J4J concerned by the arrest and ongoing detention of two Turkish judges

Judges for Judges is very concerned by the arrest and ongoing detention of two Turkish judges Metin Özçelik and Mustafa Başer since April 30th and the 1st of May respectively.

In a society based on the rule of law it is the duty of the government to respect and protect the independence of the judiciary. But we are alarmed by this apparent serious interference with the work of these judges in politically sensitive cases.

This because there are serious indications that these two judges were arrested and detained as a result of decisions they made while discharging their professional duties rather than on evidence of criminal activity.

Tamara Trotman had a meeting in Istanbul on July 27th 2015 with Başer’s and Özçelik’s lawyers Hacer Yilmaz and Önder Durdu. Afterwards there was a pressconference in front of the Court in Istanbul where both lawyers made statements about the cases of their clients.