[Mail from Turkey to the blog editor] DO YOU HEAR THE İNNOCENT JUDGE AND PROSECUTORS VOİCE? WE ARE INDEPENDENT AND HARDWORKING AND HONEST LOVER JUDGES AND PROSECUTORS. NOW IN TURKEY WE HAVE ANY SOLUTION. BUT WE BELIEVE IN HUMAN RIGHTS MUST BE EVERY WHERE. YOU ARE THE PROTECTOR OF HUMAN RIGHTS YOU HAVE TO DO SOMETHING URGENT ABOUT US. OUR FAMILİES OUR BABİES ARE DİSOLATED AND MİSERABLE AND POOR AND CONFUSED. DO YOU KNOW MANY JUDGES AND PROSECUTORS ARE İN SOLITERY CONFINEMENT İSOLATED İN CELLS FOR 6 MONTHS AND THE ECHR DOES NOT SEE THIS AS A MATTER OF URGENT APPLICATION? ARRESTED JUDGES AND PROSECUTORS IN TURKEY ARE BEING HELD…

Report by Hans Gaasbeek* about the international lawyer conference held in Ankara (Turkey) between the 13th and 15thof January, 2017 [The original of the report can be found on the site of “European Democratic Lawyers” , it’s republished in this blug for increased distribution] The ‘International Conference On Law, State of Emergency And Judicial System in Turkey’ was co-organized by different European lawyer organizations like: the AED (European Democratic Lawyers), the ELDH (European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and World Human Rights) and the Foundation Day of the Endangered Lawyer. The conference was also co-organized by the European organization of judges MEDEL (Magistrats Européens pour la Démocratie et les Libertés). A great number of bar associations of cities in all corners…

Rıza Türmen, the former judge of the ECHR and deputy of CHP, main opposition party, wrote an article. Referring the case-laws of the ECHR concerning the unlawful arrests, he points out that unless the Constitutional Court concludes the individual applications in mostly 1 year, the persons concerned will be able to lodge their applications with the ECHR without trying the remedy of the individual application to the Constitutional Court. (submitted to the blog by a source who is know to the editor, it’s name is kept confidential for security reasons) Turkey has become a great prison. Nearly, eveybody has been held under arrest. Since 15 July, the number of the…

The Consiglio Nazionale Forense, which represents 250.000 lawyers across Italy in 139 Bars and Law Societies of Italian cities, published a letter in which the Council expressed “the strongest condemnation for the final closure of some associations of lawyers and the arrest of many colleagues in Turkey.” The letter also protested “for the arrest, that took place at Istanbul airport, on January 13, 2017, of lawyer Barbara Spinelli, from the Court of Bologna, which, after 17 hours of deprivation of liberty, was permanently expelled from Turkey and repatriated with a flight Istanbul- Bologna.” http://washingtonhatti.com/2017/02/07/250k-member-italian-national-bar-association-strongly-condemns-arrests-of-turkish-lawyers/

Thousands were dismissed, including many academicians. Prof. Ibrahim Kaboglu, a prominent jurist, leftist and critics to the government is one of them. http://213.14.3.44/20170207/20170207M1-1-1.pdf http://213.14.3.44/20170207/20170207m1-1.htm   4,464 More Public Servants Purged In New Gov’t Decree In Turkey  With a new state of emergency decree issued on Tuesday, the Turkish government has dismissed 4,464 more public servants. The relentless purge that gained momentum after a failed coup on July 15, 2016 this time dismissed civil servants from the police force, Ministry of Education, Supreme Court of Appeals and Higher Election Board (YSK). According to the new decree, numbered 686, a total of 4,464 civil servants are dismissed from state bodies. The decree…

