301 Case against Lawyers on Hold

Five human rights representatives are being tried for a report they wrote on the shooting of a child by security forces. As three of the activists are lawyers, the case has been postponed, awaiting permission of Ministry of Justice to proceed.

Erol Önderoğlu

Five human rights activists from Batman who had prepared a report on the shooting of eleven-year-old Mizgin Özbek by security forces are on trial.

Report by human rights activists

The report on the murder, which took place on 5 September 2005 in Batman, in the Southeast of Turkey, had statements by representatives of the Human Rights Association (IHD), the Solidarity Association for Human Rights and the Oppressed (MAZLUMDER), as well as the Batman Bar Association. They had stated in the report that the child's right to life had not been protected, and that her death and the injuring of her mother and brother showed that violations of this right were not considered seriously enough.

The five representatives are being tried for "attempting to influence the judicial process" and "insulting the military" under Articles 288 and 301/2 of the Turkish penal code.

Court awaiting permission

Because three of the accused are lawyers, the Batman penal court decided on 16 May to ask the Ministry of Justice for permission to proceed. The case has been postponed indefinitely, pending permission. (EÖ/EÜ/AG/EÜ).

Origin

BÄ°A News Center

Erol Önderoğlu

[email protected]

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A graduate of the French Language and Literature Department at İstanbul University. He has served as the Turkey representative for the international organization Reporters Without...

A graduate of the French Language and Literature Department at İstanbul University. He has served as the Turkey representative for the international organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF), where he began as a reporter in 1996. Since 1999, he has worked at bianet, a project of the IPS Communication Foundation, as the coordinator of the Legal Support Desk, editor for freedom of expression, and editor-in-chief. He has authored more than 4,800 signed news articles and opinion pieces. He has also written for Bizim Gazete and the journal Güncel Hukuk. He currently prepares the Media Monitoring Reports at bianet.