The ENCJ reiterates its unreserved condemnation of the recent attempted coup in Turkey. The loss of life incurred in this attack on a democratically elected government is inexcusable. Those responsible should be made accountable through an open, fair and impartial judicial process conforming with international standards. The ENCJ has expressed its concern, both before and after the attempted coup, that the approach of the High Council for Judges and Prosecutors to the transfer, suspension, removal and prosecution of judges has not been consistent with the principles of judicial independence.  The ENCJ has received persuasive information that these procedures have taken place without respecting the principles referred to above. The board…

TURKISH JUDGES and PROSECUTORS WERE BLACKLISTED BY THE PRO-GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION –YBD- in 2014 BEFORE THE ELECTION TO THE HIGH COUNCIL OF JUDGES AND PROSECUTORS (HCJP) THE PRO-GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION (‘ASSOCIATION OF JUDICIAL UNITY’ – YBD) PREPARED A LIST OF ALL JUDGES and PROSECUTORS TO BLACKLIST THEM On the list there are names of all Turkish judges and prosecutors and the information about whether they are opponents, or supporters, or in the middle. Opponent: Karsit Supporter: YBP (Means supporter of the Platform which then became an Association) In the middle – neither supporter nor opponent: Ortada   This is 1 page of the whole list, after the failed coup attempt, all opponent prosecutors on this…

With the argument that it is imperative to secure public order, the Turkish Parliament approved a bill declaring the state of emergency and the Council of Europe was informed that Turkey is partially suspending its obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights ( ECHR ). Not addressing political orientations or matters of public security, strictly from a legal perspective, the author discusses the situation of those under detention in these circumstances and their rights under international law. Enemies of the State, by Claudia Pina

URGENT NOTICE BY GENERAL DIRECTORATE OF SECURITY AFFAIRS TO ALL POLICE HEADQUARTERS 26.08.2016 Dated, 23346125-50151.61128 Numbered After the “Coordination Meeting” held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 25th of August, 2016, we were informed that “European Committee for the Prevention of Torture” will be visiting Turkey to observe the situation between August 28, 2016 – September 6, 2016, and it was reported that during the visit, Committee may visit any detention center spontaneously in all over the country. Regarding this,the places like sport halls or etc. will not be used as detention centers, anymore, and all detention and arrest procedures will have to comply with both domestic and…

A recent post from Turkey: Look at the picture: Thousands of judges were dismissed and put in jail without observing their basic rights, right to defense etc, Their families are struggling with serious financial difficulties, There are many allegations about torture, inhuman treatments, They are evicted from their public houses. And trying to rent apartments but no one wants to give them an apartment because they are accused of being members of a terrorist organization, Their assets were frozen, Their family life and kids’ school lives have been destroyed, They are simply trying to survive.

Resolution Nordic Judge Associations

Redaktion Richterzeitung, Aktuelle Situation der Justiz in der Türkei, in: «Justice – Justiz – Giustizia» 2016/3 (www.richterzeitung.ch) Die Nachrichten aus der Türkei sind besorgniserregend. Die Situation der Justiz wird von Tag zu Tag schlimmer. Neben der Europäischen Richtervereinigung (European Association of Judges/EAJ) ist deshalb auch die Schweizer Vereinigung der Richterinnen und Richte SVR-ASM – wie viele andere nationale Richtervereinigungen – in der letzten Woche (das Interview wurde am 30. Juli 2016 geführt) aktiv geworden. Die Redaktion von «Justice – Justiz – Giustizia» hat sich darüber mit den Redaktionsmitgliedern Stephan Gass und Thomas Stadelmann unterhalten. Richterzeitung_aktuelle-situation-d_cf0c4bbeb4_de

Juria, Current Situation of the Judiciary in Turkey, in: «Justice – Justiz – Giustizia» 2016/3 (www.richterzeitung.ch) Even before the latest coup attempt, for the last 3–4 years Turkey was moving away from democracy, rule of law, freedom of expression and freedom of the media and losing its vision of EU membership. President Erdoğan gradually took control of all government institutions. To create his single man regime, he wanted to control not only the legislative and administrative power, but also the judiciary, the media, universities and even civil society. Richterzeitung_current-situation-of_726a4b039f_de  

Juria, Report on the illegalities in the criminal investigation regarding judges and prosecutors in Turkey, in: «Justice – Justiz – Giustizia» 2016/3 (www.richterzeitung.ch) The article mentions Constitutional provisions, the Criminal Procedure and Criminal Law which are applicable for criminal investigation, pre-trial detention etc. regarding judges and prosecutors in Turkey. It also mentions the law on judges and prosecutors on the basis of which 2745 judges and prosecutors were arrested. It the article the author shows clearly that the actually still on-going criminal investigation and court procedures after the attempted coup against prosecutors and judges, hence many cases of pre-trial detention, are illegal – even under the assumption that the emergency…

Decision of the 8th of August 2016 of the General Assembly of the Constitutional Court on Removal Measure regarding the Constitutional Court Members Alparslan Altan and Erdal TERCAN  Translation of the decisive part of the Turkish Constitutional Court decision. Previous parts of the decision are only copy-paste of the indictment of the Chief Prosecutor of Ankara. It was difficult to translate it because the expression of the text is very vague and is not depending on facts. As you will see there is no single proof against Alparslan Altan and Erdal TERCAN. These two members strongly deny any connection with any illegal organisation, they want to see concrete information and…

