Human Rights Solidarity begins the new year with great news, and we are excited to share it with our members.

The process of establishing our corporate identity, which we have been working on for a long time, has finally come to a conclusion, and HRS has officially been registered as a charitable organization, also known as a ‘public welfare organization’ by the Charities Commission of England and Wales (No: 1201416). The decision was communicated to us on December 21st and has been made public on the commission’s website.

Since 2020, HRS has been operating as a ‘solidarity platform’ under the umbrella of the London Advocacy Group, a non-profit company. Now as an independent organization, HRS sees it as a responsibility to act in partnership with other organizations as needed.

We believe that the new status brings energy and power that will allow us to reach our goals faster.

Here you can find some of the projects and activities that Human Rights Solidarity (HRS) will implement in new year. Children and Youth Rights Awareness workshop:

We will arrange a workshop to teach young people about the Rights of Children and Youth and to empower them and encourage them to acknowledge their rights. This will be an interactive session addressing topics such as:

• Right to have an identity
• Right to have an education
• Freedom of thought and religion
• Privacy
• Right to Health
• Standard of living
• Rest and leisure

To volunteer for this project, please contact us at info@hrsolidarity.org

“ARE WE FALLING BEHIND THE ECHR?” Panel

This panel will focus on the UK’s current situation with the concord of ECHR decisions and their implementation into UK law. We will be listening the experts in Human rights, such as professors, human rights lawyers, judges, and more. This panel will be face-to-face in February. We will post the updates on our website soon.

If you would like to take part in organising this event, please write to us at info@hrsolidarity.org

Research and discussion project on “Women’s power in world economy and science.”

Women have an underestimated contribution to the global economy and to science. We want to research and acknowledge women’s efforts, contributions, and inventions. This project includes academic research and interview series.

Please contact us to be a part of it at  info@hrsolidarity.org

UN COMMISSION ON STATUS OF WOMEN FORUM

Human Rights Solidarity has registered to join UN CSW. We will be entering the UN’s face-to-face parallel events in New York and discussing the outcome of our research project, “Women’s power in world economy and science” we will host guest speakers and prepare a presentation for this event. We need human resources to prepare for this event.

Please email us if you wish to participate in organising this event info@hrsolidarity.org

Deadline: 6 January.

Human rights history walking tours in London, such as the Suffragette, Black history, and more. London is full of history. We will be walking to different London landmarks to witness the history of human rights.

These tours will be open to volunteers, and the guide will be booked in advance.

Discussions with young people on ‘activism through art.’

Activism has many formats, and the use of art is a profound method. Art is not only an abstract way of acting but also a way of showing solidarity. We will discuss the art pieces that demonstrate the violation of human rights and try to find ways to show solidarity.

Research on International Criminal Law and Rome Statute’ mass killing of political groups’ and why it is not covered in the term ‘genocide’.

This research will try to identify the core elements of genocide described in the Rome Statute and analyse the reason behind setting ‘protected groups’ and why political groups are not one of them. The outcome of the research will be published on our website.

Please contact us if you wish to be part of the research team.

Research on the violation of disabled people’s rights and their struggles.

Disabled people are often isolated, and their rights are repeatedly violated. We want to research disabled people’s rights regarding ECHR decisions and share the outcome on our website.

Talented activists’ training.

This will be a training series for our volunteers to improve their skills and learn new ones in order to benefit the company.

After completion of the training, we will apply the new skills to our projects.

This will be seen in the form of creating podcast series and making video edits for our social media accounts.

The training will start by addressing the following topics:

Podcast training

Video editing training

Public speaking training

Discussion on the limitation of freedom of expression in line with hate crimes: What are the limits?

Freedom of expression and hate crimes are in absolute conflict. Hate crimes are at their highest records on social media. In the case of these vocalisations of hate, many argue that freedom of speech is essential. But do we know where freedom of speech and the effects of hate begin and end? We will discuss the types and forms of hate crimes, the groups who are facing the hatred and how to stop said crimes, including ways to report them.

We will be preparing documents for each attendee to read before this discussion.

Amnesty International “Oppressor and Oppressed” Panel

 We are organising a panel with Amnesty International on Islamophobia; this event will focus on the violation of human rights towards Muslim people.

The details of the event will be decided soon in a meeting with Amnesty International and we will keep you posted.

