17 March 2022
URGENT CALL FOR ACTION: Stop Judicial Harassment against İHD Diyarbakır Member Fırat Akdeniz
Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (HRFT) and the Human Rights Association (İnsan Hakları Derneği – İHD) are writing to you to raise its serious concerns regarding the judicial harassment faced by Mr. Fırat Akdeniz, member of İHD’s local Diyarbakır Branch, Enforced Disappearances and Unresolved Murders Commission, as well as a member of the Education and Science Workers’ Union. Mr. Akdeniz is a prominent human rights defender, advocating to stop enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions, for workers’ and union rights, and other various human rights fields in Turkey.
HRFT and İHD request your urgent support, in view of Mr. Akdeniz, for his upcoming hearing scheduled on 23 March 2022.
Description of the Situation
Fırat Akdeniz faces criminal charges on the basis of his civil society and human rights advocacy and exercise of his rights to freedom of expression and assembly. The allegations against him relate to the charges of “membership to an illegal armed organisation” (Article 314/2 of the Penal Code of Turkey) and he faces 5 to 10 years imprisonment. According to the indictment drawn up by the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, the charges are based on Mr. Akdeniz’s participation in 17 different public gatherings from October 2019 to December 2020. These public gatherings span from several different associations’ events to his personal participation in religious commemorative ceremonies. As enlisted in the indictment, the subject matter of these public gatherings are for specific days such as 1 September World Peace Day and a Kurdish language festival or advocacy against human rights violations such as violence against women and femicide in Turkey, arbitrary detention of attorneys, hunger strikes of prisoners, and interferences with Peoples’ Democratic Party (Halkların Demokratik Partisi – HDP) such as the removal of HDP deputies’ parliamentary immunity or appointment of trustees to replace HDP mayors. The Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office alleges that those public gatherings praised and defended the activities and principles of PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party).[1] The charges are also allegedly corroborated with an anonymous witness statement taken within the scope of the investigation, and alleged banned publication seized upon the search of Mr. Akdeniz’s house on 24 May 2021. Fırat Akdeniz was taken into custody on 24 May 2021, and after two days of detention and giving his statement, the Diyarbakır 4th Criminal Peace Judgeship placed him under pre-trial detention on 26 May 2021. On 17 June 2021, Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office formally indicted Mr. Akdeniz and the first hearing on 3 September 2021 was held before the Diyarbakır 11th Heavy Penal Court, during which an anonymous witness statement was taken to corroborate the allegations. At the second hearing on 8 September 2021, Mr. Akdeniz was released. At the third hearing on 8 December 2021, the Prosecutor’s Office submitted their opinion to the Court to sentence Mr. Akdeniz for the impugned crime. At the upcoming trial hearing scheduled on 23 March 2022, the Court is expected to deliver its judgement.
The case of Fırat Akdeniz sets yet another example of the instrumentalization of counter-terrorism legislation to supress and silence human rights defenders in Turkey. His various human rights advocacy activities are categorized in bulk as membership to an illegal armed organization, which is a clear violation of his freedom of expression and assembly, as well as his right to defend human rights. HRFT and İHD underline that the criminal proceedings against Fırat Akdeniz are part of the relentless repression by the authorities in Turkey against İHD and its members that has been on-going for years because of their peaceful human rights activities and exercise of their rights to freedom of expression and association. On February 2022, İHD Diyarbakır branch office was searched by the police, and İHD Diyarbakır Executive Board member and Secretary, Mr. Ferhat Berkpınar was detained due to alleged membership to a terrorist organisation. İHD co-chairpersons, Mr. Öztürk Türkdoğan and Ms. Eren Keskin are currently facing multiple criminal proceedings and investigations related to their legitimate activities as a human rights defender.
HRFT and İHD strongly condemns the ongoing judicial harassment against Fırat Akdeniz and urges the authorities in Turkey to immediately and unconditionally put an end to all acts of harassment against him, including at the judicial level, and drop all charges pressed against him.
Actions requested
HRFT and İHD kindly and urgently invite you to support their appeal and take action in respect of the authorities of Turkey to:
- immediately and unconditionally drop all charges against Mr. Fırat Akdeniz for his legitimate human rights advocacy;
- put an end to all acts of harassment -including at the judicial level- against Mr. Fırat Akdeniz, the İHD and its members, and human rights defenders in Turkey;
- ensure in all circumstances human rights defenders’ right to security and liberty, and that they are able to carry out their legitimate activities freely and without fear of reprisal;
- ensure the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly are respected in Turkey, and that human rights organisations such as İHD are able to conduct their work freely;
- conform to the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998, in particular with Articles 1, 5(c), and 12.2.
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Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting this appeal in your reply.
Established in 1990, HRFT is a non-governmental and non-profit organisation focusing on treatment, rehabilitation, documentation and eradication of torture and other ill-treatment.
E-mail: hrft@tihv.org.tr · ihsdesteklenmesi@tihv.org.tr | Tel: +90 212 356 26 48
İHD is a non-governmental organisation, founded in 1986, and one of the oldest and largest human rights organisations in Turkey. İHD carries out activities that protect and promote fundamental rights and freedoms in Turkey.
E-mail: posta@ihd.org.tr | Tel: +90 312 230 3567-69
[1] PKK is an armed group listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, EU and NATO.