TUR 003 / 0618 / OBS 087

Judicial harassment /

Sentence /

Restriction to freedom ofmovement

Turkey

June 20,2018

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, apartnership of FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), requestsyour urgent intervention in the following situation in Turkey.

Descriptionof the situation:

TheObservatory has been informed by reliable sources about the sentencing of Ms. Eren Keskin, prominent human rightslawyer from Turkey and co-president of the Human Rights Association in Turkey(İHD), one of FIDH member organisations in Turkey. For almost thirty years, ErenKeskin has contributed to the protection of minority rights, countered violenceagainst women, and campaigned to challenge militarism and end torture. She isthe founder of a legal office providing pro bono services for transgender personsand women who were raped or sexually abused by the national security forces. From2013 to 2016, Eren Keskin held the title of ‘co-editor-in-chief’ for Özgür Gündem (‘Free Agenda’)[1],as a form of support of the imprisoned editorial staff. An honorary member ofthe Paris Bar Association, Eren Keskin is the winner of multiple internationalawards for her peace and human rights work, including the 2018 Helsinki CivilSociety Award[2].

Accordingto the information received, on March 30, 2018, Istanbul’s 2nd Criminal Courtof First Instance sentenced Eren Keskin to seven and a half years in jail inrelation to some articles published in ÖzgürGündem during the time when she was co-editor-in chief. According to the court’sdecision, the articles have “degraded” the Turkish nation and “insulted” theTurkish president.

TheObservatory recalls that a total of more than 120 cases have been lodgedagainst Eren Keskin because of her role as co-editor-in chief for Özgür Gündem[3]and that, as of June 2018, 47 of them are still pending. In addition to these47 cases, Eren Keskin is also one of the nine defendants[4]in another ongoing prosecution, which includes terrorism-related offences. Thisprosecution carries the risk of a sentence of up to 24 years in prison. On June4, 2018, the ninth hearing in this case was held and the trial was furtherpostponed to October 10, 2018. On the same day, Eren Keskin’s lawyers requestedto lift the travel ban in force against her, which the court refused.

Six of themore than 120 cases filed against her have resulted in court rulings with allappeal options already exhausted. The convictions are for ‘insulting thePresident’ and for ‘failure to publish article corrections in the newspaper’.Fines of 72,000 TL (approximately 14,500 Euros) have been imposed upon Eren Keskin.Failure to pay the outstanding monetary fines would result in approximately 8,5years of imprisonment.

In afurther 69 cases, Eren Keskin has been found guilty and condemned to acumulative sentence of 12,5 years and a fine of 460,000 TL (approximately93,000 Euros, in particular due to following offenses: ‘spreading propagandafor an armed terrorist organisation’ (Law on Fight against Terrorism, Article7(2)), ‘denigrating the Turkish nation, the Republic of Turkey, institutionsand organs of the State’ (Turkish Criminal Code, Article 301), ‘insulting thePresident’ (Turkish Criminal Code, Article 299)[5],‘failure to publish article corrections in the newspaper’ (Press Law, Article18), ‘revealing the identity of the accused’ (Press Law, Article 21(c)), and‘insult’ (Turkish Criminal Code, Article 125). At the time of the publicationof this Urgent Appeal, appeal procedures against these decisions are stillongoing.

In additionto indictments related to her editor-in-chief title with Özgür Gündem, Eren Keskin has also been charged for statements shemade after the shooting of a father and child by the police in South-EasternMardin’s Kızıltepe district in 2004[6],and for an article she wrote in 2016 on alleged abuses by the armed forces,entitled ‘The Radical Evil’.

In additionto the mounting indictments, Eren Keskin’s ongoing work as a human rightslawyer is challenged as well: the legal team of the Office of the President ofTurkey has recently filed an application to the Istanbul Bar Association toimpose disciplinary measures on Eren Keskin, which may result in disbarment.

Of all thecases brought against Eren Keskin until today, only four have been concluded inher favour, either due to decisions of acquittal or due to the statute oflimitations.

TheObservatory strongly condemns the endless judicial harassment of Ms. ErenKeskin as it is a clear retaliation of her human rights activities and urgesthe authorities to put an end to all forms of harassment against her, includingat the judicial level and in particular to lift the travel ban in force.