Cyber security refers to the practices and technologies used to protect against cyber attacks, data breaches, and other online threats. These threats can come from various sources, including hackers, cybercriminals, and even nation-states. Cyber security is vital for individuals, organizations, and governments because it helps protect against the loss or theft of sensitive information and the disruption of services and systems.

On the other hand, human rights refer to the rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of nationality, race, religion, or any other status. These rights are recognized and protected by international law and include rights such as the right to life, liberty, and security of person; the right to freedom of expression, religion, and association; and the right to an education and to participate in cultural life. The relationship between cyber security and human rights can be complex, as the internet and other digital technologies have become increasingly crucial for the exercise of many human rights.

For example, the right to freedom of expression is often exercised online through social media and other platforms. The collection and use of personal data online threaten the right to privacy. At the same time, cyber security is necessary to protect these rights, as individuals and organizations are at risk of cyber attacks, data breaches, and other online threats that can compromise their privacy and security.

Overall, the relationship between cyber security and human rights is one of both reliance and protection. The internet and other digital technologies have become essential for exercising many human rights, and cyber security is necessary to protect these rights from online threats. It is vital for individuals, organizations, and governments to be aware of this relationship and to work to protect both cyber security and human rights. As the internet and other digital technologies have become increasingly prevalent in our daily lives, they have also become essential for exercising many human rights.

For example, the right to freedom of expression is often exercised online through social media and other platforms. The collection and use of personal data online threaten the right to privacy. Cybersecurity plays a crucial role in protecting these rights. Without adequate cyber security measures, individuals and organizations are at risk of cyber attacks, data breaches, and other online threats that can compromise their privacy and security. These threats can also limit an individual’s ability to freely express themselves or access information, which can have a chilling effect on exercising their human rights. In addition, cyber security is necessary to protect against state-sponsored or other large-scale cyber attacks, which can have severe consequences for human rights. For example, a cyber attack on a government’s computer systems can disrupt public services and undermine the rule of law.

In contrast, a cyber attack on a media outlet can restrict the flow of information and limit the freedom of the press. Cyber security is essential for protecting human rights in the digital age. It is crucial for individuals and organizations to be aware of the threats to their cyber security and to take steps to protect themselves, and for governments and other actors to ensure that appropriate measures are in place to safeguard cyber security and human rights.

BY ELIF KANLIOGLU 

Social media has become one of the most important alternative news sources today. The Internet is also used to publicise and prevent human rights violations.

However, the impact of social media in winning such struggles is still a matter of debate. While some argue that social media posts contribute to the spread of rights violations, others believe that they have a deterrent effect on society and governments.

Those who advocate both views present strong arguments in their own way. In this article, I will leave the arguments aside and focus on statistics and share concrete data.

According to Statista, more than 3.6 billion people used social media in 2020. By 2025, this number is expected to increase to about 4.4 billion.

These figures make social media one of the most popular digital activities in the world.

Internet users spend an average of 2.5 hours a day on social media.

But what does this data mean for human rights?

It means that when it comes to human rights, social media is a unique tool for raising awareness and preventing human rights violations.

Why is it so unique? Because social media expands people’s access to information as much as possible. What do I mean by that?

For example, in countries ruled by dictators, printed and broadcast media can be used as weapons of the regime. It can be used to spread disinformation, interfere in elections, and encourage and incite violence.

We have all seen one or more examples of this. But social media is not an organ that governments can control through pressure.

Through social media, people can communicate their thoughts and opinions to large masses. It is not very difficult to overcome the control mechanisms imposed on the printed and broadcast media through social media.

The oppressed masses can make their voices heard by more people on social media. Social media activism, also known as “hashtag activism”, has led to significant results in recent years.

Social media can therefore raise awareness about human rights issues, expose violations, and encourage people to take action.

One of the most effective examples of this is the ‘BlackLivesMatter’ movement.

This movement reached people all over the world through social media, organised them, brought them together, and enabled them to share critical information affecting their lives instantly. Thus, they achieved success.

They succeeded in publicising the fact that systematic racism is still a major problem in developed countries and all over the world and that no one should remain silent about it. They prevented the acquittal of some state officials charged with this offence.

When used correctly and effectively, social media can become a unique tool for the defence of human rights.

Those who do not want to be bystanders to atrocities and injustices have learned how to raise their voices, that they have rights, and how to protect them through “Hashtag Activism,” and they have paved the way for effective victim assistance.