Author known to blog editor Turkey has remained to continue to be governed under state of emergency. A new emergency decree law was recently issued. The recent one provides a commission to examine the proceedings, instituted under the former ones. Beforehand, Erdoğan had suppressed the criticism of “ the innocent ones are also suffering with the guilty”, coming from the community, saying he wouldn’t think of it. Even, they obtained fetwa (an opinion on a matter involving islamic religious law) from Hayrettin Karaman, expert on fıqh ( Muslim canonical jurisprudence). The remedies are not effective and accessible for the ordinary citizens, but not for those who have an acquaintance from…

Author: Ahmet TAKANA Police officer Bilal Konakci, year was 2009. He was one of the 18 specialists -bomb disposal experts- who worked in Izmir. Bilal Konakci, the only bomb disposal expert in the northern part of İzmir, was called to duty, when a citizen saw a suspicious package in front of Aliağa High School on the day the calendar pages showed February 5th. The hero police officer decided that the package should be destroyed in an enclosed area after a review. Police officer Konakci heard some voices while preparing to dismantle the bomb that brought the Aliaga Police Department. He saw that the bomb had become active, at that moment he…

The former deputy of CHP (main opposition party) and also lawyer, Hüseyin Aygün shared the particulars and the main goal of the recent emergency decree law no.685 issued by the ruling party (AKP) in his twitter account. Here is the share of Hüseyin Aygün: The emergency decree law no.685 has recently entered into force after being published in the official gazette on 23 January, 2017. The main peculiarity of the recent emergency decree law that renders it different from the preceding ones is that it provides a ‘State of Emergency Procedures Investigation Commission’ to examine the proceedings as regards the closure of the associations, foundations, federations, confederations, health& education institutions,…

Betrifft JUSTIZ Heft 128 – Dezember 2016 (1) Blogschokolade In vier Wellen wurden in der Türkei bislang 3658 Richterinnen und Staatsanwälte entlassen. Viele von ihnen waren oder sind inhaftiert, wie zuletzt der Präsident der Richtervereinigung YARSAV, Murat Arslan oder Aydin Sefa Akay, ein Immunität genießender UN-Richter. Zeitungen in deutscher Sprache berichten wenig über die aktuellen Entwicklungen, da bilden blogs und soziale Netzwerke eine wichtige Informationsquelle. Am umfangreichsten berichtet der Luzerner Bundesrichter Thomas Stadelmann in seinem „ts_justice›s blog“, der auch auf twitter (@ts_justice) unterwegs ist. Das blog erschöpft sich nicht in eigenen Posts, sondern wird ergänzt durch Dokumentationen, journalistische Beiträge oppositioneller türkischer Journalisten und Aufsätzen der mit Betrifft JUSTIZ befreundeten Richterzeitung…

Das große Aufräumen des Staates unter Notstandsregeln Die Notverordnungen der türkischen Regierung enthalten massenhafte Verstöße gegen die Verfassung und Grundrechte Autorin Öykü Didem Aydın[1],[2],[3] I. Einführung Am 15.07.2016 fand in der Türkei ein Putschversuch statt, der zügig niedergeschlagen wurde. Am 20.07.2016 wurde für einen Zeitraum von drei Monaten ein verfassungsrechtlicher Notstand erklärt. Es ist noch offen, wie lange er dauern soll. Er wurde bereits um drei Monate verlängert. So merkwürdig es auch aussehen mag, die Regierung will den Plan für die Verfassungsänderung[4] zur Einführung des Präsidialregierungssystems gerade während des Notstands vorantreiben, was unter normalen Umständen auf heftige Opposition durch die Hälfte der Bevölkerung stoßen würde. Vorausgeschickt: Jeder gewalttätige Versuch einer…

PUNISHING AND SILENCING THE OPPOSITION IN THE TURKISH JUDICIARY THROUGH DISMISSALS, PROSECUTIONS AND ARRESTS Author: N.N. (known to the blog-editor, kept confidential for security reasons) Following the attempted coup of July 2016, a wave of prosecutions started as part of the overall purging mission initiated by the government seemingly as a response to the failed coup. It has quickly turned out that most of the prosecutions have nothing to do with the attempted coup but on the basis of some abstract allegations of membership, relationship or affiliation to a group (the government claims it to be a ‘terrorist’ group). The figures of dismissals, closures, seizures, prosecutions, arrests, bans etc. have greatly…

