Support Message from Snowden for Arrested Activists

Former NSA employee, political refugee Edward Snowden has shared a message of support on the Twitter page of Amnesty International for the rights advocates arrested over a training workshop Büyükada.

İstanbul

Support Message from Snowden for Arrested Activists

Click to read the article in Turkish

Edward Snowden, who was subjected to legal action in the US for leaking classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA) in 2013 and has applied to Russia for asylum, where he is currently living, has shared a message of support on the Twitter page of Amnesty International for the rights advocates who were detained due to training workshop on July 5, 2017 in Büyükada and were later arrested.

"I know what it means to have support from the outside world in that moment when you are alone"

Snowden in his message of support on Amnesty International's Twitter page said:

"There are things about this world that aren't fair. But they don't have to stay that way. Amnesty stood up for me, when that was a hard thing to do. Now it is time for us to stand up for them. The director and chair of Amnesty International Turkey are in prison for defending human rights. I know what it means to have support from the outside world in that moment, when you are alone, when you need it most. Join me and together let's stand up for human rights defenders in Turkey".

We stood up for @Snowden and now he's here to support us. Help free our colleagues in #Turkey #FreeRightsDefenders https://t.co/SdqpvgPC3i pic.twitter.com/Iv1OHlY8aa
— AmnestyInternational (@amnesty) 23 Ekim 2017

First hearing on October 25

Amnesty International Turkey Director İdil Eser, Helsinki Citizens Assembly members Özlem Dalkıran and Nalan Erkem, Women's Coalition member İlknur Üstün, rights defenders Ali Gharavi and Peter Steudtner, Human Rights Agenda Association members Günal Kurşun and Veli Acu, Association for Monitoring Equal Rights member Nejat Taştan and Rights Initiative member Şeyhmus Özbekli will stand trial before İstanbul 25th Heavy Criminal Court on October 25.Amnesty International Chair Taner Kılıç will attend the hearing via Audio and Visual Information System (SEGBİS).

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, an executive from Amnesty International Turkey Bureau faces from 7.5 to 15 years in prison on the charge of "Being a member of the armed Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ)" and other rights advocates are facing from 5 to 10 years in prison on the charge of "aiding an armed terrorist organization"

On October 17, İstanbul 35th Heavy Criminal Court accepted the indictment charging the rights defenders of crimes related to Articles 220/6 (Committing crimes on behalf of a terrorist organization as non-members, 314/2 and 314/3 (Being a member of a terrorist organization) of the Turkish Penal Code.

(PT/DG)