We must use social media to be the voice of millions of people who have been arbitrarily killed, tortured, subjected to cruel or degrading treatment or punishment, forced or slave labor, deprived of their liberty through unlawful arrest or detention, and targeted by discrimination and racial or religious hatred. We need to make these grievances known to as many people as we can all over the world. The most effective and fastest way to do this is through social media activism.

Let’s say “Stop” to rights violations with the hashtag #SolidarityForAll!

We are deeply saddened by the news of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s passing. We mourn her passing and her loss will be felt around the world. Our thoughts and prayers are with the royal family. Rest in peace #queenelizabeth

Marching for Women’s Rights in London

By Asiye Betül

This year’s Million Women Rise march, themed against male violence was on the 5th of March. Exactly a year after the violent murder of Sarah Everard. The march started in front of the Charing Cross police station and ended in front of the New Scotland Yard. These locations were crucial to the protest, because as Sabrina Qureshi, the founder of Million Women Rise, said, despite the fact that we pay for the police to keep us safe and protect us, there are still to this day, multiple incidents of the police violence against women. The police continues on to ignore occasions of abuse of women. In short, the police keeps failing women.

Male violence cases have been surging since the start of the pandemic, and despite all attempts to improve the system, few women can find a remedy in it.

As the Women’s Rights and Gender Equality Committee of Human Rights Society we decided to place a male embodiment of all news coverages of violence against women inside a cage. This was symbolising both the source of violence against women, and the kind of freedom we women would enjoy had this source been neutralized.

The male mannequin character had newspaper clippings covering male violence cases such as “I killed 17 women” and “Violent ex stalked women” around his body. This physical demonstration was one of the highlights of the whole march and got a lot of attention from many media outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian and The Independent.

This was our turn to say “Stop!” This was our turn to ask for justice, to claim back our long lost safety, right in front of those who deny us from it.

We asked them to “Stop the violence!” and “Stop the rape!”

Because women have had enough; because there will be no peace if no justice is delivered.

It was a cold Saturday in London indeed. We raised our banners up to the sky under 4 degrees Celsius, while our hands and legs were shivering. We embraced each other in order to keep warm; in order to keep safe.

The march ended with a rally in front of New Scotland Yard. Speakers and campaigners stood up against male violence and highlighted how racism, xenophobia and homophobia were the main causes of police brutality against women. The campaigners highlighted that “Enough is Enough” and women will not tolerate any more violence against themselves.

I was very honoured to be able to recite my poem “On Womanhood” during the rally. I expressed my worries on how while “boys will be boys, girls never get to be girls”. It was a moving experience for me to have amazing, inspiring and shivering women listen to me and support me by their ovations. I also received a few hugs from strangers by the end of my performance. It was truly an unforgettable moment.

With these feelings still warm and alive in my heart, I leave you with the poem:

On Womanhood

To be born into womanhood is to be born neck-deep into guilt.

It means to be a house haunted by shame.

It means to be a daughter, a mother and a sister – before a person, because boys won’t care unless you compare them to their birth givers.

It’s getting your screams and cries ignored, it’s getting your right to justice avoided – Because women bleeding doesn’t bother men unless it’s from periods.

To be a woman is to grow up earlier than boys, It’s getting told what girls do and don’t.

It’s being so aware that you are a girl, you forget you’re human. 

It’s having to accept when your mother says “boys will be boys, that’s what they do”,

Is that what boys will be? Will boys be boys? 

Will boys be rapists? Murderers?

Will boys be abusers and predators?

Boys will be boys. 

Boys will be boys, and girls will never forget to look behind themselves when they’re alone at night. girls will be girls instead of women, because even that is too much for a boy to grasp. a woman becomes a girl when her hands bleed from clutching her keys too tight. 

a woman becomes a girl in a boy’s eyes.

Boys will be boys. But, will girls be girls? Will girls be alive?

Girls never get to be girls, women never get to be women. 

And today we will stand and scream and make noise, for those who never got the chance to have a voice.

We’ll stand for the women in war. We’ll stand for the women of Ukraine, For the women of Palestine, the women of Syria, the women of Sudan!

For the women unlawfully detained!

Raise your voice for the Uyghur women of China getting ethnically cleansed!

For the women of Iran, the women of India, the women of Africa!

For the women whose rights are ignored!

Raise your voices for the women of Pakistan, the women of Spain and Brazil!

