AHEAD OF BÜYÜKADA TRIAL

‘Activities of rights defenders should be protected by the state, not prosecuted’

European Parliament´s rapporteur for Turkey Sánchez Amor and Chair of the Delegation to the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee Lagodinsky have released a joint statement ahead of today’s hearing of Büyükada trial.

İstanbul

‘Activities of rights defenders should be protected by the state, not prosecuted’

* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA) - Archive

Click to read the article in Turkish

11 rights defenders, against whom a lawsuit was filed on charges of "aiding armed terrorist organizations" and "being members of an armed terrorist organization" due to their meeting entitled "digital security and protection of human rights defenders" in Büyükada, İstanbul, will have their final hearing at the İstanbul 35th Heavy Penal Court today (July 3).

The European Parliament´s (EP) standing rapporteur for Turkey Nacho Sánchez Amor and Chair of the Delegation to the European Union (EU) - Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee Sergey Lagodinsky have released a joint statement ahead of today's hearing.

In their statement entitled "Büyükada case: a decisive opportunity for Turkey to show respect for international standards," Sánchez Amor and Lagodinsky have called on the country to "protect human rights defenders and leave open space for civil society and pluralism," emphasizing that is "a key element of the accession process" to the EU.

CLICK - 'This Case was Opened to Intimidate Civil Society'

The latest hearing of the Büyükada trial was held on February 19, 2020. In that hearing, the date of the next hearing was announced as April 3, when the defenses of the parties were expected to be heard.

However, the final hearing of the case was adjourned to today, July 3, due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

'The verdict will hopefully be a change of course'

Sánchez Amor and Lagodinsky have stated the fo about the trial:

"After recent disappointing judiciary decisions on landmark cases such as the one of Osman Kavala, the final hearing and sentence tomorrow of the emblematic 'Büyükada case' represents a decisive opportunity to clarify if Turkey abides by its international commitments and standards or if the country further moves apart from them.

"We believe that a true, open space for civil society and pluralism is a fundamental pillar for any democratic society and it is a key element of the accession process. In this regard, the activities of human rights defenders should be protected by the state, not prosecuted.

"We remain hopeful that the upcoming judiciary decision will mark a change of course and not yet another blow against the independent civil society in Turkey, whose space has shrunk dramatically over the last years.

'Respect and enforce ECtHR verdicts'

"We encourage Turkish authorities to advance towards a serious judicial reform, bringing it into line with the required standards of the EU and those of the Council of Europe, of which the country is a full member.

"In this sense, the respect and enforcement of the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights remains an indispensable first step."

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.

On July 18, Idil Eser (Amnesty International Turkey Director), Özlem Dalkıran (Citizens' Assembly / formerly called Helsinki Citizens Association), Günal Kurşun (Human Rights Agenda Association), Veli Acu (Human Rights Agenda Association), Ali Garawi (citizen of Sweden / human rights trainer), and Peter Steudtner (citizen of Germany / human rights trainer) were arrested on charges of "committing crimes on behalf of the terrorist organization without being a member" (Article 220/6 of Turkish Penal Code/TCK ) and "being a member of an armed terrorist organization" (Articles 314/2 and 314/3 of TCK).

On July 23, İlknur Üstün (Women's Coalition) and Nalan Erkem (Citizens' Assembly / formerly called Helsinki Citizens Association), who were released on probation with an international travel ban, were arrested upon the prosecutor’s objection to their release.

Amnesty International Turkey Executive Board Chair Taner Kılıç, who had been in pre-trial detention since June 2017 in another case, was included in the bill of indictment of Büyükada lawsuit later as a suspect.

According to the bill of indictment prepared by Public Prosecutor Can Tuncay, the rights defenders are claimed to be members of the 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).

On October 25, the court ruled that Günal Kurşun, İlknur Üstün, İdil Eser, Nalan Erkem, Peter Steudtner, Özlem Dalkıran, Ali Garawi and Veli Acu be released. In addition, an international travel ban was imposed on Özlem Dalkıran and Veli Acu, and the probation order for Şeyhmus Özbekli and Nejat Taştan that was issued on July 25, was revoked.

The file of Kılıç, who stood trial in a separate case held before İzmir 16 Assize Court on charge of "financing terrorism and spying" and was later included in the indictment of Büyükada lawsuit as a suspect, was combined with the main Büyükada Case.

(EKN/SD)