Rights-Based Organizations from Five Continents Called for Release of Rights Defenders in Turkey
Call for the immediate release of leading human rights defenders in Turkey
To the Government, Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Justice of Turkey,
We are writing to you to express our profound dismay at the continued detention of ten human rights defenders and to call for their immediate release.
These ten human rights defenders were detained by police in Istanbul on 5 July while attending a training workshop. Two of them were experts from outside the country providing the training. The group were held without access to lawyers and relatives for over 24 hours and their detention was extended for seven days without charge.
The individuals in custody are members of well-known NGOs and some of the most prominent human rights defenders in Turkey and other countries. Their detention constitutes violations of the rights to freedom of expression and association.
Most obviously, this incident runs contrary to the rights protected under the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders ( http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Defenders/Declaration/declaration.pdf )
We therefore call for these rights to be immediately realised and for these colleagues to be released without any delay.
List of the detained human rights defenders:
- Idil Eser, Amnesty International Turkey;
- İlknur Üstün, Women’s Coalition;
- Günal Kurşun , lawyer, Human Rights Agenda Association;
- Nalan Erkem, Lawyer, Citizens Assembly;
- Nejat Taştan, Equal Rights Watch Association;
- Özlem Dalkıran, Citizens’ Assembly;
- Şeyhmuz Özbekli, lawyer, Right Initiative;
- Veli Acu, Human Rights Agenda Association;
- Ali Gharavi — an IT consultant
- Peter Steudtner — a non-violence and well-being trainer
Signatories
- Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo, (Plaza de Mayo Anneleri) Arjantin
- Vera Jarach, Plaza de Mayo Annesi, Arjantin
- Avrupa Gazeteciler Federasyonu- Fédération européenne des journalistes
- PEN America, ABD
- İfade Özgürlüğü için Kanadalı Gazeteciler — Canadian Journalists for Free Expression, Kanada
- Wales PEN Cymru, Galler
- PEN Norway, Norveç
- PEN UK, İngiltere
- The Arab Forum for Sexuality Education and Health, Filistin
- Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA), Kanada
- Center for Legal and Social Studies (CELS), Arjantin
- CONECTAS, Breziya
- Due Process of Law Foundation (DPLF), ABD
- Fundación Memoria Historica y Social Arhgentina, Arjantin
- International Human Rights Group Agora, Rusya
- Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL), İrlanda
- Madres de Plaza de Mayo Linea Fundadora, Arjantin
- Minority Rights Group International (MRG), İngiltere
- Human Rights Committee at the Law Society (of England and Wales) İngiltere
- Index, İngiltere
- Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights
- Fuuse, Norveç
- GAYa NUSANTARA, Endonezya
- International Planned Parenthood Federation — European Network, Belçika
- Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR),
- Peace is Loud, ABD
- African Women’s Network for Community management of Forests (REFACOF), Kamerun
- West African Network of Young Women Leaders, Senegal
- Federación Planificación Familiar Estatal, İspanya
- OPEN ASIA/Armanshahr, Afganistan
- Louisa Elkhomun, Echoes of Women in Africa ( ECOWA ), Nijerya
- PAIMAN Alumni Trust, Pakistan
- Niger Delta Women’s movement for Peace and Development, Nijer
- RESURJ Global
- Womankind Worldwide
- War on Want, İngiltere
- Association Ayotzinapan for HR in Mexico, İsveç
- Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy, Filipinler
- SPECTRA: Young Feminists, Ruanda
- VISION, Pakistan
- ATFD (Tunisian Association of Democratic Women), Tunus
