Joint Letter to Ms. Mogherini and Mr. Tusk regarding extension of Turkey’s state of emergency in a context of grave human rights violations

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Ms Federica Mogherini, HighRepresentative of the Union

for Foreign Affairs and SecurityPolicy and Vice-President of the European Commission

Mr Donald Tusk, President of the EuropeanCouncil

cc: Ministers of Foreign Affairs ofthe European Union and EU ambassadors to Turkey

20 April 2016

Object: Extension of Turkey’sstate of emergency in a context of grave human rights violations

Dear HR/VP Federica Mogherini,

Dear President Donald Tusk,

EuroMed Rights, European Federationof Journalists, Front Line Defenders, Index on Censorship and WorldOrganisation Against Torture (OMCT) are deeply concerned by the Turkishgovernment’s decision to extend the state of emergency in Turkey by a furtherthree months. The decision has been approved by the Turkish parliament and publishedin the Official Gazette.

The far-reaching discretionarypowers exercised by the Turkish authorities during the nine months of the stateof emergency have deeply undermined the rule of law and human rightssafeguards.

We support the position of theVenice commission of December 2016, which stated that “the Governmentinterpreted its extraordinary powers too extensively and took measures thatwent beyond what is permitted by the Turkish Constitution and by internationallaw.” We also note thepreliminary findings and conclusions of the OSCE-ODIHR InternationalObservation Mission stating that "under the state of emergency (…),fundamental freedoms essential to a genuinely democratic process were curtailed(…). One side’s dominance in the coverage and restrictions on the media reducedvoters’ access to a plurality of views".

In view of the dangers arising fromthe extension of the state of emergency and the worrying human rights situationin Turkey (see appendix), the signatory organisations call on you to:

1. Urge theGovernment of Turkey to reverse its decision to renew the state of emergencyand to revoke measures incompatible with Turkey’s human rights obligations;

2. Urge the Turkish authorities to releasefrom custody without delay, unconditionally drop politically-motivatedcharges and proceedings, and quash sentences against the hundreds of journalists, elected membersof parliament and mayors of South Eastern municipalities, human rights defenders,trade unionists, and intellectuals unjustly jailed or facing judicialharassment for their legitimate human rights work, writing, non-violent politicalassociation or convictions;

3. Monitorclosely the safety of human rights defenders and encourage the EU Delegation and the EUMember State Embassies in Turkey to proactively implement the EU Guidelines onHuman Rights Defenders. In particular, the EU Missions should as often as possiblevisit political prisoners in jail and attend the trials of human rightsdefenders, including journalists and trade unionists. The EU Delegation and theEU Member State Embassies in Turkey should also press Turkish authorities toensure that human rights organisations and professional bodies of relevant expertssuch as medical chambers, bar associations and lawyers associations are alsogiven access to all places of detention and court rooms.

We look forward to hearing from youabout steps that the European Union will take to implement these recommendations,in line with the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders and the EU’s HumanRights Action Plan adopted by the Council on 20 July 2015.

Yours sincerely,

Michel Tubiana – EuroMed RightsPresident

Mogens Blicher Bjerregård – EuropeanFederation of Journalists President

Andrew Anderson – Front LineDefenders Executive Director

Hugh Williamson – Human Rights WatchExecutive Director, Europe & Central Asia

Jodie Ginsberg – Index on CensorshipChief Executive Gerald Staberock – World Organisation AgainstTorture (OMCT) Secretary General