After the Gezi protests in June 2013, Turkey’s strong man President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has changed his path from democracy to an authoritarian rule. Since then, Mr. Erdogan has been gradually consolidating his power. To this end, he has silenced the free press, intimidated the opponents, dismissed more than 130,000 public servants, and put around 60 thousands dissidents in jail, including journalists and academics. Currently, Turkey is jailing more journalists than any other nation.

In order to establish his authoritarian rule in a country which has been an EU candidate, a member of the NATO, and part of the Western world for decades, Mr. Erdogan continuously breached the Turkish law, even the constitution. He abolished the rule of law, destroyed the long lasting customary practices in the functioning of the state, and violated well established rules and norms in Turkey.

With his increasing self-confidence stemming from his success at demolishing democracy and establishing one man rule at home, Mr. Erdogan step up to the next level, and began violating international rules and norms. He has used inappropriate language -amounting to insulting and even threatening- towards Turkey’s allies in many occasions. For example, he called the German authorities “Nazis” and the Dutch “Nazi remnants”. Mr. Erdogan many times accused the Western countries of supporting terrorism. He even threatened the Europeans saying that (if Europe does not change its policy towards Turkey) “no Europeans in any part of the world will be able to walk the streets safely”. Due to President Erdogan’s political rhetoric quite frequently accusing the West to make plots against Turkey -Mr. Erdogan and his followers blame the U.S. and NATO for the failed coup in July 2016 too- today anti-Western and anti-American sentiments in Turkey reached at a historical high point.

As a violation of international law by Mr. Erdogan’s government, Turkish spies and diplomatic agents abducted around one hundred dissidents across the world, such as in Sudan, Gabon, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Myanmar and Saudi Arabia. It was revealed that Turkish spy agency (MIT) had planned similar plots even in Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands. Recently, Turkish agents abducted a Gulenist school principal in Mongolia. Mongolian authorities did not allow the agents to take the principal out of the country, and they officially protested Turkey over its “unacceptable act of violation of Mongolia’s sovereignty and independence”.

A new trend in President Erdogan’s foreign policy making is hostage-taking. After the failed coup attempt in July 2016, Mr. Erdogan has jailed a great number of foreign nationals. Among them are numerous German citizens including journalists and human rights activists, two Greek soldiers, around twenty U.S. nationals including an Evangelist pastor and a NASA scientist, and also local staff of the American Consulates in Turkey, as well as many others from various countries. Mr. Erdogan’s tactic is putting them behind bars over trumped up accusations and using them as bargaining chips in Turkey’s bilateral ties with their home countries.

Because of such illegal and immoral practices Mr. Erdogan’s government resorted to and of Erdogan’s increasing authoritarianism and massive crackdown in Turkey, many analysts and commentators currently list Turkey among the rouge states. In the 2000s it was unimaginable to consider Turkey in the same league with North Korea, Iran and Syria, because in those years Turkey under Mr. Erdogan’s rule was implementing democratic reforms which were quite often being praised by the West.

Mr. Erdogan’s hostage diplomacy over American pastor Andrew Brunson currently led to a serious row between Turkey and the U.S. Already troubled relations between the two countries have hit an all-time low. Mr. Erdogan, by using the pastor as a bargaining chip, aims to reach more than one goals. In return for the release of pastor Brunson, Mr. Erdogan asked the American side -release of a Turkish journalist detained in Israel over allegedly providing financial support to Hamas, -extradition of Turkish citizen Hakan Atilla, former deputy general manager of Halkbank, who has been sentenced to 32 months in a U.S. court in Iran sanctions-busting case, -keeping the expected fine on Halkbank at a low amount, -closing two new investigations in the U.S. on Turkey’s violation of American sanctions on Iran. It is reported that these two new investigations might involve members of Erdogan’s inner circle.

When he addressed President Trump in a public statement, President Erdogan himself made it clear that pastor Brunson’s imprisonment was not a judicial but a political decision to use him as a bargaining chip. “Give me the pastor (implying Fethullah Gulen), and I will give you the pastor (Brunson)”, Mr. Erdogan said.

Germany too had to deal with Mr. Erdogan’s hostage diplomacy early this year. After German officials mentioned possible sanctions on Turkey, some meetings took place between the two sides, and subsequently German journalist Deniz Yucel was released from the prison. However, what concessions German government made in this bargaining has not been disclosed. This initiated a hot debate in Germany. Many criticized the German government over this deal and Deniz Yucel himself, besides others, called it a “dirty deal”.

