KHRP publishes yesterday the observations of its Legal Associate and PhD candidate at Kings College, Saniye Karakas who attended the second stage of the trial of 151 NGO workers, politicians and other activists in Diyarbakir, Turkey.
The trial is significant for the individual defendants, who are widely considered to be respected members of the Kurdish community, with each facing possible jail sentences of 15 years-to-life if found guilty. Further, the timing of the arrests has led many observers to question the state of democracy in Turkey. The large number of defendants, their prolonged detention, the questionable means of collecting evidence, as well as the Court’s attitude towards the use of the Kurdish language in the trial have fanned fears that the accusations are politically motivated rather than based on violations of the law. Therefore, the trial is of a wider significance in terms of the implications it raises regarding democracy in Turkey and the state’s attitude towards a political resolution of the Kurdish question.
KHRP Managing Director, Rachel Bernu, said: “Turkey must take immediate steps to ensure that this ‘Trial of 151’ (and other trials in general) is conducted in accordance with the international legal requirements of a fair trial. Additionally, Turkey must also reassure its public, especially those living in the Kurdish regions, that this trial is not politically motivated nor an attack on political achievement by pro-Kurdish or human rights groups. The first hand trial observations of our own Ms. Karakas certainly do little to combat this perception.”
KHRP’s briefing paper regarding this issue is available to download from our website here.
