Istanbul, the largest city in the Turkish Republic. Türkiye: UN expert alarmed by abuse of anti-terrorism legislation International Law
The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor, today expressed concern at the continued detention of nine prominent human rights defenders and lawyers in Turkey. All were arrested in connection with their work and convicted in unfair trials on spurious terrorism-related charges.
“I am alarmed that Turkey has used counter-terrorism legislation to target and silence human rights defenders and peaceful individuals who criticize government policies,” Lawlor said.
“This is contrary to Turkey’s international human rights obligations,” she added.
The Special Rapporteur noted that she had written to the Turkish authorities twice in connection with the human rights defenders’ case since 2020. “I thank the Government for responding to one of my letters, but I remain alarmed that the criminalization of their human rights work has not ceased,” Lawlor said.
The eight arrested are members of the Progressive Lawyers’ Association, which represents victims of police violence and torture, as well as individuals persecuted for their views. They were arrested between 2018 and 2019 and charged with “membership of a terrorist organization.” Two of them were also charged with “providing propaganda for a terrorist organization.”
The human rights defenders were sentenced to prison terms of up to 13 years in trials that did not meet international standards. Turkey’s Supreme Court upheld the sentences.
Turan Canpolat, a lawyer from the Malatya Bar Association, was also convicted under terrorism-related articles of the Turkish Penal Code. He has been in custody since 2016, when he was arrested based on a statement given by his client, who later admitted that he was forced to make incriminating statements against Canpolat. However, the lawyer was sentenced to 10 years in prison for alleged links to the Gülen movement, which the Turkish government blames for the 2016 coup attempt.
All nine of the convicted men are being held in maximum-security prisons. “It is outrageous that they are being held in maximum security prisons despite their peaceful human rights activities,” Lawlor said.
Turan Canpolat was held in solitary confinement for almost three years, despite no specific disciplinary complaints having been brought against him.
“I urge the Turkish government to comply with international human rights law and ensure that no defendant is ill-treated and that those in long-term detention have access to a fair trial following their appeals to higher courts,” Lawlor said.
The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. They are not UN employees and are not affiliated with any government or organization. They work in a personal capacity and do not receive a salary for their work.