Having seen that his hostage diplomacy bears fruit, Mr. Erdogan continued to seek reaching his goals using this immoral tactic. Pastor Brunson crisis is, in a way, the result of Mr. Erdogan’s victory in his hostage diplomacy in Deniz Yucel case.

Therefore, the U.S. administration should not reward Mr. Erdogan’s hostage diplomacy by meeting his demands using an innocent preacher as a bargaining chip. If President Trump gives in to Mr. Erdogan’s immoral tactic, Mr. Erdogan would most probably keep ruining many innocent people’s lives to reach his goals.

Even worse is that President Erdogan’s success in his hostage diplomacy would set a negative example for other countries, and encourage other leaders who have authoritarian tendencies to follow the same path. This would not only risk many innocent people’s lives, but also destruct established and respected international rules and norms of conducting foreign relations. It would damage international order by making it less predictable and more chaotic. This is not something the countries would desire, especially the democratic ones.

PPJ- 28 January 2018

In the light of recent developments, European politicians who closely observe Turkey have been discussing the prioritization of economy over values. While some argue that economic relations must play role of anchor with Turkey even though political failure leads the country in conflict with the Union. On the other hand, some prominent politicians criticize pragmatist approach of the EU leadership while Turkey’s descent into lack of rule of law is obvious.

Kati Piri, the European Parliament Turkey Rapporteur, made interesting statements to online news platform AHVAL. Piri said that renewing Customs Union might have been a technical debate if it were discussed a few years ago. Now, Piri stressed, it is very much about the failure of the the rule of law and judicial independence. Hence, for a better Customs Union, the EU needs to make sure that some positive signals must come from the Turkish side to make possible the Customs Union Renewal.

Cem Ozdemir, co-chair of the German political party Alliance ’90/The Greens, is another European politician who expressed his frustration against the lack of loyalty to the European values on the part of some European politicians. Ozdemir criticized German FM Gabriel over his remark linking arm trade to journalist Deniz Yucel’s release. According to Ozdemir, this kind of populist policies is betrayal to Turkey’s genuine democrats.

Platform for Peace and Justice (PPJ) has just released its report examining the state of emergency decree laws published in aftermath of the failed coup of July 15 2016. The report shows that the state of emergency decree laws dismissing tens of thousands of civil servants and bringing about comprehensive changes in the judicial and bureaucratic system were promulgated in a very short time following the declaration of the state of emergency. This calls into serious doubt that they were prepared in advance and waited for a suitable time and backdrop. This strengthens the possibility that a dictatorial power who had been preparing for a long time to change the regime and the state apparatus was planning to create the reasons for the state of emergency.

The report underlines that a new regime is being built by the AKP government by means of State of Emergency Decree Laws. A number of unlawful practices have been institutionalized issuing decree laws which establish an antidemocratic authoritarian regime says the report.

Download Construction of a New Regime By Decree Laws

Turkish-Iranian gold trader Reza Zarrab, who was arrested last year in Miami on charges of violating US sanctions against Iran, bank fraud and money laundering, is now cooperating with US federal prosecutors and has dropped a bombshell by making allegations against Turkish officials, including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Among other confessions, the 34-year-old admitted to paying over €50 million in bribe to erstwhile economy minister Zafer Caglayan and claimed that Erdogan had personally instructed two Turkish banks to facilitate his multi-billion sanctions busting scheme. This testimony has far-reaching implications and has thus sent tremors through Turkish political circles.

The Turkish government has responded by saying that the ongoing prosecution in the United States is influenced by the reclusive US-based Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gulen – a claim dismissed by the judge sitting over the trial, Richard Berman, as “an illogical foreign conspiracy theory”.

Erdogan regime went the extra mile in freeing Zarrab when he was arrested in Turkey in late 2013 on partly similar charges. The officers leading investigation against him were initially dismissed or transferred and now have been either put behind bars or forced to leave the country.

Even after the arrest of Zarrab in the United States in 2016, the Erdogan regime left no stone unturned to set him free. Besides exerting diplomatic pressure on both Obama and Trump administrations, they held American citizens as hostage in Turkey and secretly offered a deal whereby the Americans would be released in exchange for Zarrab. As they failed to achieve the desired outcome, they are now absurdly accusing the US judiciary of being under the influence of  Gulen.