Author: José Igreja Matos, President of European Association of Judges (EAJ) Date: Jan 14, 2017   This is moral blindness – self-chosen, self-imposed, or fatalistically accepted – in an epoch that more than anything needs quickness and acuteness of apprehension and feeling. In order that we regain our perceptiveness in dark times, it is necessary to give back dignity as well as the idea of the essential unfathomability of human beings (…) – Zygmunt Bauman and Leonidas Donskis, Moral Blindness: The Loss of Sensitivity in Liquid Modernity. An European Assessment – a manifest disrespect for the independence of judiciary in Turkey Indisputably, the current situation in Turkey is characterized by…

Author: known by blog editor, kept secret for security reasons Pro-Erdogan Prosecutor gave a dismissal of charges decision about a torture complaint without having investigation, 5 JANUARY 2017, TRABZON, TURKEY Someone complained to the prosecutor about being tortured. The following are the torture and ill-treatment that was done to complainant: “They interrogated me three times and told me I used “bylock” [app]. The police officer punched me and said I’ll f.. you, I’ll harass you with a truncheon.” “We’ll strip your wife, Do you want a bastard in your wifes womb, you are gonna write the names we gave you [in your statement] ” they told me. The prosecutor decided…

Author: N.N., Turkey (*)   1. Because of some criminal investigation against high profile government and intelligence agencies such as 17-25 December 2013 Corruption Cases, MIT Truck to ISIS cases,  President Erdogan see the judiciary as a serious threat to reach his personal, and political aim rooted Political Islamist Ideas backed 1990s. Therefore, he launched a linch campaign to judges, who had charged with these cases. 2. Following corruption allegations implicating government ministers and Erdoğan’s own family in December 2013, the government in 2014 embarked on dramatic moves to demote and discharge the  judiciary. Although, High Council of Judges and Prosecutors is a constitutional institution, the ruling party passed a…

Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) Mehmet Yılmaz has denied a previously made statement and said confessor prosecutors and judges will not be allowed return to their posts in the Justice Ministry. “No worries. The HSYK will not return anyone who avails themselves of the Effective Repentance Law to duty again. Our board is determined on this issue,” said Yılmaz, speaking to columnist Sevilay Yükselir. Thousands of judges and prosecutors have been suspended by the HSYK while many have been detained or arrested on the grounds that they have links to the Gülen movement, which is accused by the Turkish government of masterminding a failed…

Is the ECtHR taking it’s task to fight against violation of Human Rights serious or just trying to avoiding a flood of appeals ? 1. The Summary of the Decision and the Application: 1.1. In its decision in the case of Zihni v. Turkey, the European Court of Human Rights has unanimously declared the application inadmissible which presents great importance for many individuals dismissed from their duty by the emergency legislative decree no.672. 1.2. In its decision, in summary, the Court rejected the application for non-exhaustion of domestic remedies. 1.3. The Court noted in its decision that Mr Zihni had an obligation to make use of the domestic judicial remedies…

Outrageous. Shall we be upset or furious ? #TurkeyHandcuffed judges!@VeniceComm @EAJ_AEM_ERV @Judges4J @ChRegnard @KatiPiri @JunckerEU @eucopresident @coe https://t.co/lJb3E34afL — Aylin Özçelik (@Aylinozcelik3) 26. Dezember 2016

TURKEY OPINION ON EMERGENCY DECREE LAWS NOS. 667 – 676 ADOPTED FOLLOWING THE FAILED COUP OF 15 JULY 2016 Adopted by the Venice Commission at its 109th Plenary Session (Venice, 9 – 10 December 2016) To help distribute this very important message I’m posting not only the link to the original message  but the opinion as a whole: