A conference titled “Rights and Freedoms in Turkey: Law, Prisons and the Kurdish Issue” organized by the European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and World Human Rights (ELDH) and the Association for Democracy and International Law (MAF-DAD) is taking place at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France in cooperation with the Left Party (Die Linke) and the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D).

The Co-Chair of the Left in the European Parliament, Martin Schirdewan, addressed the isolation of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan in the Imrali prison, the recent elections in Turkey and the attitude of the European states after the elections. He said: “We will not remain silent. We will denounce the hypocrisy of the European states and their leaders. We closely follow developments in Turkey. We know that judicial decisions are not fulfilled. The ECtHR decisions concerning Osman Kavala and Selahattin Demirtaş are procrastinated. We follow the developments in Turkey and Kurdistan. We support those who struggle there.”

The first session, titled “Judicialization of Politics in Turkey", was moderated by activist and lawyer Paula Martin Ponz, a member of IACTA and Feminist Cooperative. Lawyer Faik Özgür Erol from the Asrın Law Office, ELDH Executive Member from Catalonia, Prof. Louis Lemkow, Turkey Human Rights Litigation Support Project (TLSP) and Middlesex University Prof. Philip Leach and member of the European Parliament Fabio Massimo attended the session as speakers.

'Europe should support the Kurdish cause'

EP Greens Group member François Alfonsi said: “I am from Corsica; we are also fighting for our rights, just like you, the Kurds, who are fighting for their rights. Abdullah Öcalan has been living in isolation for years and denied visits from his family and lawyers. The Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) prevented a landslide victory of Erdogan in the last elections, which were not fair and democratic. A transition from democracy to dictatorship was completed. Europe should support the Kurdish cause.”

Co-Chair of ELDH, Prof. Bill Bowring, said: “I am a law professor and lawyer in London. The co-chair of our organization, Barbara Spinelli, cannot enter Turkey because she works for Kurdish rights. We observed many hearings in Turkey. We also visited prisons, including Imralı. I took part in many cases that concerned Turkey. We took part in the Özgür Gündem trial. These cases have become landmark cases on freedom of thought.”

‘The government in Turkey uses laws against its political rivals’

Heike Geisweid, Chair of MAF-DAD, said: “We founded MAF-DAD years ago. We established it to protect fundamental human rights and civil rights. As a result of our struggle, the state security courts (DGM) were abolished in Turkey. Currently, other courts also pose obstacles to the rule of law. Due to European criticism, the prison system in Turkey was changed and F-Type prisons were introduced. Alongside that, isolation has become an important issue.”

Geisweid continued: “Despite the ECtHR rulings, Abdullah Öcalan is exposed to human rights violations. He hasn't been allowed to meet his family and lawyers for years because of lame excuses by state authorities. The government in Turkey uses laws against its political rivals. In addition, after 2015, battles took place against the militants of organizations such as the PKK, TKP/ML and DHKP-C. From the 2015 autumn to the 2016 spring, there were serious human rights violations. Cities such as Cizre, Sur and Nusaybin were destroyed and 179 civilians were killed. In 2016, HDP co-chairs, hundreds of its members, and members of non-governmental organizations were arrested. Tens of thousands of them received long-term prison sentences because of an ambiguous legal definition of 'terrorism'.

In 2016, many lawyers were replaced by pro-government people. Afterwards, elected officials were dismissed and replaced by trustees. During the pandemic, a significant number of convicts were released while political prisoners were kept behind bars. The fundamental rights of political prisoners were not respected. It would be naive to think that the AKP will democratize the regime after the last election. I think that it is very important for European institutions to put pressure on Turkey.”

'Illegal practices started in Imralı and spread to the whole of Turkey'

Faik Özgür Erol from the Asrın Law Office said: “Unfortunately, the judiciary in Turkey is getting more and more politicized. In the past, there were the state security courts, but the political will that abolished those courts has created an even worse situation. There is no court that respects the European Court of Human Rights decisions anymore. For example, the ECtHR issued a decision for Demirtaş and Kavala but Turkey would not implement it. The AKP government has brought law and justice under its control. All norms and standards have been set aside for the survival of the state. They abuse the legal framework, lynching ethnic identities and other beliefs. The ruling AKP has used the judiciary to confront dissenting groups and circles.”

Erol added: “The occupied areas in Syria have become notorious places like Guantanamo. This is also the case in the Kurdish regions, especially during the 'curfews'. This is also true for refugees in the country. The AKP arbitrarily creates places without status. Refugees were arrested somewhere in the Aegean region a couple of days ago. They surrounded them with a fence and gave them food and drink from outside. There is no such thing in law. These notorious lawless scenes also spread to other regions, starting from Imrali.”

The case of Spain

Catalan Lawyer-Prof. Luis Lemkow said: “Like in Turkey, the judiciary has been politicized in Spain. The government fully controls the judiciary. Of course, this was done mostly during the Franco dictatorship. But it has continued. Especially after the independence referendum of Catalonia, they derailed the law and justice from their own course. They acted politically and took decisions based on political motives. The judiciary agreed to whatever the Spanish government wanted. They punished the leaders of the referendum with political decisions.”

Prof. Philip Leach said: “Turkey also engages in corruption against the ECtHR decisions. The Kavala case confirms this. Osman Kavala was released in accordance with the ECtHR decisions. However, he was arrested in the scope of another case on the same day. This is an attempt to deceive the ECtHR and to reverse its decisions. But now the European Council can see it for itself. The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe reviewed the situation recently and asked Turkey to immediately release Kavala and Demirtaş. The Demirtaş case sheds light on the politicization of the Turkish judiciary. This case was brought up by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe last week.”

The conference will continue with panels

The second panel of the conference is titled “Prisons, Isolation and Judiciary”. Lawyer Nahit Eren, President of Diyarbakır Bar Association, will speak about the penal system in Turkey. Lawyer Cengiz Yürekli from the Asrın Law Office will provide information about isolation and the situation in prisons over the Imrali experience. Lawyer Miriam Fieding, Member of the 2023 Prison Delegation, will convey the observations and recommendations of international delegations. Lawyer Renkin Ergül from the Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD) will evaluate the "right to hope" decision of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.

The third panel of the conference will be held under the title of "Democratic Perspective for Turkey", focusing on solutions. Declan Owens from the Socialist Lawyers’ Association of Ireland will make a presentation titled “Conflict resolution experiences and the role of law”. Caroline Stockford from PEN Norway will discuss the "Right to defence in Kurdish and oppression against Kurdish journalists and media". Giuliano Pisapia from the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament will talk about the role of Europe in Turkey's democratization.