International Coalition consists of
- Law Society of England & Wales,
- Bar Human Rights Committee,
- International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute,
- Bar Human Rights Committee of England & Wales,
- Conseil National des Barreaux,
- European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and World Human Rights;
- Lawyers for Lawyers;
- Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada;
- Norwegian Bar Association,
- Human Rights Committee;
- International Observatory of Endangered Lawyers;
- Paris Bar, Human Rights Institute;
- German Bar Association, Human Rights Committee;
- Geneva Bar Association, Human Rights Commission;
- Abogacía Española – Consejo General; and
- UIA – International Association of Lawyers made a joint stakeholder submission to the UN Human Rights Council on rights violations in Turkey.
The Arrested Lawyers Initiative contributed to this submission. The submission is for the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review toward Turkey.
Listen the interview with Dr. Marina Brilman published by the BBC on the submission. Dr. Brilman is International Human Rights Policy Adviser to the Law Society of England & Wales.
The submission widely made citations to the reports and the factsheets published by the The Arrested Lawyers Initiative.
In the joint Stakeholder Submission, the coalition raise concern for the independence of the legal profession in Turkey in recognition of the “widespread and systematic persecution of members of the legal profession in Turkey” which has “deteriorated significantly” since the attempted coup in 2016. The submission cites the adoption of emergency decree laws, which were subsequently enacted by Parliament, and Presidential decrees that have eroded judicial and prosecutorial independence, undermined the right to legal representation and other fair trial rights, and led to the arbitrary arrest, detention, and prosecution of lawyers and judges and the closure of Bar Associations in Turkey.
Reports indicate that since the failed coup, approximately 599 lawyers have been arrested and detained (pre-trial detention), 1546 lawyers prosecuted, and 311 lawyers convicted and sentenced to a total of 1,967 years in prison. At least 14 presidents and former presidents of 12 provincial Bar Associations had been either arrested or detained, 34 lawyers’ associations in 20 different provinces have been closed down, and 4260 judges and prosecutors had been dismissed.
Categories: Factsheets and Submissions, International Advocacy