Lawyer Mehmet Ali Uçar, who is visually impaired and has haemophilia and is imprisoned in Izmir Menemen R Type Prison, has been unlawfully convicted and is not released despite having four reports from the Turkish Forensic Medicine Institution stating that he cannot stay in prison.
Mehmet Ali Uçar, a lawyer of 32 years, was sentenced to 8 years and 8 months in January 2021 for membership in armed terrorist organisation as per article 314 of Turkish Penal Code. He was one of the more than 550 lawyers who have been imprisoned due to the identity of their clients since 2016’s coup attempt.
Since 2016’s coup attempt, there has been a relentless campaign of arrests which has targeted fellow lawyers across the country. In 77 of Turkey’s 81 provinces, lawyers have been detained, prosecuted and convicted due to alleged terror-linked offences. As of today, more than 1600 lawyers have been arrested and prosecuted while 615 lawyers have been remanded to pretrial detention. So far, 551 lawyers have been sentenced to 3356 years in prison over terrorism-related charges, mostly membership in terrorist organisations that is stipulated in Article 314 of the Turkish Penal Code.
Repeated Arrests
Uçar was first arrested in 2016 for being a member of the Gulen Movement, which the Turkish judiciary proscribed in 2017. After presenting medical reports to the court showing that his visual impairment legally exempted him from detention, he was released a month later, pending trial. However, he was arrested again in 2018, and after submitting the same medical report, he was released following an additional six months in jail. His final arrest occurred on the day he received an 8-year and 8-month sentence for membership in an armed terrorist organization, a fate shared with hundreds of other lawyers.
“Evidence” Against Him
The evidence against Mehmet Ali Uçar for his alleged connections to the Gulen Movement spans several years and includes activities and associations that may seem lawful at first glance. His financial transactions, particularly opening accounts at Bank Asya (linked to the Gulen Movement), his academic role at Izmir University, and his donations to a relief organization (both targeted by decree-law for alleged connections to the Movement), are scrutinized. Uçar’s founding of a lawyers’ association in Izmir, allegedly affiliated with the Movement, raises further suspicion.
Moreover, the employment history in Uçar’s law office and his social media activities, alongside the seizure of books and VCDs related to the Gulen Movement from his residence, are cited as evidence of his involvement.
Uniquely, Uçar was also convicted for lecturing at a law school later closed for its alleged links to the Gulen Movement. He claims that his reminder to the court about teaching students who are now judges led to a personal vendetta by the presiding judge, who ominously stated, “You will pay for this when the time is right.” Despite numerous medical reports advocating against his imprisonment, the judge ordered Uçar’s arrest.
Disregard of ECHR rulings
Several rulings by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) prove that his conviction is unlawful.
In the case of Yasin Özdemir v. Turkey, for instance, the ECtHR concluded that social media posts dating before 2017, the year the Movement was proscribed, supporting the Gulen Movement could not be deemed criminal. In cases like Nazli Ilıcak v. Turkey (No.2) and Yüksel Yalçınkaya v. Turkey, the ECtHR held that association with entities legally established at the material time must be presumed legal and cannot be retroactively criminalized. In the case of Taner Kilic, the ECtHR found that using transactions with Bank Asya as incriminating evidence was unlawful.
According to the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, lawyers should not be identified with their clients’ causes. This principle is particularly relevant in Uçar’s case, where his professional duties are being conflated with criminal activities.
Medical Reports
Uçar, who was taken from Izmir to Istanbul 3 times for medical examination, was not released despite the reports of the Board of Forensic Medicine dated 26 May 2021, 14 July 2021 and 28 September 2022 stating that ‘he cannot stay in prison’. (Two of four reports are below.)
