020

  

  Turkish Government posed to intervene into elections of Bar Associations. The Government’s purpose is to diminish the influence of the Bar Associations of Turkey’s large cities, which are sensitive about the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary, women’s rights and human rights violations. Bar Associations, such as Ankara, Diyarbakir, Sanliurfa, Antalya and Izmir, are also very sensitive to torture and enforced disappearance complaints, and have published several reports documenting such incidents, which has disturbed the Government.

• Mini interviews: Mr Manuel Soares, President of the ASJP – Union Association of the Portuguese Judges

  By The Arrested Lawyers Initiative on 22 June 2020

  

  We have initiated a new project in which we will publish a series of brief interviews with prominent European lawyers, academics and executives of judges’ associations. Our first interview was with Adv. Francesco Caia, who is the Coordinator for Human… Read More ›

• Mini interviews: Adv. Francesco Caia of CNF and OIAD

  By The Arrested Lawyers Initiative on 18 June 2020 • ( 1 )

  

  We have initiated a new project in which we will publish a series of brief interviews with prominent European lawyers, academics and executives of judges’ associations. Our first interview is with Adv. Francesco Caia, who is the Coordinator for Human Rights and International Relations of the Italian National Bar Association (CNF) and Vice-President of the International Observatory for Endangered Lawyers.

• Letter by twelve organisations: Immediately release Adv. Turan Canpolat

  By The Arrested Lawyers Initiative on 15 May 2020

  

  In response to our call for action, twelve organisations sent a letter to the Ministry of Justice of Turkey,  General Director of Prisons and Detention Houses, Chief Judge of the Court of Cassation’s 16th Chamber  with respect to lawyer Turan Canpolat has… Read More ›

• Persecution of a Decent Lawyer: The Case of Turan Canpolat

  By The Arrested Lawyers Initiative on 9 May 2020

  

  The collapse of judicial independence and the breakdown of the rule of law have taken many forms in Turkey over the course of the past several years. The political subjugation of the judiciary and the post-coup crackdown on the members… Read More ›

• Call for action: The case of lawyer Turan Canpolat

  By The Arrested Lawyers Initiative on 3 May 2020 • ( 2 )

  

  Turan Canpolat is a member of the Malatya (Turkey) Bar Association. He is fifty years old and had practiced law for 21 years when he was unlawfully arrested on 27th January, 2016. On the morning of 27th January, 2016, Turan… Read More ›

• Bar Associations of Ankara and Diyarbakir are under investigation for their statements denouncing Turkey’s top mufti

  By The Arrested Lawyers Initiative on 28 April 2020 • ( 2 )

  

  Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has launched an ex officio investigation against the Ankara Bar Association because of its statement denouncing Turkey’s top mufti Ali Erbaş who, during his Friday sermon on April 24, alleged that LGBT people were the source for evil and epidemic.

• Let’s not forget Turkey’s political prisoners in the face of COVID19 threat

  By The Arrested Lawyers Initiative on 27 April 2020

  

  Law no. 7242’s amendments worsen already existing injustice in Turkey’s criminal justice system. The notorious mob leader, Alaattin Cakici, was released as soon as President Erdogan approved the amendments, while the award winning author, Ahmet Altan, hundreds of lawyers and journalists, remain in prison. Considering that, only in Izmir (Buca) Prison, 65 inmates tested COVID19, this danger is not remote, imagined or simply feared but actual and imminent. Therefore, we must continue to advocate on their behalf to show they are not forsaken.

• New Report: The Erosion of Property Rights In Turkey

  By The Arrested Lawyers Initiative on 3 March 2020

  

  Brussel based human rights group Platform for Peace and Justice published a new report titled ‘The Erosion of Property Rights In Turkey’. The report shows how the Turkish Government unlawfully intervenes into property rights  in the pretext of the state of emergency and counter-terrorism measures.

• Commissioner for Human Rights of the COE urges Turkey to implement the UN Human Rights Committee’s decisions

  By The Arrested Lawyers Initiative on 19 February 2020

  

  Commissioner for Human Rights of the COE urges Turkey to implement the UN Human Rights Committee’s decisions regarding detentions based on using Bylock and having account in Bank Asya.

• The German Federal Constitutional Court: Turkey highly likely will not respect minimum standards deriving from international law

  By The Arrested Lawyers Initiative on 27 January 2020

  

  The German Federal Constitutional Court (GFCC) decided a lower court’s decision ordering the extradition of an individual to Turkey violated German law and Germany’s obligation deriving from international law.

  The GFCC ruled that Turkey highly will not respect minimum standards deriving from international law. Therefore, an extradition decision which relied on the assurances provided by the Turkish government that the prosecution was not based on political grounds was unlawful and thus should be annulled.

• Human Rights NGOs: Torture and Ill-treatment in custody have become systematic practice of Ankara Police

  By The Arrested Lawyers Initiative on 1 January 2020 • ( 1 )

  

  Human Rights NGOs: Torture and Ill-treatment in custody have become systematic practice of Ankara Police. Report of Ankara Bar Association confirm the complaints of torture and ill-treatment.

• Factsheet: Turkey- the State of Emergency Dismissals and Inquiry (Appeal) Commission

  By The Arrested Lawyers Initiative on 3 July 2020 • ( 3 )

  

  The @ArrestedLawyers Initiative published a factsheet on Turkey’s state of emergency dismissals. It includes the latest statistics on the Inquiry Commission’s work, criteria applied for the dismissals and the definition of the connection and cohesion made by Ankara Regional Appeal Court.

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