The women of the United Kingdom who were killed by the police!

For the women whose justice was never offered!

Raise your voices for the women who lost their lives to violence.!

For the women who never got their respects paid!

Let us all rise for our sisters all around the world! Let us ask for justice!

The Yemen crisis remains one of the largest and worst crises in the World. The eight-year-old conflict between external powers makes it a totally unsafe country to inhabit.

The civil war has displaced more than one million people and currently affects around 23.7 million people, including almost 13 million children. The conflict has given rise to cholera outbreaks, medicine shortages, and famine, making it a living hell for its residents.

This devastating humanitarian crisis was caused by several factors such as fuel price hikes, military division, and Saudi intervention. With around three-quarters of its population living in poverty, Yemen has long been the Arab world’s poorest country and its humanitarian crisis has only gotten worse after the break-out of COVID-19. Yemen’s already severe famine problem, meanwhile, is dangerously close to total disaster.

Around 17.4 million individuals require food assistance, and an increasing percentage of people are dealing with emergency levels of hunger. Three out of four Yemenis require humanitarian aid and protection, and four million are internally displaced, according to the UN refugee agency.

Human Rights Solidarity is deeply concerned about the mass arrests of people with alleged relations to imprisoned members or imputed members of the Gulen Movement. The victims of this latest campaign of arrests are reportedly unemployed and impoverished relatives of already imprisoned people who have accepted humanitarian aid from third parties in times of difficulty.

Supporting relatives of inmates serving their terms is a virtue. However, forcing relatives of inmates to hunger and misery is the actual crime. This is kin punishment.

In a press release today, Turkish Interior Minister Mr Suleyman Soylu stated that the Turkish police launched a mass arrest campaign against people who are accused of financially helping relatives of prisoners affiliated with the Gulen Movement and the recipients of such help. According to the statement, police raided houses in 59 different cities, searching for 704 people, 543 of whom are already detained.

Human Rights Solidarity is concerned that;

• In the run-up towards an early election in the country, these operations will be intensified and used to create a sense of security threat to crystalise public support around President Erdogan,
• Such mass campaigns are organised in response to international criticism about Turkey’s application of its vague anti-terrorism laws to silence dissent. Turkey was recently criticised in the Council of Europe’s Monitoring Committee Report prepared by British parliamentarian John Howell and his Latvian colleague Boriss Cilevics. In his talk of support at the Parliamentary Assembly, British Parliamentarian Sir Edwar Leigh had labelled Turkey’s proscription of the Gulen Movement as a terrorist organisation as a “ridiculous” act unsupported by any Western intelligence organisation.
• Such mass arrests give credence to the 2020 observation of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention that the mass arrests of the alleged Gulenists “may establish a pattern amounting to crimes against humanity.”

Human Rights Solidarity, we invite all concerned individuals and organisations to raise their voices against these arrests.

The frontier for the fight against human rights violations anywhere is everywhere.

By Tasnim Nazeer *

This International Women’s Day, I call on the world to take a stand for Uyghur Muslims suffering persecution at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party in Xinjiang. There is an estimated 1 million Uyghur Muslims who have been forcibly put into concentration camps  in China and subjected to harrowing forms of human rights abuses.  Human rights organisations, activists and the UN have denounced the treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang and said this is a definitive ‘text book example’ of genocide. 

Most recently, Uyghur female survivors who have fled Xinjiang recounted their harrowing experiences of abuse at the camps in a report published by the BBC. The heart-breaking accounts from Uyghur women who experienced systematic rape, torture, abuse and severe surveillance is beyond my comprehension. I believe that the world has enough evidence to hold the Chinese Communist Party to account for the injustice and human rights violations imposed on Uyghur Muslims. 

As a journalist, I have covered the plight of the Uyghurs for years speaking to many Uyghur exiles and those who have escaped from Xinjiang and others who do not know the whereabouts of their loved ones. Some of the people I have spoken to are mothers, wives with kids and women who feel broken by their experiences back in China. All they want is for Uyghur Muslims to have their freedom, to have their rights to practice their religion, to be accepted for who they are and reunited with their loved ones. 

The international community must step up and call for the action to be taken from world leaders and those who have the power and authority to make a change. Staying silent on the situation of the Uyghurs is to be complacent with the severity of the situation. Women have the power to make a change. These brave women that have come forward to tell their stories and expose the abuses that have took place in the concentration camps should be praised for their bravery and courage. 

