TUR 008 / 0620/ OBS 074

Arbitrarydetention /

Inhumantreatment

Turkey

June 30, 2020

The Observatoryfor the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of FIDH and theWorld Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), requests your intervention in thefollowing situation in Turkey.

Description of thesituation:

TheObservatory has been informed by reliable sources about the arbitrary detentionof Ms. Sevil Rojbin, a women’s rights defender, member of the women'srights initiative Free Women's Movement (TJA - Tevgera Jinen Azad) and memberof the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP).

Accordingto the information received, on June 26, 2020, Ms. Sevil Rojbin was taken intopolice custody in Diyarbakır and her house was raided by the police, within thescope of an investigation launched by the Prosecutors' Office in Mardin intoher activities with TJA on women’s rights and her membership to HDP’scommission on local governance.

Ms.Sevil Rojbin was reportedly subjected to inhuman treatment, which may amount totorture, during the raid of her house and during her arrest in Diyarbakır. Itwas reported that she was subjected to sexual harassment in addition to otherforms of violence. The forensic examination report found bite marks by policedogs on her legs, shoe marks on her belly and other marks of battery. Herlawyer, who has taken pictures of her showing the marks to form an officialcomplaint, was later summoned to the Prosecutors' Office. As of issuing thisUrgent Appeal, no measures had been taken against the police officers accusedof these abuses.

OnJune 27, 2020, she was transferred to the Anti-Terror Branch in Mardin, wherethe investigation is being conducted.

OnJune 30, 2020, the court extended Ms. Sevil Rojbin’s arrest for another fourdays, at the request of the Prosecutor on the basis that “the review was ongoing”.As of issuing this Urgent Appeal, Ms. Rojbin remains under arrest in Mardin.Ms. Sevil Rojbin has advanced stage cancer and her health may be compromised byher detention.

TheObservatory recalls that inhuman treatment is prohibited, and that allegationsof inhuman treatment must be thoroughly investigated and may result inindividual convictions.

The Observatorycondemns the arbitrary detention of Ms. Sevil Rojbin and the inhuman treatmentsshe allegedly suffered, as it seems to be merely aimed at punishing her forexercising her legitimate human rights activities. The Observatory urges theTurkish authorities to put an end to all forms of harassment, including at thejudicial level, against her and against all human rights defenders in Turkey.

Actions requested:

Pleasewrite to the authorities of Turkey asking them to:

i.Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Ms.Sevil Rojbin and all other human rights defenders in Turkey;

ii.Immediately and unconditionally release Ms. Sevil Rojbin and all other humanrights defenders arbitrarily detained in Turkey as their detention is arbitrarysince it only seems to aim at punishing them for their human rights activities;

iii. Put an end to all forms ofharassment, including at the judicial level, against Ms. Sevil Rojbin and all human rights defenders in Turkey;

iv. Carry out a transparent, impartial, immediate and thoroughinvestigation into the alleged inhuman treatment suffered by Ms. Sevil Rojbin in order to identify all those responsible, bring them before anindependent tribunal, and sanction them as provided by the law;

v. Comply with all the provisions of the United Nations Declaration onHuman Rights Defenders adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 9, 1998,in particular its Articles 1, 6(a), 9, 11 and 12.2;

vi. Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamentalfreedoms in accordance with international human rights standards andinternational instruments ratified by Turkey.

Addresses:

· President of theRepublic of Turkey, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Fax: +90 (312) 525 58 31. Email: contact@tccb.gov.tr

· Minister of Justice,Mr. Abdülhamit Gül. Email: info@adalet.gov.tr. Fax: +90 (0312) 419 33 70

· Minister ofInterior, Mr. Süleyman Soylu. Email: diab@icisleri.gov.tr; sti@icisleri.gov.tr

· Governorate of the Province of Mardin. Email: mardin@icisleri.gov.tr

· Police Department of Diyarbakir. Email: diyarbakir155@egm.gov.tr

· The Ombudsman Institution, Mr. Şeref MALKOÇ. Email: iletisim@ombudsman.gov.tr

· Ambassador Mr.Mehmet Kemal Bozay, Diplomatic Mission of Turkey to the European Union inBrussels, Belgium. Fax: + 32 2 511 04 50.Email: info@turkdeleg.org; tr-delegation.eu@mfa.gov.tr

· AmbassadorMr. Sadık Arslan, Permanent Mission ofTurkey to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. Email: turkey.unog@mfa.gov.tr

Please also write tothe diplomatic missions or embassies of Turkey in your respectivecountry.

***

Paris-Geneva, June30, 2020

Kindly inform us ofany action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.

The Observatory forthe Protection of Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997by FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT). The objective ofthis programme is to intervene to prevent or remedy situations of repression againsthuman rights defenders. FIDH and OMCT are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European UnionHuman Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented by international civil society.

To contact theObservatory, call the emergency line:

· E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org

· Tel and fax FIDH +33 1 43 55 25 18 / +33 1 43 55 18 80

· Tel and fax OMCT + 41 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 80949 29