Yesterday (25.12.09) those struggling for peace, democracy and human rights once again experienced deeply injurious and unfortunate developments. More than 80 people were detained in simultaneous operations carried out in 11 provinces. Showing a huge example of injustice, among those detained in raids on homes and workplaces were sitting mayors who were elected by the people. We as the Human Rights Association experienced the biggest injustice that occurred within the framework of the operation. The HRA, whose only goal is to defend human rights, was subjected to a reckless police raid and for about 7 ours our office was held under occupation. The most important development was the detention of our Vice President and Diyarbakır branch President Mr. Muharrem Erbey, all of whose work is founded on a struggle for justice and defense of human rights. He was detained after his house was raided in the early hours of the morning of 24 December.
Those who were walking yesterday on the street where our office is located encountered scenes and confusion reminiscent of the days of emergency rule. The police, who had a warrant to search Muharrem Erbey’s legal bureau, instead searched our office. When we objected that their warrant didn’t include authorization to do this, authorization to search our entire office was given upon a police officer’s request, which was made by telephone. This all occurred as our meetings to discuss this matter were continuing. Our organization was subjected to practices that weren’t even experienced in the 1990s, in other words during the years of emergency rule. All of the correspondence found in our building was taken for investigation and our computers’ hard disks were confiscated. Serious injustices were authorized during this attack.
Finally, the records of the statements that were taken during the raid that we’ve been able to access show once again just how far the raid and detention were from legal justification. A large portion of the questions put to our President concerned our work which is open to the entire public. International excursions carried out as part of our work, various projects we’ve prepared, activities we’ve initiated in the area of human rights, and efforts to inform the public about violations were asked about in such a way that suggested these things are illegal.
As stated in international agreements concerning the protection of human rights defenders, the fact that individuals and associations that defend human rights are independent from all authorities and struggle to reveal human rights violations and implement universal human rights principles is stated in a clear way. In order to achieve these goals, human rights institutions initiate common projects with national and international human rights organizations and in this sphere all varieties of projects and efforts can take place. This point is also secured by international agreements.
As our struggle furthers the realization of human rights and the realization of a democratic system, we wish to emphasize once again that the stance and practices adopted by the state toward the organizations struggling in this area is unacceptable to human rights defenders and that our struggles in this area will continue.
The illegal inclusion of our organization in an investigation into the KCK which has been continuing since 2007 – the contents of which we can’t inspect due to a judicial decision to block access to the case file – and the implication of our organization in illegal activities is unacceptable. Nor can we accept the detention of our branch President due to his activities carried out within the framework of national and international human rights legislation. We request the immediate release of Muharrem Erbey and an end to the claims and accusations being made about our organization.
Human Rights Association, Diyarbakır Branch