On 16 June 2020, unknown perpetrators broke into Human Rights Association co-chair and woman rights defender Eren Keskin in Istanbul. Referring to this incident, Wadih Al-Asmar, President of EuroMed Rights said: “EuroMed Rights shares the concerns of our member organisation, the Human Rights Association. This act can be considered as a direct threat to Eren Keskin’s … Continued
On 15 May 2020, the administration of the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) forcibly sent 100 Syrian refugees, including unaccompanied children, to Mersin, Turkey. They have been transferred to Kilis, near the Syrian border, where they are now. Most of the 100 Syrian refugees – 56 – are children and women and girls … Continued
Even the COVID-19 cannot stop politics. The recently adopted “Amnesty Law” in Turkey is another proof of the authorities’ relentless crackdown undertaken to quiet dissident voices. While 90,000 inmates were freed, 50,000 held on bogus terrorism charges have been left aside. Among them are journalists, politicians, human rights defenders, students or simply critics of the … Continued
Interview with Alev Özkazanç, visiting Scholar at the University of Oxford with the research project on anti-gender movements and gender violence in Europe and Turkey How would you define anti-gender politics in Turkey? Firstly, I must say that the term “anti-gender” and “gender ideology” did not exist in the vocabulary of Turkish gender politics until … Continued
In the last few years, the number of “backlashes” against women and LGBTQI+ persons’ rights across the world have risen. One of those growing anti-equality forces gathers under the common rejection of “gender ideology”. “Gender ideology” is used as an empty signifier which manages to gather many different movements under a shared resistance to progressive … Continued
Refugees are currently being used as pawns in the global power play surrounding the war in Syria. In Idlib, nearly a million people, including many children, are still trapped under heavy bombardments in front of a closed Turkish border. There are currently 3.5 million refugees in Turkey from Syria and a further half a million … Continued
For the Turkish version, click here. The fifth hearing of the Gezi trial will resume on 28 January 2020, on the same day as the Universal Periodic Review of Turkey at the United Nations Human Rights Council. Sixteen civil society figures will be tried for “attempting to overthrow the government or partially or wholly … Continued
The fourth hearing in Turkey’s political and unjust trial of 16 civil society activists and human rights defenders is scheduled for December 24 before an Istanbul court. The defendants, who include civil society leader Osman Kavala, artists, filmmakers, architects, and NGO workers, are accused of conspiring to overthrow the Turkish government by allegedly organising the … Continued
Read joint NGO Submission to the Universal Periodic Review On the occasion of our meeting of 18-20 October 2019 in Brussels, we, members of EuroMed Rights Executive Committee, want to express our deep concerns about the judicial harassment faced by our colleague and friend, Mr Osman İşçi, Secretary General of the Human Rights Association (IHD), … Continued
UPDATE – At the end of 8 October’s hearing, the judge ruled for the continuation of Osman Kavala’s pre-trial detention. The next and fourth hearing is scheduled for 24-25 December 2019. At the date of the fourth hearing, Mr Kavala will have spent more than 780 days behind bars. EuroMed Rights condemns the continued judicial … Continued
