The
Observatory has been informed by the Human Rights Association (İHD)
and the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (HRFT) about the acts of
harassment and threats against Eren
Keskin,
a human rights lawyer and the co-Chairperson of İHD, member
organisation of FIDH and OMCT. For thirty years, Eren Keskin has
contributed to the protection of minority rights, countered violence
against women, and campaigned to challenge militarism and end
torture. She is the founder of a legal office providing pro bono
services for transgender persons and women who were raped or sexually
abused by the national security forces. Eren Keskin is the winner of
multiple international awards for her peace and human rights work,
including the 2018
Helsinki Civil Society Award,
and was a finalist
of the Martin
Ennals Award
for Human Rights Defenders in 2019.
On
January 8, 2024, X (formerly Twitter) accounts close to the
ultra-nationalist movement started to share posts using a photo of
Eren Keskin taken during a press conference for the Armenian Genocide
Remembrance Day on April 24, 2023, in which she participated. These
accounts with large number of followers directly targeted Eren Keskin
and the İHD in a smear campaign due to their criticism of Turkey’s
denial of the Armenian Genocide and failure to apologise and provide
reparations. In replies to and via re-sharing of these posts,
numerous threats and insults were directed at Eren Keskin, other
people who took part in the press conference, and the İHD. Such
violent rhetoric was also shared from the official account of the
Kocaeli Branch of the ultra-nationalist Victory Party (Zafer
Partisi), furthering the gravity of the organised attacks.
On
January 9, 2024, the same photo was shared by Semih Tufan Gülaltay,
responsible for the planning and instigation of an assassination
attempt against former İHD Chairperson, Akın
Birdal,
in 1998, on his X account alongside an insulting and threatening
caption directly targeting Eren Keskin.
On
January 10, 2024, Eren Keskin’s attorneys filed a criminal
complaint with the Istanbul Anatolian Chief Public Prosecutor's
Office.
The
Observatory recalls that since its establishment in 1986, 23 members
and executives of İHD have lost
their lives
as a result of extrajudicial killings. Between 1998 and 2002, two
chairpersons of the association were attacked at the headquarters of
the association, including Akın Birdal, who was subjected to an
armed attack on May 12, 1998. Akın Birdal was in critical condition
and survived after being in intensive care for a long time. Semih
Tufan Gülaltay was arrested on June 2, 1998, and he was convicted
for the crime of “deliberately premeditated attempt to kill” Akın
Birdal, carrying a prison sentence of 19 years. Mr Gülaltay
benefited from conditional release after four and a half years behind
bars.
In
this context, given the organised structure of the smear campaign
against Eren Keskin and İHD, as well as Semih Tufan Gülaltay’s
involvement in it, the Observatory expresses its utmost concern over
the serious and imminent nature of the threats Eren Keskin and the
organisation face.
The
Observatory finally recalls that Eren Keskin has been continuously
judicially
harassed
and intimidated
for the past decades because of her peaceful human rights activities
and exercise of freedom of expression.
The
Observatory condemns the harassment and threats against Eren Keskin
and İHD, and urges the authorities
of Turkey
to carry out an immediate, thorough and impartial investigation into
the harassment and threats against Eren Keskin, İHD and its members,
while ensuring their protection, and bring the perpetrators to
justice in accordance with international standards.
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