The Turkish government is clearly nervous as to where this trial is heading and who else will be subjected to legal action by the US judiciary. Their anxiety has increased significantly also because a former Turkish top cop, Huseyin Korkmaz, who was briefly arrested for initiating a probe against Zarrab in Turkey testified during the trial that the police in Istanbul referred to Erdogan as “number one” as they investigated Zarrab and his partners.

Such hard-hitting revelations are surely heralding tough days for Erdogan whose relations with the West is already strained due to increasing authoritarianism at home and support to radical terrorist groups in the Middle East. But regardless of what comes their way in the future, the brunt of their frustration and anger at these developments right now is highly likely to be faced by tens of thousands of innocent citizens who have been incarcerated in Turkey for their alleged Gulen link, without a shred of evidence of any wrongdoings.

In a column published in staunchly pro-government Turkish language newspaper Yeni Safak, a former senior advisor to president Erdogan and a ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) MP, Aydin Unal, wrote:

There are more than 250,000 ‘brainless’ FETO members [a derogatory term coined by the Erdogan regime for Gulen Movement] who did not or could not flee, and their almost one million family members in Turkey. The Zarrab case will naturally make the lives of FETO members even more difficult.

A week later on December 4, in another op-ed for the same newspaper, Unal threatened Turkish journalists covering the Manhattan trial with extrajudicial killings.

During a live TV show, Cem Kucuk, an infamous Erdoganist motor-mouth, urged authorities to use waterboarding and other techniques of torture on those in prison for alleged Gulen link. He also exhorted the country’s intelligence agency to kill some of their family members in order to turn them into operatives for the Erdogan regime.

Given instances of torture in prisons and government abetted abduction of many citizens in broad daylight over the past one year, such threats coming from figures close to the country’s president only reinforces the view that the Turkish government is not shy of employing mafia tactics in order to supress dissenting voices in Turkey and abroad.

It’s only a matter of time before they are made to pay for their crimes, but for now those in their clutches are facing life-threatening risks. Those victims deserve our sincere solidarity and support.

  PPJ- Brussels, 4 December 2017

The Expert Council on NGO Law of the Council of Europe published an opinion on “The Impact of the State of Emergency on Freedom of Association in Turkey”  on 30 November 2017.

Life-threatening pressure 

The Opinion underlines that “the Council of Europe values stated above have been under increasing life-threatening pressure in Turkey since the Government declared the State of
Emergency sixteen months ago.”

“Legal analyses and the ensuing conclusions show incontrovertibly that Turkey—a country of immense geopolitical, historical and cultural importance—is contradicting, even abandoning, its march along the path of democracy, human rights and the rule of law.” the Opinion stated.

Direct attack on the backbone of human rights

The Opinion underscores that the Turkish authorities are conducting ‘a direct attack on the backbone of human rights’ as Amnesty International has rightly stated.

“The principal victims of this attack are to be found in the ranks of NGOs, academia and the media, namely the organs of society to which a government should look for partnership in upholding human values and fostering active citizenship.” said the Opinion.

This Expert Council Opinion pinpoints examples of the existence of a legal vacuum, of legal uncertainty, of abuse of power, of impunity, of arbitrariness, of denial of judicial review, of an absence of proportionality, of partiality, of juridical inconsistencies, even on the part of the Constitutional Court of Turkey.

The Opinion stated that “CoE various bodies—as well as other international organizations—have raised concerns over the continuous prolongation of the state of emergency, and urged the Government to bring it to a conclusion.”

The Opinion reminded that on “24 April 2017 the Parliamentary Assembly of the CoE (‘the PACE’) voted to reopen the monitoring mechanism in respect of Turkey until ‘serious concerns’ over respect for human rights, democracy and the rule of law are addressed in a satisfactory manner.”

The Opinion underlines that “the Venice Commission and the Commissioner of Human Rights of the CoE have both raised profound reservations about the overall compatibility of the Decrees with international standards—and indeed, with pertinent domestic legislation.”

The Opinion also states that “vague language of the rationale for the NGOs dissolution however falls short of the requirement for proportionality and government’s obligation to apply the minimum interference necessary to accomplish the legitimate goal.”

Impartiality of Turkish Constitutional Court was called into question 

The Opinion stresses that impartiality of the Turkish Constitutional Court (TCC) was called into question when TCC dismissed two of its members invoking the Decree no. 667 and citing “the common conviction” of the members of TCC as well as “the information from the social circle” as sufficient grounds for the dismissal on 4 August 2016.

