First Hearing of Rights Defenders Detained Over Workshop in Büyükada to be Held Tomorrow

The rights defenders who were detained over a training workshop on July 5, 2017 in Büyükada and nine of whom are in detention on remand, will stand before the judge for the first time after 113 days.

İstanbul

First Hearing of Rights Defenders Detained Over Workshop in Büyükada to be Held Tomorrow

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Helsinki Citizens Assembly members Özlem Dalkıran and Nalan Erkem, rights defenders Ali Gharavi and Peter Steudtner, Human Rights Agenda Association members Günal Kurşun and Veli Acu and Amnesty International Turkey Director İdil Eser who are being kept in in Silivri No. 9 F-type Prison as well as Association for Monitoring Equal Rights member Nejat Taştan and Rights Initiative member Şeyhmus Özbekli who were released on probation, will attend the hearing. Women's Coalition member İlknur Üstün who is behind bars in Sincan Closed Prison for Women, and Amnesty International Chair Taner Kılıç also behind bars since June 2017, will attend the hearing via Audio and Visual Information System (SEGBİS).

Call from the attorneys

The attorneys representing the rights defenders made a call on their colleagues and said:

"This investigation has not only been carried out against 10 rights advocates but also against the fight for human rights in Turkey. In order to be able to represent the rights defenders in great number and present strong solidarity, we call on all colleagues to attend the hearing on October 25, at 10 a.m. [...]".

From the indictment

On October 9, Prosecutor Can Tuncay from İstanbul Chief Prosecutor's Office Terror Crimes Department has completed the 17-page indictment in the case of the 10 rights advocates from various rights organizations, who were detained during a training workshop on July 5 in Büyükada and eight of whom were later arrested. Amnesty International Chair Taner Kılıç was added to this bill of indictment as a suspect.

According to the indictment, the 10 rights defenders are being charged with "committing crimes on behalf of the terrorist organization as non-members" and "being a member of an armed terrorist organization" and Taner Kılıç is being charged with "being a member of an armed terrorist organization". Kılıç's trial regarding the charges of "financing terrorism and spying" continues before İzmir 16th Heavy Criminal Court.

The indictment claims that the rights defenders are members of Fethullahist Terrorist Organization/Parallel State Organization (FETÖ/PDY), Kurdistan Workers' Party/Kurdistan Communities Union (PKK/KCK) and The Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C).

What happened?

On July 5, 10 rights advocates from various rights organizations were taken into custody during a training workshop with the topic "Protection and digital security of human rights advocates" in Büyükada, one of the Prince Islands in İstanbul. Nothing was heard from detained rights defenders for 30 hours.

It was later revealed that the detention warrant had only been issued five hours after the advocates had already been taken into custody.

On July 11, an additional seven days of detention were issued for the rights advocates.

On July 17, the rights advocates were sent to court for arrest on charges of "committing crimes on behalf of an illegal organization as non-members", and "being a member of an illegal organization".

On July 18, Eser, Dalkıran, Kurşun, Acu, Gharavi and Steudtner were arrested. Erkem, Üstün, Taştan and Özbekli were released on probation and an international travel ban was imposed on them.

On July 21, the prosecutor objected to the release of the four rights advocates and a detention warrant was issued for them. Detained while at their homes, Üstün and Erkem were arrested on July 23.

On July 25, Taştan and Özbekli were released on probation with travel bans. Özlem Dalkıran, Peter Steudtner, Ali Gharavi, Veli Acu, Günal Kurşun, İdil Eser and Nalan Erkem are still being kept in Silivri No. 9 F-type Prison and İlknur Üstün is behind bars in Sincan Closed Prison for Women.

According to the indictment submitted to İstanbul Heavy Criminal Court, rights advocate Taner Kılıç, Amnesty International Turkey Chair, who was added to the indictment later as a suspect" faces from 7.5 to 15 years in prison on the charge of "Being a member of an armed terrorist organization" and the other rights advocates are facing from 5 to 10 years in prison on the charge of "committing crimes on behalf of the terrorist organization as non-members" (Article 220/6 of Turkish Penal Code) and "being a member of an armed terrorist organization" (Articles 314/2 and 314/3 of Turkish Penal Code).

(ÇT/DG)