The DECREE of SEPTEMBER 1, 2016 According to this source: the number of dismissals of civil servants at any state institution is 42.881 The President of YARSAV (Turkish Judges Association) Mr. Murat Arslan is also dismissed. Thursday decree also cancelled passports of spouses of all people who have been blamed for being a member of the FETO organization The decree also calls retired judges and prosecutors to duty if they wish. All members of ‘Prison Monitoring Boards’ (Cezaevi Izleme Kurullari) dismissed. New members will be appointed in 10 days. (This is important: These boards monitor the conditions of prisons all over the country. So, why will the government appoint new…

http://www.gazetevatan.com/yilmaz-net-konustu-baska-kims-zarar-gormeyecek-979927-gundem/   Yilmaz hat Klartext geredet: Niemand anders wird davon Schaden tragen   August 2016, Mittwoch – 19:00, letzte Aktualisierung: 24.08.2016 – 20.13   Der Vizepräsident des Rates der Vereinigung von Richtern und Staatsanwälten (HSYK)  und Präsident der 2. Abteilung Mehmet Yilmaz gab an, dass ausser Mitglieder der Terrororganisation von Fetullah niemand von den Amtsenthebungen betroffen sein wird. „In der HSYK sind wir nur auf etwas fixiert. Wir versuchen nur die FETÖ-Anhänger in der Justiz zu säubern. Wir legen grossen Wert und achten darauf, dass niemand anders sonst Schaden davon trägt. Wir berücksichtigen jeden Hinweis und jedes Dokument. Jedes Dokument und jeden Hinweis, Verteidigung nehmen wir detailliert entgegen.“    …

Hürriyet>Haberler>Gündem>Ferhat Sarıkaya açığa alındı, 2847 hakim ve savcı ihraç edildi Ferhat Sarıkaya açığa alındı, 2847 hakim ve savcı ihraç edildi Oya ARMUTÇU/ANKARA 24 Ağustos 2016 – 15:12Son Güncelleme : 24 Ağustos 2016 – 16:05 Darbe girişiminden sonra başlayan FETÖ soruşturmaları tam gaz devam ediyor. Eski Van Savcısı Ferhat Sarıkaya açığa alındı. HSYK’nın bu sabah ki toplantısında 2 bin 847 hakimve savcının daha meslekten ihraç edilmesine karar verildi. HSYK Başkanvekili Mehmet Yılmaz, HSYK Genel Kurulu’nun oy birliğiyle aldığı kararla, KHK’nın 3. maddesi uyarınca ihraç edilen 2 bin 847 hakim ve savcı arasında, Mustafa Bilgili, Burhan Yaz, İbrahim Okur, Ahmet Kaya, Mustafa Başer, Metin Özçelik, TeomanGökçe ve Nesibe Özer’in de bulunduğunu bildirdi.…

Update from Turkey: Prior to the state of emergence laws, visits and communication between lawyers and arrested person could not be restricted. Lawyers could visit the arrested persons at anytime in prisons. However, after the decrees respectively numbered 667 and 668 came into force many rights of inmates including the right to reach the lawyers were confined. According to the decree numbered 667 article 6, lawyer-arrested person communication can be restricted and recorded and over sighted by guards. So upon the order of prosecutors lawyer- client interviews and meeting can be done once a week or less. According to the decree numbered 668, article 3/m persons in custody before pre-trial…

Turkey is set to release 38,000 prisoners that are currently in jail in an apparent move to make space for those who plotted last month’s coup. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3744650/Some-38-000-prisoners-released-probation-scheme-reform-minister.html#ixzz4HcRPg3F9 My comments: This decree impacts almost 40% of all prisoners. And the main target is to create space for the coup supporters (!). This apparently simply means : Turkish authorities are planning to arrest tens of thousands of people soon. It seems the indicted are already condemned, presumption of innocence and necessity of due process are irrelevant, regardless of the Turkish obligations due to the ratification of the European Convention on Human Rights.

CONSTITUTIONAL COURT DECISION TO DISMISS JUSTICES Translation of the important parts of the justification   There is no need to prove the ties between members and any terrorist organization, terror action, or the coup attempt to dismiss, it is enough to prove the tie between members and groups, structures, foundations, that were accepted acting against the national security by the National Security Council. On the other hand, according to the Article 3 (of the decree with the force of law -Kanun Hükmünde Kararname- KHK/667-) to dismiss (justices), proving that they are members or connected to this kind of group is not required, but provingmembers that they have contact with the…

AAAS, 7/27/2016 (Coalition member signatories: American Anthropological Association, American Association of Geographers, American Physical Society, American Sociological Association, American Statistical Association, Sigma Xi, Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues): Letter to President Erdoğan    Middle East Studies Association, 7/21/16 (Coalition member organization signatories: American Anthropological Association, American Sociological Association, Linguistic Society of America): Threats to Academic Freedom and Higher Education in Turkey   American Political Science Association (APSA), 7/22/16: Letter to President Erdoğan    International Studies Association, 7/25/16: Statement on Most Recent Academic Freedom Concerns in Turkey   Committee of Concerned Scientists, 7/29/16: Academic Community Severely Affected by Actions of Turkish Government Following Attempted Coup   Scholars At Risk, 8/2/16: Turkey: Detained Higher Education…

UNANIMOUS DECISION BY THE TURKISH CONSTITUTIONAL COURT: Two members (Justice Alparslan Altan and Justice Erdal Tercan) of the Turkish Constitutional Court were dismissed due to their family affiliations within their social circle as well as the common perception of their colleagues over the years. There is no other evidence against them.   The court declares the state of emergence law does not require evidence based assessment so belief is sufficient to reach a final decision.   There is no particular evidence regarding the dismissed members. No event, no proof, no assessment, no evidence.   In the conclusion part, the rationale is limited to: ‘the law tells that the belief of…