Supporters of the Chinese Communist Party often crack down on dissenting voices or anyone who ‘dares’ to criticise their policies. I myself, have been trolled and emailed threats for covering stories of the Uyghur Muslims, but we must persevere in calling for justice and accountability. The power of these Uyghur women’s voices can help to make a change, can help to collate evidence and testimonies which China one day has to account.

The truth can no longer be denied. Genocide is taking place and must be stopped and it is up to every individual on International Women’s Day to support the rights of women around the world. Only then can we see a better world that is filled with justice and can stand up to those who choose to oppress, ensuring that they are made accountable through the eyes of the law. 

* Tasnim Nazeer

Comparative study of the Spanish Governments failure in addressing the aftermath of the Francoist dictatorship and Turkey’s trajectory following suit. *

This article will explore and compare the impunity policies in both Spain and Turkey and the problematic notion this may represent when predicting the uncertain future of Turkey. This article will then further explore the poorly justified mass arrests of lawyers, judges and prosecutors in Turkey. In addition to this, the problems that arose with the government triggering of the state of emergency will be discussed.

Introduction 

Within recent years many lawyers and human rights activists have been subjected to targeted mass arrests within certain regions of the world. For example, in countries such as Iran, China, Turkey, Egypt, and Spain. While many individuals may describe these countries as ‘corrupt’ due to the concerning political problems in each country, others tend to be quite flabbergasted at the idea of the now-European union countries being highlighted as one of the countries that once upon a time, not too long ago violated human rights.

What is impunity? And when does it arise?

Impunity is defined as “the impossibility, de jure or de facto, of bringing the perpetrators of violations to account, whether in criminal, civil, administrative or disciplinary proceedings ‐ since they are not subject to any inquiry that might lead to their being accused, arrested, tried and, if found guilty, sentenced to appropriate penalties, and to making reparations to their victims”. This definition refers to impunity as avoiding the action of bringing the individual itself, who brought about the perceived “harmful, illegal, or immoral act” which requires specific investigative proceedings.

Principle 1 of the Updated Impunity Principles provides that impunity arises when the government in question fails to uphold their obligations of investigating the violations in question and thus failing to carry out the “appropriate measures in respect of the perpetrators”. States’ positive obligations arise out of international human rights treaties such as ICCPR and ECHR also require states to combat against impunity. States must ensure that “those suspected of criminal responsibility are prosecuted, tried and duly punished”. The state must further ensure that all victims are provided with a satisfactory remedy. The state must also provide the victims with reparation for the injuries they sustained from the events, which encapsulates both mental, and physical injuries. Lastly, the state must “ensure the inalienable right to know the truth about violations; and to take other necessary steps to prevent a recurrence of violations”. Therefore, it is evident that in the event of impunity arising, all individuals involved in the number of injustices must be punished, and the victims should be provided with support and reparations for the damage they sought.

Spain and the Francoist dictatorship

However, looking into the history of Spain, it seems as if these conditions set out by the Principle 1 of the Updated Impunity Principles were not upheld during the Francoist dictatorship. There was a lack of attention to the issues surrounding the Spanish government’s neglect in impunity policies. This has clearly been reflected in an unspoken ‘gap’ within Spain’s history and judicature.

The significant event that was followed by a whirlwind of issues began with the successful coup in 1936 led by General Franco. Franco was the General and the leader of the Nationalist forces. In this coup the General overthrew the Spanish democratic republic in the Spanish Civil War which lasted between 1936-39 which essentially ‘crowned’ him as the head of the state up until his death in 1975. Throughout the Francoist Dictatorship, there were a great number of crimes against humanity, where impunity should have been considered retrospectively. Over 130,000 people had disappeared and died in the extrajudicial execution, where individuals were executed in the absence of sanctions provided by judicial proceedings or court rulings. The extrajudicial execution would often target their attention to well-known political, religious and social figures. “700,000 people were held in concentration camps from 1936 to 1942”. Furthermore, 400,000 people were imprisoned for political reasons where a majority of these individuals were subject to torture and other cruel methods of treatment. Moreover, “500,000 people were exiled for their political beliefs”.