The Opinion points out that “the Opinion of the Venice Commission also details serious problems with regard to the lack of effective legal remedies, including those for dissolved NGOs and other legal entities.”

Inquiry Commission is under the control of the executive branch 

The Opinion underlines that “the composition of the Inquiry Commission for the State of Emergency Measures (“Commission”) does not guarantee its impartiality, given the controlling influence of the executive branch (Government) in this respect. In addition, similar to the administrative courts which are responsible for the review of applications contesting decisions of state authorities, the Commission does not have the power to order a stay of execution for any decision (“transaction”) which originates from the state of emergency. Furthermore, the Decree does not guarantee an independence of the Commission’s members.”

The Opinion expresses profound concern that “while the case log is expected to reach 500.000 applications, that will make it virtually impossible for the Commission to both observe due process and deliver timely justice.”

World leader in jailing journalists 

“Following the coup attempt, the government closed down by decree over 160 media outlets, most linked to the Gülen movement or Kurdish media. The number of journalists in pretrial detention on the basis of their writing and journalistic activities surged to 144 by mid-November, making Turkey once again a world leader in jailing journalists. Presenting no evidence of criminal wrongdoing, authorities detained many reporters and columnists employed by media outlets allegedly linked to Gülen.” the Opinion said.

“The foregoing reports therefore suggest that measures taken during the State of Emergency against NGOs and other segments of civil society have gone beyond the requirement of necessity, and give rise to the political vendetta launched against those that are not deemed sympathetic towards the Government/President’s causes.” the Opinion stated.

The Opinion concludes that “Turkey has fallen short of the foregoing commitments. There are serious substantial and procedural concerns with respect to the Emergency Decree No. 667 (‘Decree’) as well as the other emergency decrees affecting NGOs.”

The Expert Council on NGO Law was created in January 2008 by the Conference of INGOs of the Council of Europe. The Expert Council carries out thematic and country studies on specific aspects of NGO legislation and its implementation that seem to pose problems of conformity with international standards, notably the European Convention on Human Rights and Recommendation (2007)14 on the legal status of NGOs in Europe.

Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE), which represents the bars and law societies of 45 countries and more than 1 million European lawyers, wrote a letter to Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to urge the release of Turkish lawyers in prison.

The letter signed by CCBE President, Ruthven Gemmell, expressed concern regarding the recent convictions of 20 Turkish lawyers in Konya, including the former head of the Konya Bar Association, Fevzi Kayacan, who was sentenced to 10 years and 6 months of imprisonment.

Gemmell also raised concerns on the torture and ill treatment of lawyers in detention.

In the letter, the CCBE also quoted the data regarding number of Turkish lawyers who have been arrested and prosecuted since 2016 July which compiled by The Arrested Lawyers Initiative:

“We understand that the number of lawyers under criminal prosecution in Turkey raised to 1433 and 555 lawyers have been arrested since the coup attempt in July 2016.

In view of the above, the CCBE respectfully urges your Excellency to ensure that all the lawyers mentioned above are released immediately as it is believed that their detention is solely motivated by their activities as lawyers. In addition, the CCBE asks you to take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of lawyers in Turkey as well as their ability to perform their professional duties without fear of reprisal, hindrance, intimidation or harassment.” said the CCBE President, Ruthven Gemmell.

(Source: arrestedlawyers.org )

Access to Justice as a Key Element of the Rule of Law in Turkey

Lack of Access to Justice in Turkey

Venice Commission’s Rule of Law Check List

By PPJ

PACE has pointed to “serious problems” with the rule of law in many Council of Europe member states – singling out five countries where it says some recent developments have “put at risk” respect for the rule of law.

Based on a report by Bernd Fabritius (Germany, EPP/CD), the Assembly said that it had thoroughly examined the situation in Bulgaria, the Republic of Moldova, Poland, Romania and Turkey.

It pointed to problems in particular with “independence of the judiciary and the principle of the separation of powers” in these countries, mainly due to attempts to politicise judicial councils and courts, dismiss judges and prosecutors (or try to) and limit the legislative power of parliaments, as well as the effects of corruption. The Assembly addressed a series of recommendations to each.

Recalling its Resolution 2156 (2017) on the functioning of democratic institutions in Turkey, the Assembly reiterates its deepest concern about the scope of measures taken under the state of emergency and the amendments to the Constitution adopted by the Grand National Assembly on 21 January 2017 and approved in the national referendum of 16 April 2017. It therefore calls on the Turkish authorities to: