Remand in custody of Ramazan Demir & Ayşe Acinikli, members of the Association of Lawyers for Freedom, pending the next hearing in their trial

URGENT APPEAL - THE OBSERVATORY

New information

TUR 003 / 0316 / OBS 025.2

Judicial harassment /

Arbitrary detention
Turkey
June 28, 2016

TheObservatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of FIDHand the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), has received new information and requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Turkey.

New information:

TheObservatory has been informed by reliable sources about the remand in custody of Mr. Ramazan Demir and Ms. Ayşe Acinikli, members of the Association of Lawyersfor Freedom (Ozgurlukcu Hukukcular Dernegi – OHD), pending the next hearing in their trial, scheduled for September 7, 2016.

According to the information received, on June 22, 2016, the trial of Mr. Demir and Ms.Acinkli opened before the 14th Heavy Penal Court of Istanbul, which decided toextend their detention until the next hearing of September 7, 2016.

The hearing of June 22 was monitored by Mr. Martin Pradel, lawyer at the Paris BarAssociation, within the framework of a trial observation mandated by theObservatory.

In the course of that hearing, Mr. Demir's and Ms.Acinkli's lawyers argued that the detention of their clients had been ordered in contravention of Turkish law, and that much of the evidence gathered against them, including phone-tapped conversations, had been obtained in an illegal manner. In addition, as the case file against Mr. Demir's and Ms. Acinkli's has been made confidential pursuant to Article 153.2 of the Turkish Criminal ProcedureCode, the latter are still unable to access and challenge the charges levied against them, thereby seriously undermining the equality of arms principle.Besides, it was reported that although the prosecutor declared that Mr. Demir's and Acinkli's detention had “lasted long enough”, the 14th HeavyPenal Court refused to release them on bail, reportedly to avoid risks of escape, and to prevent destruction of evidence or testimonies.

At the beginning of the hearing, a violation of the publicity of debates was further highlighted when the judge decided to lock the doors of the courtroom in view of the high number of persons willing to observe the trial and eventually decided on a temporary suspension of the court session, after a massive disagreement among the audience.

The Observatory strongly condemns the remand in custody of Mr. Ramazan Demir and Ms. Ayşe Acinikli, and calls upon the Turkish authorities to release them immediately and unconditionally as their detention is arbitrary since it only aims at sanctioning their legitimate human rights activities.

The Observatory more generally urges the Turkish authorities to put an end to the ongoing harassment, including at judicial level, against them and more in general against all human rights defenders and lawyers.

The Observatory recalls that their arbitrary arrest and detention is part of wide-range anti-terrorism operations currently taking place in Turkey. Such operations turned into a massive crackdown on some civil society organisations depicted as“terrorist networks”. This campaign has been targeting dozens of peaceful activists who have been involved in the monitoring of human rights violations resulting from anti-terrorism operations and who have been advocating for a peaceful resolution of the Kurdish issue[1]. These peaceful activists include human rights defenders, particularly Human RightsAssociation (IHD) members, lawyers, political party representatives and journalists[2](see background information).

TheObservatory finally draws the attention of the Turkish authorities on thePrinciple of the United Nations Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, in particular Principles 16, 18, and 20 on Guarantees for the functioning of lawyers, and Principle 23 on Freedom of expression and association.

Background information:

In the early morning of March 16, 2016, OHD membersMessrs. İrfan Arasan, Hüseyin Boğatekin, Şefik Çelik, AdemÇalışçı, Tamer Doğan, Ramazan Demir and Mustafa Ruzgar, as well as Ms. Ayşe Acinikli and Ms. Ayşe Gösterişlioğlu were arrested and saw their houses in Istanbul raided by the police, within the framework of ananti-terrorism operation which targeted at least 89 individuals in several cities (Aydın, Diyarbakır, Bingöl, Ağrı, Konya, Bitlis, Erzurum, Mus, Mardin, Şırnak, Siirt, Elazığ, İzmir, Muğla, Urfa, Antep, Maraş and Sakarya).

The nine lawyers were arrested on charges of“membership of an illegal organisation” reportedly for events that took place between 2011 and 2014. During their interrogation, they were questioned about interviews they gave in the media, complaints they lodged before the EuropeanCourt of Human Rights (ECtHR) and visits to their clients. According to our information, the authorities have yet to disclose the reasons behind th ealleged offences that led to the searches and arrests. To date the case file on the arrests remains confidential pursuant to the Article 153.2 of the TurkishCriminal Code Procedure (No. 5271).

