‘Lawyer held in solitary confinement due to COVID-19’

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In a written correspondence to Turkey, United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders Mary Lawlor requested information from the country about the violations of rights caused by the Anti-Terror Law (TMK) being used against human rights defenders.

"On 27 July 2021, I wrote a letter jointly with five other UN experts regarding the criminalisation of woman human rights defender Ms. Sevda Özbingöl Çelik, as well as the judicial harassment against human rights defender Mr. Cihan Aydın," Lawlor has explained in a statement.

Requesting information about Human Rights Association (İHD) member lawyer Özbingöl Çelik and former Diyarbakır Bar Chair lawyer Aydın, the letter "expressed concern that the criminal cases against the two human rights defenders appears to be related to their human rights work as human rights lawyers and their membership of the human rights organisations."

The letter further raised concerns that "the charges would fall into a wider pattern of misuse of anti-terror legislation to restrict civil society and silence defenders by sentencing them to long terms in prison."

Solitary confinement 'due to COVID-19'

Turkey's Representative to the UN responded to the letter on September 24, 2021. Turkey's response has indicated that lawyer Özbingöl Çelik faced a prosecution not because she practiced her profession, but because "she engaged in activities in the name of terrorism".

Turkey's written communication to the UN has also said that there were "anonymous witness statements" about lawyer Özbingöl Çelik and "it was understood that she had connections with the organization."

Turkey has explained the lawyer's prevention from seeing her family and lawyers for 3 months during her arrest and her placement in solitary confinement with COVID-19 measures. It has said that Çelik was held in solitary confinement "because she was going to court and she was placed in solitary confinement in order to prevent transmission of the disease."

'Charges against Aydın dropped'

In its response about former Diyarbakır Bar Chair lawyer Cihan Aydın, Turkey has said that he "is working as the lawyer of people and institutions having connections with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)."

Turkey has recalled that "the charges against him were dropped because even though there were anonymous witness statements about him, there was no sufficient evidence about his place in the organization's hierarchy." Turkey has also said that there are currently no investigations or prosecutions carried out against Aydın. (KÖ/SD)