Three international law associations made a submission to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers and urge the UN to enter into urgent dialogue with the Turkish government with a view to ending the persecution and prosecution of legal professionals in the country.
In the United Nations 39th Human Rights Council, the Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada (LRWC), Lawyers for Lawyers (L4L), The Law Society of England and Wales (TLS) urge Turkish Government to stop human rights violations.
According to our survey there is a steady increase in the use of anti-terrorism law on individuals by public prosecutors. So, while 8,324 people were indicted under Article 314 of the TPC in 2013, 146,718 people were indicted under the same article in 2017. Statistics highlight that Turkey has indicted 221,366 people with the charges of being member or leader of an armed terrorist organization within last five years.
Statistics also indicate that, in 2017, Turkish prosecutors have opened investigations against 527.154 individuals on suspicion of the crimes against the Constitutional order.
The Open Dialog Foundation published a report that examines cases of harassment and attacks on lawyers and attorneys.
In the report entitled ‘Defence for Defenders’, cases of lawyers Fevzi Kayacan, Cemalettin Ozer and Mehmet Guzel who are former presidents of Konya, Erzincan and Erzurum Bar Associations were presented. Data and reports that compiled and published by The Arrested Lawyers Initiative quoted in the report.
The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute, the Law Society of England and Wales, the Bar Human Rights Committee, the Union Internationale des Avocats, Lawyers for Lawyers, and Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada made a joint oral statement regarding persecution of Turkish lawyers at United Nations 38th Human Rights Council after Diego García-Sayán presented -UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers- his annual report.
The fact sheet entitled “Challenges to the Independence of the Legal Profession under the State of Emergency in Turkey” was prepared by a delegation of six Turkish lawyers including four The Arrested Lawyers Initiative members, the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute, and The Law Society of England and Wales.
24 Turkish lawyers were sentenced in 2018 May. By this latest decisions to convict, numbers of Turkish lawyers so far have been convicted of terrorism-related offences since 15th July 2016 raised to 141.
The Arrested Lawyers Initiative published a new report entitled “Incarceration of Turkish Lawyers | En Masse Arrests and Convictions (2016-2018).” According to the report, 1539 Turkish lawyers have been prosecuted and 580 lawyers have been arrested since 2016 July. And so far, 103 Turkish lawyers have been sentenced to long imprisonment by the first instance courts under article 314 of the Turkish Penal Code.
The Arrested Lawyers Initiative published a new report entitled Extradition to Turkey: One-way Ticket to Torture and Unfair Trial. In the report that covers the situation in Turkey regarding the risks to be subjected torture and ill-treatment and to be… Read More ›
The Arrested Lawyers Initiative published a new report entitled “The Rights to Defense & Fair Trial Under Turkey’s Emergency Rule.”
The Arrested Lawyers Initiative published a new report about the famous encrypted i-message application called ByLock and how it is being used to arrest critics by Erdogan Regime.
The Arrested Lawyers Initiative published a new report about the famous encrypted i-message application called ByLock
The Arrested Lawyers Initiative published a report as to the relentless crackdown against Turkish lawyers and the right to defence in Turkey
The unprecedented mass arrest campaign which started immediately after the 2016’s failed coup attempt continue. According to the last figures given by Suleyman Soylu, Internal Affairs Minister, only in 2017, 48.305 people have been arrested and as of 5 January… Read More ›