On March 17, the lawyers were to plead the case of the46 lawyers tried for participating in the defence of Mr. Abdullah Öcalan, one of the founding members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). During the hearing, the lawyers who could be present said that they could not defend adequately their clients whilst their colleagues were in custody. A delegation of lawyers from France, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom was also attending the trial.

Moreover, as a civil society group attempted to deliver a press statement outside the court to denounce the illegal arrest and detention of the nine lawyers, the gathering was attacked by Turkish police inriot gear, equipped with tear gas and water cannons.

On March 18, Istanbul First Criminal Court of Peace, chaired by judge Mr. Bakır Altun ordered the release of Messrs. İrfan Arasanand Mustafa Ruzgar.

On March 19, the Istanbul First Criminal Court ofPeace ordered the release of the seven remaining ÖHD lawyers arguing that the evidence provided was insufficient and that detention was a disproportionate measure of restraint under the circumstances. The public prosecutor, Mr. Orhan Aydın, objected this decision in a hearing that lasted 13 hours. As the court confirmed its decision, the public prosecutor objected the court's decision.

On March 21, the Istanbul First Criminal Court ofPeace rejected the public prosecutor’s objection a second time. The public prosecutor filed an objection before the Istanbul Second Criminal Court ofPeace.

On March 22, the Istanbul Second Criminal Court ofPeace, chaired by Judge Mr. Durmuş Karacalı, accepted the objection and ordered the arrest of four lawyers, namely Hüseyin Boğatekin, Ayşe Acinikli, Ramazan Demir and Ayşe Gösterişlioğlu, together with 17 other individuals. The court argued that there was enough evidence showing that they had committed the alleged crime, and that they could run away or damage the evidence. The court did not inform the defense lawyers of the hearing and failed also to ask for counter arguments. The defense lawyers filed an objection against this order.

The same day, Mr. Hüseyin Bogatekin and Ms. AyseGösterişlioğlu were arrested and detained in the courthouse, while the police could not find Ayşe Acinikli and Ramazan Demir. Overnight, the Istanbul EightCriminal Court of Peace, chaired by Mr. Atila Öztürk, heard Hüseyin Bogatekinand Ayse Gösterişlioğlu. The court limited the number of defense lawyers tothree per accused. It decided to remand them to detention in Metris Prison formales in Istanbul and Bakırköy Prison for females respectively.

On April 6, Mr. Demir and Ms. Acinikli were referred by the Istanbul Public Prosecutor Office to the Istanbul 3rdCriminal Court of Peace, which remanded them in custody.

On May 25, Judge Bulent Dalkiran, President of theIstanbul 14th Criminal Court of Peace, assisted by magistrates Mehmet Celik and Ferhat Korkmaz, denied the request for release that had been filed by Mr. Demirand Ms. Acinikli's lawyers on May 18. The judge justified his decision on the grounds that he had “not been able to hear the accused”.

Actions requested:

Pleasewrite to the authorities in Turkey, urging them to:

i. Release Mr. Ramazan Demir and Ms. AyşeAcinikli immediately and unconditionally, as their detention is arbitrary sinceit only aims at sanctioning their legitimate human rights activities;

ii. Rectify the decision to make the case file against Mr. Demir's and Ms.Acinkli's confidential, so as to uphold the equality of arms principle;

iii.Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Messrs. İrfan Arasan, Ayşe Acinikli, HüseyinBoğatekin, Şefik Çelik, Adem Çalışçı, Ayşe BaşarTamer Doğan, Ramazan Demir andMustafa Ruzgar, and Ms. Ayşe Acinikli and Ms. Ayşe Gösterişlioğlu as well as of allhuman rights defenders in Turkey;

iv. Put an end to all forms of harassment,including at judicial level, against Messrs. İrfan Arasan, Ayşe Acinikli, Hüseyin Boğatekin, Şefik Çelik,Adem Çalışçı, Ayşe BaşarTamer Doğan, Ramazan Demir and Mustafa Ruzgar, and Ms.Ayşe Acinikli and Ms. Ayşe Gösterişlioğlu, as well as all human rights defenders in Turkey;

v.Put an end to the crackdown on civil society under the pretext of counteringterrorism and publicly recognise the legitimate role of human rights defenders in line with Turkey’s international commitments;

vi.Comply with all the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on HumanRights Defenders, in particular with:

-its Article 1, which provides that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”;

-its Article 6(a), which foresees that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to participate in peaceful activities against violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms”;

- its Article 9, which provides that “in the exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the promotion and protection of human rights as referred to in the present Declaration, […]everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, inter alia:[…] (c) to offer and provide professionally qualified legal assistance or other relevant advice and assistance in defending human rights and fundamental freedoms”.