During this turmoil in Spain, the Spanish government issued a decree which stated that incarcerated mothers would be granted guardianship of their children in order to raise them up until the child reaches the age of three. After this age was reached, the authorities reserved the power to take custody of the child and were therefore able to remove the child from the guardianship of their mother. The authorities “would then change the children’s names” and then gave these children to families who were loyal to the new regime or to families that were willing to pay for a child. The rights of the non-conformists to the regime put forward by General Franco were stripped down, and this also affected their children as they were given new identities in the hope that it would ‘misplace’ their actual identities as the children of the incarcerated population and thus, use them to their own advantage to further their regime.

The ‘forgive and forget approach’

1975 was the year General Franco passed away. This was an opportunity for Spanish nationals to ratify a democratic constitution by holding a referendum in 1978, this presented a sign of hope for the victims who had first-hand experience of the damage which stemmed from the Francoist dictatorship. However, the Spanish governments approach to the process of democratization consisted of “silencing and forgetting” and in return they promised to “construct a new democracy”. The authorities urged the victims to just simply move on and pretend that such events did not happen, and to uphold a sort of ‘forgive and forget approach’.

This approach had created a number of issues for many reasons. Firstly, there was lack of consideration for Impunity Principles. Thus, no remedies were given to the victims. Those involved in the Francoist regime were not tried and punished. However, this should have been upheld under Principle 1 of the Updated Impunity Principles. The Spanish government also failed to provide the victims and “ensure the inalienable right to know the truth about violations; and to take other necessary steps to prevent a recurrence of violations”. This was evident in their suggestion to just ‘simply forgive and forget’ the past. Not only did this come as a shock to most citizens but also triggered many questions. This also made it apparent that these events would be of less importance, and thus left a gap in its history and judicature as the Spanish government failed to provide remedies for thousands of civilians.

The gap in Spain’s history and its policies

In 1977 the Amnesty Act was adopted, which granted amnesty for political crimes. The political prisoners were released, and those in exile were granted permission to return. Furthermore, in 2007, the Historical Memory Act was passed by the Spanish parliament to recognize and enhance victims’ rights. However, there was a lack of a transitional justice mechanism.

In February 2012, The Spanish Supreme Court issued decision 101, which prevented the possibility of investigating crimes committed against humanity between the years of 1936 to 1952 under the Francoist regime. However, Judge Garzon disregarded the amnesty act, he attempted to investigate the crimes committed during Francoist regime. The Spanish Supreme Court declared him not guilty, however the investigations procedure was prevented as “the right to know the historical truth is not part of a criminal process”. “A multitude of international judicial bodies has found that the crimes of the Franco period should be investigated”. Furthering this, in 2009, the United Nations human rights committee and the United Nations committee against torture recommended that Spain unearthed and identified the “corpses that remained hidden in mass graves and established an independent truth Commission to create a report on the human rights violations committed in the past”. The Spanish government failed to establish a transitional justice mechanism which would recognize and enhance victims’ rights and uphold impunity principles that would have presented the Spanish government as fair, just and reasonable country and thus uphold an apologetic and positive facade. However, they chose to cover up their wrongdoings by simply pretending it never happened.

Is President Erdogan the new General Franco?

The current situation in Turkey regarding the number of political prisoners and the mass arrests of individuals as part of the Gulen movement, Kurdish individuals in Turkey, political figures, religious figures, lawyers, judges and prosecutors and the list goes on seems to have many similarities as of Spain’s approach during the Francoist dictatorship. For example, considering the measures adopted by the Turkish government as an attempt to silence the individuals who they have identified as having ‘disobeyed’ or ‘criticized’ President Erdogan’s regime. This presents an uncertain future in terms of the solution for the ongoing issues in Turkey and sparks the fear that the acceptance of Erdogan’s regime could potentially create another gap which could leave thousands of individuals without a remedy and damage the judicature.

One way that it is evident that President Erdogan has clearly replicated Franco’s approach is through the mass arrests of lawyers. A few days after the attempted coup on the 15^th July 2016, around 2500 judges and prosecutors were suspended and detained.

State of emergency? Or the ‘make it worse than it already is approach’? 

