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Representing more than 180,000 attorneys, the Law Society of England and Wales has penned a letter to President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and made a call to him to "discontinue the indictment and proceedings against Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA) Co-Director lawyer Veysel Ok."
Ok has been charged with "denigrating the Turkish judicial system" as per the Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK).
Turkish Penal Code (TCK) Article no. 301 A person who publicly degrades Turkish Nation, State of the Republic of Turkey, Grand National Assembly of Turkey the Government of the Republic of Turkey and the judicial bodies of the State shall be sentenced a penalty of imprisonment for a term of six months to two years. A person who publicly degrades the military or security organisations shall be sentenced according to the provision set out in paragraph one. The expression of an opinion for the purpose of criticism does not constitute an offence. |
The letter has been signed by Christina Blacklaws, the President of the Law Society of England and Wales and, in addition to President Erdoğan, it has also been addressed to Minister of Justice Abdulhamit Gül, United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers Diego Garcia-Sayan, London Ambassador of Turkey Ümit Yalçın, Ankara Ambassador of Britain Dominick Chilcott, Richard Jones and Jon Riley.
'The Law Society is deeply concerned'
Some highlights from the letter are as follows:
"The Law Society is deeply concerned about the indictment against Mr. Veysel Ok, who has been charged with offenses of 'denigrating the Turkish judicial system' under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code.
"This indictment allegedly relates to an interview given by him in 2015 where he expressed his views on the independence of the Turkish judiciary.
"Mr Ok has defended dozens of journalists in Turkey who have been prosecuted for their work. In April 2019, he was awarded the prestigious Thomas Dahler Medal 2019 for his work in advocating for freedom of speech and the rule of law in Turkey."
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'We will continue to monitor his case'
Referring to the European Convention on Human Rights, "which Turkey has ratified and is legally bounded by" and to the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, Blacklaws says on behalf of the Society,
"I respectfully urge Your Excellency to ensure that the indictment and proceedings against Mr. Ok are discontinued."
"The Law Society will continue to monitor the case of Mr. Ok, and those of other lawyers who have been indicted, arrested and detained.
"All lawyers and other human rights defenders in Turkey should be able to carry out their legitimate professional activities without fear or reprisals and improper interference."
About Veysel OkFormerly a lawyer for many journalists in Turkey, including imprisoned former Taraf Editor-in Chief Ahmet Altan and columnist Şahin Alpay, Veysel Ok currently faces "denigrating the Turkish judiciary system" charges as per the Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) for an interview that he gave in 2015. Facing up to 12 years in prison, Ok will have his next hearing at the İstanbul 2nd Penal Court of First Instance on September 12, 2019. As part of the Media and Law Studies Association's (MLSA) work, where he is a co-founder and currently co-director, Ok continues to defend 11 imprisoned journalists including Nedim Türfent, Ziya Ataman, Salih Turan, İdris Yılmaz and İdris Sayılgan and many other journalists and academics. |
(HA/SD)
