London, 28 November 2011<\/p>\n
Dear Prime Minister Erdo\u0569\u0084\u056a\u0534an,<\/p>\n
I am writing on behalf of the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and
\nWales (BHRC). The BHRC is the international human rights arm of the Bar of
\nEngland and Wales. It is an independent body primarily concerned with the
\nprotection of the rights of advocates and judges around the world. The
\nCommittee is also concerned with defending the rule of law and
\ninternationally recognised legal standards relating to human rights and the
\nright to a fair trial.<\/p>\n
The members of the BHRC are united in their deep concern at news of the
\narrests of 51 Turkish lawyers during raids carried out simultaneously in
\nmany Turkish cities and provinces on 22 November 2011.<\/p>\n
The BHRC carries out its work on the basis of the Preamble on the Function
\nof the Lawyer in Society, adopted by the CCBE (Council of the Bars and Law
\nSocieties of the European Union).<\/p>\n
This provides that every lawyer must serve the interests of justice, as well
\nas the interests of those whose rights and liberties he or she is entrusted
\nto defend.<\/p>\n
Respect for the professional function of lawyers is an essential condition
\nfor the rule of law and democracy in every society.<\/p>\n
These arrests are the latest step following on from the very recent threats
\nby the Turkish prosecutors and courts, to persecute the large number of
\nlawyers who are defending 152 accused in a mass trial in Diyarbak\u0569\u0084\u0539\u055er. This
\ntrial is due to be continued on 6 December 2011.<\/p>\n
In this trial, the lawyers took the principled position that they were not
\nable to defend their clients any further, after the Diyarbak\u0569\u0084\u0539\u055er Court ordered
\nthat the accused were not permitted to speak their own native, Kurdish
\nlanguage, in their trial.<\/p>\n
All the defence lawyers, as a group, and also the Leader of the Diyarbak\u0569\u0084\u0539\u055er
\nBar, were threatened in strong terms in advance by the Prosecutors, and by
\nthe Court itself, that they would be persecuted if they did not immediately
\ncontinue to defend their clients in the Turkish language.<\/p>\n
We respectfully draw the attention of the Turkish authorities to the fact
\nthat the arrests and threats constitute grave violations of every human
\nrights treaty to which Turkey is a party.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, it would appear that the Basic Principles on the Role of
\nLawyers, adopted by the UN Congress in Havana in September 1990 have not
\nbeen respected.<\/p>\n
According to these principles, governments are obliged to ensure that
\nlawyers are able to perform all of their professional duties without
\nintimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference.<\/p>\n
Governments must also guarantee that lawyers do not suffer persecution or
\nthreats of persecution or any sanctions for carrying out their duties as
\nlawyers.<\/p>\n
The Turkish Government appears to be acting contrary to these Principles.<\/p>\n
Therefore the BHRC calls upon the Turkish authorities to implement the
\nfollowing measures without delay:<\/p>\n
\u0569\u0082\u0539\u0563\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0 the immediate release and reinstatement in their duties as lawyers
\nof all the lawyers who have been arrested or threatened;<\/p>\n
\u0569\u0082\u0539\u0563\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0 the restoration of the full and free exercise of their independent
\nadvocacy role.<\/p>\n
The BHRC respectfully informs the Turkish authorities that its members will
\nfollow the mass trial closely.<\/p>\n
The BHRC also urges the Turkish authorities to respond as soon as possible
\nwith a full and positive response to the serious matters raised in this
\nletter.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Yours respectfully,<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Prof. Bill Bowring, Barrister, BHRC Executive Committee member<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
CC:<\/p>\n
* HE President Dr Abdullah G\u0569\u0083\u0539\u0536l
\n* Deputy Prime Minister responsible for human rights Mr. Be\u0569\u0085\u056a\u0534ir Atalay
\n* Justice Minister Mr. Sadullah Ergin<\/p>\n
\u0569\u0082\u0539\u0563\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0 Ambassador Mr. Selim Kuneralp, Diplomatic Mission of Turkey to the
\nEuropean Union in Brussels<\/p>\n
* Ambassador, Mr. O\u0569\u0084\u056a\u0534uz Demiralp, Permanent Mission of Turkey to the
\nUnited Nations in Geneva
\n* Consul General Ahmet Demirok
\n* HE Ambassador David Reddaway<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
London, 28 November 2011 Dear Prime Minister Erdo\u0569\u0084\u056a\u0534an, I am writing on behalf of the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (BHRC). The BHRC is the international human rights arm of the Bar […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8255,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8254"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8254"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8254\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8257,"href":"https:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8254\/revisions\/8257"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}