On the 21^st July 2016, the state of emergency was declared, the rule of law was no longer considered. Thus, it was no longer part of the ‘solution’ of bringing Turkey back into a collected state. The act of triggering the state of emergency regime in 2016, seemed to have worsened the problems that arose within Turkey as the issues remained unsolved. During the State of Emergency, 125,000 civil servants including 4,000 judges and prosecutors were dismissed from their posts. Furthering this, 540,000 individuals were taken into custody with the assumption of being a member or affiliated with an armed terrorist organization. Since then, over 220,000 individuals have been sentenced for being linked to the Gulen movement which was identified as being a terrorist organisation and since then has obtained many derogative terms, such as “Feto”. Also, 1344 judges and prosecutors and 441 lawyers have been convicted for membership of an armed terrorist organization, while 1600 judges and prosecutors and some 500 lawyers are still on trial. In addition to this, 27 deputies and more than 90 mayors have been detained or suspended. Furthering this, 4,000 entities have been closed and confiscated without providing any form of compensation. Roughly 150 of media outlets were shut down in an attempt to silence the country from exposing the negative effects of Erdogan’s regime. For those that were identified as being a member of the ‘terrorist organization’ were a victim of their private properties worth of 32 billion USD being seized, this included schools, hospitals, houses and so on. In their press statement, The Human Rights Watch emphasized that “the abusive mass arrest of Turkish lawyers damages the rule of law and blatantly seeks to identify lawyers with the alleged crimes of their clients in violation of international law”.

One case that clearly depicts the issues surrounding the problems of the government triggering the state of emergency is the case of Elçi and others v. Turkey. This case was regarding allegations of torture. The applicants were practising lawyers in a critical political case. Due to the nature of their work they were arrested and both the offices they worked in and their homes were searched by the police and files of applications to Strasbourg ECtHR were seized. However, the government justified their harsh approach by emphasising that they were obliged to this as they provided consultancy services to defendants who were identified as possible PKK members.

On the other hand, “the applicants claimed that the reason for this interference was that they were human rights activists and practising lawyers in important political lawsuits”. The ECHR identified this case as violating the rights of the lawyers in an unjust manner during their practices during a state of emergency. The ECHR highlighted that even during the state of emergency the lawyer’s activities should be non-derogable. Therefore, suggesting that lawyers should be untouchable, no matter who they are defending or giving legal advice to.

Furthering this, another case which dealt with the issue surrounding the act of searching lawyers’ offices and seizing their documents in their offices was brought before the TCC in the case of Günay Dağ and others application. Osman Paksüt, who is the member of the Court summarised that although searching offices may be necessity in a democratic society, this act may not be justified as it was done by breaking the door during the night. “Therefore, interference with the confidentiality of the private life and inviolability of the domicile of the applicants cannot be defined as proportionate”. Overall, Paksüt implies that although it is wrong to break doors and search offices in the middle of the night, it may not be wrong to do this during the day. However, this judgement did not uphold the criteria the ECHR as there was a lack of explanations in terms of proportionality within Paksüt’s judgement. Therefore, it may suggest that lawyers who deal with similar clients that could potentially be a political prisoner or an individual who was unjustly linked to an organization with no evidence, may have to consider whether they will be encountering similar injunctions as the government seems to be taking many forms of action in order to threaten and silence anyone wo tries to defend the unjustly convicted individuals.

Turkish government’s response and justifications to the mass sacking and arrests of lawyers and identical examples from Egypt

As a response to the mass sacking and arrests of lawyers, the Turkish government responded by hiring 10,000 AKP authorized judges and prosecutors to misplace the ones detained, thus allowing Erdogan to implement his regime even further and have the ultimate power over the judiciary. Also, by hiring 100,000 law enforcement officers since 2016, this was used as another method for Erdogan to gain the ultimate political control over the law enforcement apparatus. Hence, Turkey has become the largest prisoners of lawyers, judges and journalists.

This is the chilling reality of the situation in Turkey and clearly portrays the impact of Erdogan’s regime on the country. Moreover, almost identical events are taking place in Egypt, as mass arrests of lawyers are also being conducted there. “Equation police and National Security Agency (NSA) forces have conducted a mass arrest campaign, rounding up at least 40 human rights workers, lawyers, and political activists since late October 2018”. It is believed that within the process of detaining the individuals, not one person was shown an arrest warrant and the relevant authorities failed to mention the reason of arrest and dismissed family members with minimal information. The failure to provide such information to the individual within this case and the family members who are attempting to obtain information may amount to an enforced disappearance.

