Appeal to European Court of Human Rights for Yiğit Aksakoğlu

Click to read the article in Turkish

Releasing a statement regarding the condition of her jailed husband Yiğit Aksakoğlu, the Bernard van Leer Foundation's Representative to Turkey, Ünzile Aksakoğlu has indicated that her husband is held in solitary confinement and their appeals regarding his arrest are left unanswered.

In her statement, Aksakoğlu has stated that they have not received any response from the Constitutional Court, which they appealed on March 1 and added that they have applied to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) "so that the contradictions to law suffered by Yiğit Aksakoğlu could be eliminated as soon as possible."

'He is under heavy isolation since his arrest'

Ünzile Aksakoğlu has detailed the prison conditions of jailed rights defender Yiğit Aksakoğlu in following words:

"My husband Yiğit Aksakoğlu was taken into custody on November 16, 2018, as part of an investigation conducted five years ago and based on 'evidence', which we repeatedly expressed to be contrary to law.

"Though he rejected the charges in all phases and he did not commit any unlawful acts that would necessitate his arrest, he was arrested on November 17, 2018 and referred to the Silivri Closed Penal Institution.

"Yiğit Aksakoğlu has been held under heavy isolation conditions since then, he is held in solitary confinement in a cell, he is not allowed to meet anyone other than his attorneys and us, his relatives. It has reached to such an extent that he can even do his weekly one-hour social activities by himself."

Appeal to ECtHR by Kavala not concluded yet

Businessperson Osman Kavala has also been arrested as part of the lawsuit into Gezi resistance. The bill of indictment filed against 16 people in total has been accepted by the court and the first hearing of the case will be held on June 24, 2019 in Silivri, İstanbul.

CLICK - First Hearing of Gezi Protests Case on June 24

The appeal of Osman Kavala to the ECtHR has not been concluded yet.

The indictment has alleged that businessperson Osman Kavala and 15 other people including Yiğit Aksakoğlu were the "top management" responsible for organizing the Gezi Park Protests in 2013. The prosecutor has demanded that Kavala and Aksakoğlu be given aggravated life imprisonment. The Gezi Indictment was accepted on March 4, 2019.

About Yiğit Aksakoğlu

Completing his undergraduate studies at the Department of Civil Engineering of Yıldız Technical University (YTÜ) in İstanbul, Yiğit Aksakoğlu acquired his Master's Degree in the field of Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Management at the London School of Economics.

Between the years of 2003 and 2008, he worked for the İstanbul Bilgi University's NGO Research and Training Unit, he gave trainings on advocacy, organization management and project cycle.

His recent work with the Bernard van Leer Foundation involved supporting municipalities in Istanbul to provide services for birth-3 year olds and creating awareness on the importance of early childhood. (AS/SD)