Freedom of Peaceful Assembly Monitoring Report | October 2015- November 2016 | Turkey

In Turkey, avenues for the defense of human rights and civil liberties are being increasingly inaccessible to activists, due to the increasing political polarization in the country, coupled with the
State of Emergency entering its fifth month. There are problem areas in all democratic checks and balances, from the eroding independence of the judiciary to the jailing of opposition journalists. An ongoing civil war leading to civilian curfews, spillover from the Syrian civil war, the arrest of democratically elected Parliamentarians and local authorities, and trustees appointed to local
governments are creating new sentiments in the public, and new reasons for protest. Concurrently, dissent is being suppressed in all platforms, from civil to political to economic, for the goal of national unity. Rights violations are being justified by security concerns or societal calm when plurality of thought is most direly needed. A new constitution is being proposed to the Parliament by the government, death penalty is back on the table a decade after its abolishment, and relations with the EU have come to a halt. In this environment, the right to peaceful assembly is a crucial tool
through which societal tensions can be relieved, and political speech can be expressed. However, the monitoring activities have demonstrated that freedom of peaceful assembly is being restricted with extensive force, and a double standard is applied to the right according to the political side of the protesters. As the democracy in Turkey is being reduced to majoritarianism and the ballot box, those of minority status or opinion are being stripped of internationally protected rights of expression.
During the monitoring period, AMER has established five problem areas to be addressed in

the use of freedom of peaceful assembly in Turkey.
 The national laws regulating freedom of assembly in Turkey are incompatible with
international standards.
 The discretionary powers of public authorities are too broad and overarching
 The use of excessive force by security forces is too common
 Charges directed against those detained in assemblies are exaggerated
 There is discriminatory treatment in how public authorities and security forces recognize the
right to peaceful assembly.

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