Kategorie: Humans

The decision by Türkiye’s highest appeals court to overturn baseless convictions of Amnesty International Türkiye’s Honorary Chair and three other human rights defenders is a huge relief, yet also highlights once more the politically motivated nature of the prosecutions, Amnesty International said today.

The ruling by the Court of Cassation on the convictions of Taner Kılıç, İdil Eser, Özlem Dalkıran and Günal Kurşun – four of 11 human rights defenders in the Büyükada case, who were convicted in July 2020 – comes more than five years after their initial arrests in the summer of 2017. Taner Kılıç’s case was quashed on the grounds of ‘incomplete investigation’ and referred back to the first instance court.

“Today’s ruling brings to an end a travesty of justice of spectacular proportions. While we are hugely relieved that the convictions have finally been quashed, the fact that the court has ruled that Taner’s case requires further investigation is disappointing,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.

“For more than five years, we have watched the wheels of injustice grind as the baseless claims levelled against these four brave human rights defenders have been accepted as fact by successive courts. Today’s ruling reveals the true purpose of such politically motivated prosecutions: using the courts as a weapon to silence critical voices.”

Taner Kılıç, a refugee rights lawyer and Honorary Chair of Amnesty’s Türkiye section, was arrested in June 2017 and detained in prison for more than 14 months. Despite a complete lack of evidence, in July 2020, he was convicted of “membership of a terrorist organisation” and sentenced to six years and three months in prison. İdil Eser, Özlem Dalkıran and Günal Kurşun were all convicted for 25 months for “assisting a terrorist organisation” and spent more than three months in behind bars in 2017.

Over the course of 12 court hearings, every allegation levelled against the four human rights activists was repeatedly and comprehensively proven baseless, including in the state’s own police report.

In May, the European Court reaffirmed that the authorities in Türkiye did not have “any reasonable suspicion that Taner Kılıç had committed an offence”. It also found that his pre-trial detention under terrorism-related charges was “directly linked to his activity as a human rights defender”. This binding decision became final in October.

“Whilst we celebrate this decision today, we do not forget that across Türkiye many human rights defenders are languishing in jail, living in fear of arrest or facing similar unfounded prosecutions,” said Agnès Callamard.

“We will take strength from today’s victory. We will continue to stand with Taner until the end and to fight against the relentless curtailing of human rights in Türkiye, and on behalf of those who refuse to be silenced by the government’s threats.”

Background

Taner Kılıç and Özlem Dalkıran are both founding members of Amnesty International Türkiye. Over the last 20 years, they have played a crucial role in defending human rights as part of the organisation, and also the wider human rights community in Türkiye.

At the time of her arrest in July 2017, Idil Eser was the Director of Amnesty International Türkiye. Günal Kurşun, a lawyer, international criminal law expert and a member of Amnesty International Türkiye since its early days, is a prominent human rights defender in the country.

Taner Kılıç was alleged to have downloaded and used the ByLock messaging app, which the prosecution claimed was used for communication by the Gülen movement, a group blamed for organizing an attempted coup in 2016.

Two forensic analyses of Kılıç’s phone commissioned by Amnesty, however, found no trace of ByLock having ever being installed. In June 2018, any legitimacy of the prosecutor’s case was stripped away in the police report submitted to the court, which also concluded that no evidence of ByLock on Kılıç’s phone had been found. Nevertheless, merely downloading or using an app would not be sufficient evidence of alleged offences, as concluded in a recent ECtHR judgment concerning another applicant, unrelated to the Büyükada defendants.
İdil Eser, Özlem Dalkıran and Günal Kurşun were among 10 people, dubbed the Istanbul 10, who were detained by police as they attended a workshop on well-being and digital security on 5 July 2017 on Istanbul’s Büyükada island.

On 4 October 2017, an Istanbul prosecutor filed an indictment against the Istanbul 10, and also Taner Kılıç, who was allegedly aware of preparations for the workshop and in contact with two defendants.
At his first trial hearing on 26 October, the judge accepted the prosecutor’s application to merge Kılıç’s prosecution that had been opened in Izmir, with that of the other ten human rights defenders, even though the accusations levelled against him had nothing to do with the workshop and the two cases were in no way connected.

Amnesty has previously published an analysis of the case against Taner Kılıç and detailed further information about the case in general.