- its Article 11, which provides that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to the lawful exercise of his or her occupation or profession”.

-its Article 12.2, which provides that “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration”;

vii.Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rights standards and international instruments ratified by Turkey.

Addresses:

· President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, CumhurbaşkanlığıKülliyesi 06560 Beştepe-Ankara, Tel: (+90 312) 525 55 55, Fax: (+90 312) 525 5831, E-mail: contact@tccb.gov.tr

· Prime Minister of Turkey AhmetDavutoglu tel: (0312) 422 10 00 ; Fax: +90 (312)403 62 82

· Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, No: 8 Balgat / Ankara- Turkey 06100; Tel : +90 (312) 292 10 00

· Minister of Justice, Mr. Bekir Bozdağ, 06659 Kizilay, Ankara; Tel: +90(312) 417 77 70; Fax: +90 (0312) 419 33 70; E-mail: info@adalet.gov.tr

· Ministerof Interior, Mr. Efkan Ala; tel: +90 (312) 422 40 00; Fax: +90 (312)425 61 30; Email: ozelkalem@icisleri.gov.tr

· Ambassador Izzet SelimYenel, Diplomatic Mission of Turkey to the European Union in Brussels, Avenuedes Arts 36-38, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium; Fax: + 32 2 511 04 50

· Ambassador Mehmet FerdenÇarikçi, Permanent Mission of Turkey to the United Nations in Geneva, Chemin duPetit-Saconnex 28B 1211 Geneva 19, Tel: +41 22 918 50 80; Fax: +41 22 734 0859; Email: mission.turkey@ties.itu.int

Pleasealso write to the diplomatic mission or embassy of Turkey in your respective country.

***

Paris-Geneva,June 28, 2016

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

TheObservatory, an FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of human rights defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need.

To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:

· E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org

· Tel and fax FIDH + 33(0) 1 43 55 25 18 / +33 1 43 55 18 80

· Tel and fax OMCT + 41 (0) 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29

[1] See among others the Observatory Urgent Appeals TUR 001 /1015 / OBS 081 of October 1, 2015; TUR 001 / 1015 / OBS 081.1 of October 6,2015; TUR 003 / 1215 / OBS 111 of December 21, 2015; TUR 001 / 0116 / OBS 010of January 19, 2016; and TUR 002 / 0216 / OBS 017, of February 11, 2016.

[2] For more information see FIDH PressRelease of 21 September 2015. @font-face { font-family: "Arial";}@font-face { font-family: "Cambria Math";}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }h4 { margin: 12pt 0cm 6pt 43.2pt; text-indent: -43.2pt; page-break-after: avoid; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: normal; }p.MsoFootnoteText, li.MsoFootnoteText, div.MsoFootnoteText { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }p.MsoHeader, li.MsoHeader, div.MsoHeader { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }p.MsoFooter, li.MsoFooter, div.MsoFooter { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }p.MsoBodyText, li.MsoBodyText, div.MsoBodyText { margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed { color: purple; text-decoration: underline; }span.Titre4Car { }span.WW8Num3z0 { }span.Caractresdenotedebasdepage { vertical-align: super; }span.spnsubtitle { }span.DipnotBavurusu { vertical-align: super; }span.Rimandonotaapidipagina1 { vertical-align: super; }span.Marquedannotation3 { }span.En-tteCar { }span.PieddepageCar { }p.Paragraphedeliste1, li.Paragraphedeliste1, div.Paragraphedeliste1 { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt 36pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }span.NotedebasdepageCar { }span.CorpsdetexteCar { }.MsoChpDefault { font-size: 10pt; }div.WordSection1 { }ol { margin-bottom: 0cm; }ul { margin-bottom: 0cm; }