“I am an academic and a lawyer with 100 per cent vision impairment. At the same time, I have haemophilia. With my vision impairment on top of my haemophilia, it would be a miracle to get out of prison alive. Every day I hit my head and my arms and legs somewhere. The lawyers who visit me would attest to that. I have been convicted because I was an academic at a university that was closed down by the Government and because I took cases of those accused of terrorism. When the judge asked me why I worked half a day a week at that university, I said … that the people who studied at that university and did their master’s degree and doctorate at that university were now prosecutors and judges, and when I asked why I was sitting in the defendant’s chair, an argument broke out between me and the judge because I said this. The judge said I would pay the price when it was time. Our hostility continued throughout the whole trial. And the judge (eventually) arrested me … even though there was a forensic medical report that I could not stay in prison. He didn’t even wait for the appeal and the Court of Cassation proceedings. During the trial, I was repeatedly told that if I did not pay a bribe, I would be given a long sentence and arrested. Since I am a lawyer, I did not pay that sort of unlawfulness much attention. When I entered the prison, intermediaries came and told me that I would be released if I paid one million or three million (liras). I was told that a significant part of this amount would be handed to judges. In other words, I am a living witness to what is called FETÖ bourse in Izmir. I have been a lawyer for 32 years and an academic for 10 years. I am currently in prison. The prison yard allocated to us is used by 12 different criminals. If it’s my turn, I can go out for 1 to 2 hours. These criminals are people who either murdered their wives, or daughters-in-law or fathers, and or molest children. More importantly, since I was convicted as a ‘terrorist’… so I was a traitor, the prisoners swear at least a hundred times, including at my dead mother, while I am in the yard. I filed a complaint about this, and in reprisal, the murderer who swore at me reported me for making terrorist propaganda and I was prosecuted for spreading terrorist propaganda. I am deprived of all basic rights such as reading, writing, eating and walking. There are 4 different reports stating that I cannot stay in prison. But the result does not change. My offence is actually not giving the bribe which was demanded from me. But no one hears our voice. Hear our voices too. Despite 4 forensic medicine reports, I am still in prison and according to the report I should be released. Despite this, I have been kept here for 2.5 years. Will our voices be heard only when death, the inevitable end finds us?”
Ucar’s letter to journalist Ismail Kucukkaya
In prison, Uçar was forced to share a yard with individuals convicted of murder and pedophilia, who verbally abused and threatened him. After reporting this to the prison administration, he was accused by one of the convicts of “making terrorist propaganda,” leading to immediate prosecution.
For someone visually impaired, prison life is uniquely challenging. Unlike sighted individuals who can engage in various activities, visually impaired inmates face significant obstacles, turning their incarceration into a form of torture. Basic tasks like writing petitions, reading, or even personal care become daunting challenges. Alternatives like house arrest or electronic monitoring, which could alleviate these issues, were not considered, despite legal provisions that should have prevented Uçar’s arrest.
Additionally, Uçar suffers from hemophilia, a serious condition that complicates his ability to navigate prison safely. “Considering my visual impairment and hemophilia, surviving in prison is nearly miraculous,” Uçar wrote in a letter seeking justice.
He also disclosed encounters with “intermediaries” offering his release in exchange for large sums of money, implicating a corrupt network within the judiciary and law enforcement known as “the FETÖ exchange” in Izmir. This network allegedly extorts money from individuals under the threat of imprisonment related to the Gulen Movement. Notably, the murder of Izmir’s AKP provincial head, allegedly involved in such extortion, underscores the gravity of these claims.
Conclusion
Mehmet Ali Uçar’s case serves as a poignant illustration of the arbitrariness and corruption within the Turkish judiciary, as well as a blatant disregard for the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). The circumstances surrounding Uçar’s repeated arrests, the reliance on legally dubious evidence, and the failure to adhere to international legal standards underscore systemic issues that challenge the principles of justice and rule of law.
Firstly, the arbitrary nature of Uçar’s conviction is highlighted by the use of his financial transactions with Bank Asya and his professional associations—actions that were legal at the time—as grounds for his imprisonment. This approach not only contravenes the principle that laws should not be applied retroactively but also ignores the ECtHR’s rulings, such as in the cases of Yasin Özdemir v. Turkey and Taner Kilic, which clearly state that such evidence cannot be deemed criminal or used as incriminating evidence.
Furthermore, Uçar’s case reveals a troubling conflation of legal advocacy with criminal activity, a violation of the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, which protect lawyers from being identified with their clients’ causes. This misapplication of justice not only undermines the independence of the legal profession but also indicates a broader trend of using the judiciary as a tool for political repression.
The disregard for ECtHR rulings in Uçar’s case and similar cases signals a worrisome departure from international legal norms and obligations. Despite clear directives from the ECtHR that actions such as those taken against Uçar are unlawful, the Turkish judiciary has continued to pursue convictions based on these grounds. This not only represents a failure to uphold the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights but also diminishes the credibility and authority of the ECtHR.
In conclusion, Mehmet Ali Uçar’s ordeal is emblematic of a judiciary that operates with a concerning level of arbitrariness and corruption, marked by a disregard for both domestic legality and international human rights standards. His case is a stark reminder of the urgent need for judicial reforms in Turkey to restore fairness, accountability, and respect for the rule of law, ensuring that the judiciary serves as a guardian of justice rather than an instrument of political expediency.
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Categories: Turkey Human Rights Blog, Unjust / Wrongful Convictions