For more information or to arrange an interview, contact Stefan Simanowitz on press@amnesty.org

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Reacting to the outcome of COP27, Chiara Liguori, Amnesty International’s Climate Justice Adviser said:

“This was a tale of two COPs: joy at the adoption of a Loss and Damage fund but anguish that, despite overwhelming scientific evidence and escalating human rights impacts, the negotiations failed to secure vital commitments on the phasing out of all fossil fuels, which are the number one driver of the climate crisis.

“The establishment of the Loss and Damage fund was the result of a united position presented by global south countries and persistent campaigning by a wide range of groups. It sends a ray of hope to people whose human rights have been harmed by climate change. It will still be a long road before those most impacted can access real financial support but the decision sets in motion a process to redress historical injustices. Now it is up to wealthy countries to step up and ensure the fund is adequately resourced.

“However, demands from a growing number of civil society groups and others including many states to secure agreement on the phasing out of all fossil fuels did not prevail in the face of a powerful fossil fuel lobby, the blatant opposition of fossil-fuel producing countries, and the ambiguous position of some wealthy countries.

“Governments failed to commit to phase out all fossil fuels, including oil and fossil gas (so-called ‘natural gas’), restating instead the pledge from last year’s COP that they would be ‘accelerating efforts towards the phasedown of unabated coal power and phase-out of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies’.

“In light of the extreme climate-driven disasters that we have witnessed in the last year, and the growing catalogue of reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and others documenting both the impacts and the causes of climate change, this failure to progress on fossil fuels represents an enormous abdication of human rights obligations and disregards the rights of all those being affected, and future generations.”

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Responding to FIFA’s threats to sanction players who planned to wear ‘One Love’ armbands to show support for the LGBTI community, Steve Cockburn, Amnesty International’s Head of Economic and Social Justice said:

“Last minute threats to sanction players for wearing messages in support of human rights and equality is the latest example of FIFA failing to fully uphold its own values and responsibilities. Sport does not happen in a vacuum and these are issues on which FIFA should be leading, not cracking down on. Agreements on armbands, and better protections for LGBTI communities, should have been reached a long time ago.

“We applaud the courage of teams and players who have spoken out about human rights and we hope they continue to do so. Fans, players and FAs want to ensure that football can be a vehicle to promote human rights, and FIFA needs to heed these calls quickly. It must not only encourage messages of equality, but take proactive action to ensure LGBTI people are protected.

“And let’s not forget the migrant workers who made the tournament possible. They must be compensated in full for the unspeakable abuse they suffered.”

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Responding to Gianni Infantino’s recent comments, Steve Cockburn, Amnesty International’s Head of Economic and Social Justice said:

“In brushing aside legitimate human rights criticisms, Gianni Infantino is dismissing the enormous price paid by migrant workers to make his flagship tournament possible – as well as FIFA’s responsibility for it. Demands for equality, dignity and compensation cannot be treated as some sort of culture war – they are universal human rights that FIFA has committed to respect in its own statutes.

“If there is one tiny glimmer of hope, it is that Infantino announced that FIFA would establish a legacy fund after the World Cup. This cannot be mere window dressing, however. If FIFA is to salvage anything from this tournament, it must announce that it will invest a significant part of the $6 billion the organisation will make from this tournament and make sure this fund is used to compensate workers and their families directly.”

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Responding to the USA government’s legal submission calling on a US Court to grant Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman immunity from a lawsuit filed by murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s fiancée, Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, said: 

“The US government should hang its head in shame. This is nothing more than a sickening, total, deep betrayal. First the evidence of the Crown Prince’s involvement in Jamal Khashoggi’s murder was disregarded by President Trump, then President Biden’s fist bump – it all suggests shady deals made throughout.

“For the Saudi government to seek to extend immunity to Mohammed bin Salman simply by declaring him Prime Minister is beyond cynical. It is disappointing that the US government has given effect to this legal ruse. This sends a deplorable message that those in power – be they heads of state, government officials with blood on their hands, generals commanding war crimes, ministers ordering abduction and torture, corrupt executives – are free to operate above the law with total impunity.”

“Mohammed bin Salman must face a court of law to answer these serious allegations and we hold out hope that the US court system will reject the department of justice argument and ensure that the matter proceeds to trial. No one should be assured immunity for such heinous crimes and we, and the international human rights movement as a whole, will not rest until those responsible for Jamal Khashoggi’s murder are brought to justice.”

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