TheObservatory expresses its utmost concerns over Ms. Eren Keskin’s ongoing judicialharassment, which occurs in the context of an ongoing crackdown against humanrights defenders in Turkey[7].

Until allcharges are dropped, the Observatory urges the authorities to ensure allproceedings against Ms. Eren Keskin are carried out in compliance with herright to a fair trial, as protected under international law.

Actions requested:

Please write to the authorities inTurkey, urging them to:

i. Guarantee in all circumstances the physicaland psychological integrity of Ms. Eren Keskin;

ii. Put an end to all forms of harassment,including at the judicial level, against Ms. Eren Keskin and against all humanrights defenders in Turkey;

iii. Until all charges are dropped, ensure thatall proceedings against Ms. Eren Keskin are carried out in compliance with herright to a fair trial, as protected under international law;

iv. Immediately lift the travel ban in force against Ms. Eren Keskinand refrain from further hindering her freedom of movement;

v. Comply with all the provisions of the UnitedNations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted by the UN GeneralAssembly on December 9, 1998, in particular its Articles 1, 6(a), 9, 11 and12.2;

vi. Ensure in all circumstances respect forhuman rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international humanrights standards and international instruments ratified by Turkey.

Addresses:

· Presidentof Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Fax: (+90 312) 525 58 31

· PrimeMinister of Turkey Binali Yıldırım. Email: ozelkalem@basbakanlik.gov.tr

· Minister ofJustice, Mr. Bekir Bozdağ. E-mail: ozelkalem@adalet.gov.tr

· Minister ofInterior, Mr. Süleyman Soylu. Fax: +90 (312) 425 61 30

· AmbassadorIzzet Selim Yenel, Diplomatic Mission of Turkey to the European Union inBrussels, Belgium. Fax: + 32 2 511 04 50

· AmbassadorMr. Ali Naci Koru, Permanent Mission of Turkey to the United Nations inGeneva, Switzerland. Email: mission.turkey@ties.itu.int

Please also write to the diplomatic mission or embassy ofTurkey in your respective country.

***

Paris-Geneva,June 20, 2018

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

TheObservatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) wascreated in 1997 by FIDH and OMCT. The objective of this programme is tointervene to prevent or remedy situations of repression against human rightsdefenders. FIDH and OMCT are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, theEuropean Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented by internationalcivil society.

To contact the Observatory, 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 22 809 49 29

[1] Özgür Gündem is one of the few independent newspapers in Turkeycritical of the government and is known for its extensive reporting on theKurdish-Turkish conflict. The newspaper was shut down in August 2016 by a court orderfollowing the coup d’état attempt in Turkey, while several criminal chargeswere brought against its journalists and editors. More than 100 personsvoluntarily named themselves as editor-in-chiefs on a rotating basis. ErenKeskin was targeted by criminal convictions for news and articles by otherauthors exercising their right to freedom of expression. According to theTurkish Press Law, editors-in-chief can be indicted for publications in caseswhen the responsible authors cannot be held to account.

[2] Seehttps://www.nhc.nl/helsinki-civil-society-award-2018-goes-to-eren-keskin/

[4] The other co-defendantsare other advisory board members, journalists and co-editorial directors of Özgür Gündem,

[5] Eren Keskin was found guilty for a headline ‘Tens of Thousands Speak Out from the Squarewhere the Peace was Murdered: Murderer Erdogan’ by a contributor to Özgür Gündem that was published after thebombing of a peace demonstration on October 10, 2015 in Ankara, in which over100 people were killed.

[6] Keskin words were as follows: ‘The State hasa brutal perspective, which could even slaughter a 12 year-old child. Turkeyshould provide an account of its actions. It has a dark history’. This case hasbeen object of the ECHR decision: Makbule Kaymaz and others v. Turkey,judgement as of 25.02.2014, the European Court of Human Rights, InformationNote on the Court’s case-law (171), February 2014, available at: https://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/CLIN_2014_02_171_ENG.pdf.

[7] See, for instance, the Observatory’s Urgent Appeal TUR 002 / 0218 / OBS016 published on February 1, 2018; TUR 001 / 0118 / OBS 014 published onJanuary 31, 2018.