Murat Arslan, the President of YARSAV (the dissolved Turkish Association of Judges and Prosecutors) and awarded with the Václav-Havel Human Rights prize in 2017, has written this letter to the President of Judges for Judges. He has been detained since October 2016 and was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. His case is now pending before the Constitutional Court in Turkey. Continue reading Letter from Judge Murat Arslan
Category Archives: Turkije
Letter to the members of the European Commission and European Council
On 3rd January 2022, the Platform for Turkey, represented by the Presidents of the 4 main European Associations of Judges (Association of European Administrative Judges, AEAJ; the European Association of Judges, EAJ; Judges for Judges and Magistrates Européens pour la Démocratie et les Libertés, MEDEL), addressed a Letter to the members of the European Commission and European Council, demanding action to restore the Rule of Law in Turkey and to end the witch-hunt against judges. Continue reading Letter to the members of the European Commission and European Council
Online evenement over situatie in Turkije
De International Commission of Jurists, de Amsterdamse Orde van Advocaten, Lawyers for Lawyers en Rechters voor Rechters organiseren op 5 oktober van 16.00 tot 17.30 uur een online evenement over de situatie van rechters en advocaten in Turkije.
Five years of devastations to Rule of Law in Turkey
The Rule of Law has been suspended in Turkey for the last five years. In the tragic backsliding that followd the attempted Coup d’État of 15 July 2016, the Turkish judiciary has seen one of its darkest pages: the dismissal of thousands of judges and prosecutors, long imprisonments in life endangering detention conditions after unfair trials, and socially stigmatized and economically threatened families.
The Platform for an Independent Judiciary in Turkey, consisting of the four major judicial associations in Europe, in an official statement directed at the Council of Europe and the European Commission therefore:
- continues to stand in solidarity behind the unlawfully and illegally detained and/or dismissed Turkish judges and prosecutors;
- strongly urges the European institutions to call on Turkey to provide guarantees and standards for a de iure and de facto independence of the judges and prosecutors as well as to take responsibility to demand so in their various partnerships and relations with Turkey;
- strongly urges the European institutions to call on Turkey to carry out the European Court judgments and to review all decisions for dismissal of Turkish judges or prosecutors since 15 July 2016 and all pre-trial detention orders and criminal convictions regarding membership of an illegal organization.
International Fair Trial Day: call on Turkey
June 14th marks International Fair Trial Day. Focus country for this inaugural edition is Turkey. In a joint statement, Judges for Judges and 92 other legal organisations call on the Turkish authorities to implement ten steps and on the international community to increase its efforts.
Continue reading International Fair Trial Day: call on Turkey
Eerste nieuwsbrief van 2021 verschenen
Vandaag is de eerste nieuwsbrief van het nieuwe jaar verschenen. Daarin staan verhalen van diverse rechters uit Polen en Turkije, plus een interview voor een project van ‘The Arrested Lawyers Initiative‘.
Reports on torture and ill-treatment in Turkey
The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment of the Council of Europe has recently published two reports on Turkey. The Platform for an Independent Judiciary in Turkey believes these observations support its repeated warnings against the ill-treatment of imprisoned Turkish judges and prosecutors. It therefore appeals to the Turkish authorities, the European Commission and the Council of Europe with reconfirmed determination in this official statement.
Turkey – four years of dismantlement of the rule of law
Four years ago, on July 15th 2016, a failed coup d’état in Turkey set in motion an unprecedented and orchestrated campaign to destroy the Rule of Law and the independence of the Judiciary. Today, Platform for the independence of the judiciary in Turkey reaffirms its solidarity and support to all those judges, prosecutors and lawyers in Turkey that are truly independent and are engaged in the struggle for a free judiciary and the return of the rule of law in Turkey.
Continue reading Turkey – four years of dismantlement of the rule of law
Letter to Turkish authorities on ‘crisis parole’
The Turkish authorities have drafted an ‘early parole law’ in response to the corona virus crisis. The Platform for an Independent Judiciary in Turkey urges those responsible to consider judges and prosecutors on the same grounds as other prisoners – without bias or predefined restriction. Continue reading Letter to Turkish authorities on ‘crisis parole’
European Commission on Murat Arslan and Turkey
The European Commission has sent a letter to the Platform for an Independent Judiciary in Turkey, regarding the conviction of judge Murat Arslan and the general situation in Turkey. Judges for Judges cites and posts this response on its website.
Continue reading European Commission on Murat Arslan and Turkey