The Observatory has been informed about the threats against human rights lawyers Messrs. Erdoğan Akdoğdu, member of the Progressive Lawyers Association (Çağdaş Hukukçular Derneği - ÇHD), and Mehdi Zana Akkaya,
member of the Association of Lawyers for Freedom (Özgürlük için
Hukukçular Derneği - ÖHD), who have taken up torture cases in the
aftermath of the deadly earthquakes of February 6, 2023, which caused
the death of over 52,000 people and left thousands more injured and
displaced in Turkey and Syria. This humanitarian crisis prompted
President Erdoğan to enact a three-month state of emergency in the affected areas, which led to disproportionate restrictions to fundamental freedoms and abuses by law enforcement.
On February 12, 2023, Erdoğan Akdoğdu and Mehdi Zana Akkaya met with
their client S.G. at the Altınözü Gendarmerie Station, south of Turkey,
where he was detained, to represent him in the investigation and
document acts of torture he and his brother A.G. had been subjected to
while in detention. During the meeting both human rights lawyers were
repeatedly interrupted by gendarmerie officers, and one officer
threatened them "with the same fate" as their client and his brother.
Furthermore, the Gendarmerie prepared a report against Mr. Akdoğdu for
taking photographs documenting the torture his client faced.
A.G. and S.G. were detained on February 11, 2023, in their houses in
the Büyükburç village in Altınözü, Hatay, under charges of “plunder” and
“theft”, before being taken to the Altınözü Gendarmerie Station. In
violation of procedural rights, they were not taken to the hospital for
health control at the beginning of the detention. Relatives and local
witnesses stated that they were both healthy and unharmed when they were
detained. On the same day, their father İ.G learned his son A.G. died
shortly after being admitted to a hospital. The autopsy report indicates
cuts and bruises in several places in A.G.’s body, broken nose and ribs
and brain haemorrhage. Gendarmerie officers alleged that these severe
injuries and wounds were the result of a mob battering and self-harm,
namely head banging. The final cause of death will be determined by the
Council of Forensic Medicine based on findings of the autopsy. İ.G.
filed a criminal complaint for the death of his son A.G., and the
Prosecutor subsequently launched an investigation.
When Erdoğan Akdoğdu and Mehdi Zana Akkaya visited their client S.G.
in Altınözü Gendarmerie Station on February 12, 2023, they saw visible
signs of beating and violence on S.G.’s body, including a swollen nose,
cuts on his face, bruises and injuries in his feet and hands. S.G.
stated that he was tortured and subjected to sexual violence, including
testicle twisting, threats of rape using batons, and attempted rape. He
stated that after his health seriously deteriorated, the Gendarmerie
took him to the hospital in Adana, where he received some treatment, and
later brought him back to the station where he met with his lawyers. It
is during this meeting that the two lawyers were threatened by a
Gendarmerie officer.
On February 14, 2023, S.G. was released under judicial control. He
identified the officers who tortured him, and three gendarmerie
personnel were suspended from duty. The prosecutor launched an
investigation into the torture of S.G.
At the time of publication of this Urgent Appeal, a criminal
complaint had yet to be filed against the gendarmerie personnel who
threatened the lawyers.
The Observatory notes with great concern that in the aftermath of the
deadly earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, there have been several reports
and videos circulating on social media showing violent beatings of
people alleged to be “looters”, including by people assumed to be police
officers due to their uniforms. Refugees, and especially Syrian
refugees, are particularly targeted with such accusations, hate speech
and threats of violence on social media by far-right politicians and
groups. The three-month state of emergency declared in the ten provinces
affected by the earthquake seriously risks deteriorating the situation,
given Turkey’s track record of widespread human rights violations and
abuse of state of emergency legislation during 2016-2018.
The Observatory deplores the death in detention of A.G. and the acts
of torture committed against him and his brother S.G., and urges the
authorities to carry out immediate, thorough, and impartial
investigations into these acts. The Observatory recalls that full respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms must be ensured in the aftermath of the earthquake, and that no exceptional circumstances may be invoked to justify any act of torture.
The Observatory strongly condemns the threats against lawyer Erdoğan
Akdoğdu and Mehdi Zana Akkaya, which are only aimed at preventing them
from exercising their legitimate activities as human rights lawyers and
documenting instances of torture.
The Observatory urges the authorities in Turkey to carry out an
immediate, thorough and impartial investigation into the threats against
Erdoğan Akdoğdu and Mehdi Zana Akkaya and to ensure that all human
rights lawyers and human rights defenders in Turkey are able to carry
out their legitimate human rights activities without any hindrance or
fear of reprisals. The Observatory further urges the authorities to
guarantee the safety, physical integrity and psychological well-being of
all human rights defenders, including lawyers, documenting cases of
torture and ill-treatment, representing survivors and seeking justice
for these human rights violations.
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