The ELDH European Association of Lawyers for Democracy & World Human Rights and MAF-DAD (Association for Democracy and International Law), in cooperation with Die Linke and S&D, will organize a conference titled 'Rights and Freedoms in Turkey: Law, Prisons, and the Kurdish Issue' will take place at the European Parliament on 13 June. 

The program is as follows:

Opening Speeches: (09:00-09:30)

Martin Schirdewan, MEP, Co-President of THE LEFT in the European Parliament

Prof. Bill Bowring, co-president of the European Association of Lawyers for Democracy & World Human Rights (ELDH)

Heike Geisweid, Lawyer, president of the Association for Democracy and International Law (MAF-DAD).

PANEL: JUDICIALIZATION OF POLITICS IN TURKEY: (09:30-10:30)

Moderation: Paula Martin Ponz, social activist and member of IACTA , Feminist Cooperative of Women ́s Lawyers

The impact of the judiciary on the political process in Turkey - Faik Özgür Erol, lawyer from Asrın Law Office

The judicialization of politics: a contemporary case study - Prof. Louis Lemkow, Catalonia, member of executive ELDH

The failure to implement ECtHR judgments - what next for Osman Kavala and Selahattin Demirtas? - Prof. Philip Leach, The Turkey Human Rights Litigation Support Project (TLSP), Middlesex University

Europe's perspective on the judicalization of politics in Turkey - Fabio Massimo Castaldo, MEP, European Parliament.

PANEL: PRISONS, ISOLATION AND JUDICIARY (14:30-16:00)

Moderation: Juan Prosper, lawyer

The penal system of Turkey and the major problems - Nahit Eren, The president of Amed Bar Association, lawyer

Isolation, Prisons, and the Imrali experience - Cengiz Yürekli, Asrın Law Office, Lawyer, Turkey

Observations and recommendations of international delegations - Miriam Frieding, Lawyer, Member of the Prison Delegation of 2023

Decisions of the Committee of Ministers / Right to Hope - Rengin Ergül, The Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD), Lawyer

PANEL: DEMOCRATIC PERSPECTIVE FOR TURKEY/ (16:00-17:00)

Moderation: Altamira Ana Guelbenzu Gonzalo, lawyer member of IACTA , Feminist Cooperative of Women ́s Lawyers

Conflict resolution experiences and the role of law - Declan Owens, the International Officer for the Socialist Lawyers Association of Ireland, lawyer from Ecojustice Ireland and the co-chair of the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers

The right to defense in Kurdish and oppression against the Kurdish journalists & media - Caroline Stockford, PEN Norway Turkey Adviser

Turkey's Democratisation and Europe: Challenges and Contributions - Giuliano Pisapia, MEP, Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament

For the registration, please send the requested information to

[email protected] or [email protected]