Conclusions

Regarding Turkey triggering the state of emergency, it is clear that this has created an unsafe environment for all citizens in Turkey. This limits the citizens of Turkey in many ways, from freedom of expression to why they are being detained or randomly being searched. This creates a grey area for the direction Turkey is heading in. President Erdogan has clearly adopted many approaches identical to that of General Franco. He uses the technique of implementing fear into the system as a mechanism to silence civilians, human rights activists, lawyers, judges and prosecutors.

The main question that arises is: how long will this all last?

This question seems almost impossible to answer or to even consider. Looking at the history of Spain and General Franco, it only started to go back to ‘normal’ on the passing of General Franco which further triggers a number of questions.

Will this be the same situation for Turkey? How will the authoritative individuals deal with the damage President Erdogan has created? Will they offer reparations to the individuals? Will they create new laws that will provide citizens with comfort ensuring they will not experience such measures again? Or will they be told to forgive and forget, because all that happened was now in the past?

Overall, the answer remains unclear and will only be answered as time passes. However, considering Spain and the problems that stemmed from Franco’s regime are yet to be addressed which suggests that this could potentially be the same case for Turkey, long after President Erdogan’s ‘reign’.

(*)ESRA K.

Image credits: Francoist demonstration in Salamanca (1937) (Image: By Unknown author – Biblioteca Virtual de Defensa/Public Domain)

References

1. Dr. Christophe Paulussen, Impunity For International Terrorists? Key Legal Questions And Practical Considerations(2012) <https://www.icct.nl/download/file/ICCT-Paulussen-Impunity-April-2012.pdf> accessed 24 October 2020. Page 2
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3. ‘Equipo Nizkor – Updated Set of Principles For The Protection And Promotion Of Human Rights Through Action To Combat Impunity.’ (Derechos.org, 2020) <http://www.derechos.org/nizkor/impu/principles.html> accessed 24 October 2020.
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7.Rafael Escudero, Road To Impunity: The Absence Of Transitional Justice Programs In Spain (2014) page 127

8. Rafael Escudero, Road To Impunity: The Absence Of Transitional Justice Programs In Spain(2014) page 127
9. Rafael Escudero, Road To Impunity: The Absence Of Transitional Justice Programs In Spain(2014) page 127
10. Rafael Escudero, Road To Impunity: The Absence Of Transitional Justice Programs In Spain(2014) page 127

11.Rafael Escudero, Road To Impunity: The Absence Of Transitional Justice Programs In Spain (2014) page 127

12. Rafael Escudero, Road To Impunity: The Absence Of Transitional Justice Programs In Spain(2014) page 128
13. Rafael Escudero, Road To Impunity: The Absence Of Transitional Justice Programs In Spain(2014) page 132
14. Rafael Escudero, Road To Impunity: The Absence Of Transitional Justice Programs In Spain(2014) page 132
15. Rafael Escudero, Road To Impunity: The Absence Of Transitional Justice Programs In Spain(2014) page 124
16. Rafael Escudero, Road To Impunity: The Absence Of Transitional Justice Programs In Spain(2014) page 124
17. Rafael Escudero, Road To Impunity: The Absence Of Transitional Justice Programs In Spain(2014) page 130
18. Rafael Escudero, Road To Impunity: The Absence Of Transitional Justice Programs In Spain(2014) page 130
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29. ‘Egypt: Mass Arrests Of Lawyers, Activists’ (Human Rights Watch, 2020) <https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/11/18/egypt-mass-arrests-lawyers-activists> accessed 24 October 2020.

Bibliography

Primary sources 

Cases:

Elçi and others v. Turkey

Günay Dağ and others application

Secondary sources

Articles

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Escudero R, Road To Impunity: The Absence Of Transitional Justice Programs In Spain (2014)

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Initiative T, ‘Chief Of Turkish National Police Admits That 540,000 Detentions Have Been Made Without Legal Ground’ (The Arrested Lawyers Initiative, 2019) <https://arrestedlawyers.org/2019/07/15/chief-of-turkish-national-police-admits-that-540000-detentions-have-been-made-without-legal-ground/> accessed 24 October 2020

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Paulussen D, Impunity For International Terrorists? Key Legal Questions And Practical Considerations (2012) <https://www.icct.nl/download/file/ICCT-Paulussen-Impunity-April-2012.pdf> accessed 24 October 2020

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(Arrestedlawyers.files.wordpress.com, 2020) <https://arrestedlawyers.files.wordpress.com/2020/07/mass-prosecution-of-lawyers-in-turkey-aug-2020.pdf> accessed 24 October 2020