Ebru Timtik. Lawyer Ebru Timtik was one of the suspects of the indictment. On 27 August 2020, she died on the 238th day of her hunger strike to protest the fair trial violations in her case and her clients’ trials.
Analysis of the indictment against against 18 lawyers in Turkey
PEN Norway has studied the indictment against 18 lawyers registered with the Istanbul Bar Association as part of our Turkey Indictment Project.
The indictment was studied by legal experts Gerrit Jan Pulles and Veya Ayra Mandapat on behalf of PEN Norway in cooperation with the Lawyers for Lawyers.
Case against 18 lawyers:
In 2015, curfews were declared in the Kurdish-majority provinces of Southeastern Turkey, including Şırnak’s Cizre district. During this time, people living in the region were cut off from the outside world, without any electricity, water, and healthcare services. There were dozens of lives lost due to these sanctions. Because of these events, on 15 September 2015 around 200 lawyers affiliated with the Istanbul Bar Association attempted to organize a protest march in Taksim Square / Istiklal Avenue, considered the heart of Istanbul. When this was not permitted, the lawyers staged a sit-in protest against state actions in Cizre. They received warnings from law enforcement agencies; however, they proceeded to unfurl a banner and chant slogans condemning state actions. The protest also included speeches accusing the state of war crimes and human rights violations. After concluding their statements, they dispersed. There were no incidents that occurred; the protest was entirely peaceful.
More than two years later, 18 out of approximately 200 lawyers present received an indictment, charging them with “disseminating propaganda in favor of a terrorist organization”, as defined by Article 7/2 of the Counter-terrorism Law No. 3713. The case was then heard before two different High Criminal Courts in Istanbul. Although the lawyers were acquitted in the trial, the proceedings lasted for years.
PEN Norway’s Turkey Indictment Project:
PEN Norway’s Turkey Indictment Project has since 2020 brought together legal experts and academics from Turkey and Europe to study indictments in cases of journalists and civil society actors in Turkey.
The experts have compared the indictments to the requirements set out in Turkey’s Penal Code, and the European Convention on Human Rights and the UN Guidelines for Prosecutors. The findings illustrates that the indictments do not meet national or international legal standards.
