Margaret Owen OBE, who yesterday observed a KCK trial of lawyers in Istanbul
along with four other lawyers from the UK, has written a blog detailing her
observations:
Blog from Istanbul, Turkey
By Margaret Owen
December 20, 2013
Our bus, carrying the international delegation of lawyers, from UK,
France, Germany and the Netherlands - diminished now in numbers
compared to the size of the delegation in previous hearings (being so
close to Christmas) - left Istanbul at 7.30am and arrived at the
Silivri Court room, in the prison complex by the Sea of Marmara, by
9.30 on Thursday, the 19th December.
This is the 7th hearing of the trial of 45 Kurdish lawyers under
Turkey's anti-terrorism Legislation. Each time we hope for the case
will be dismissed and all the defendants acquitted, or at least all
those in prison be granted bail.
We are on this ride, most of us for the 7th time, so we are familiar
with the landscape as we travel out of the city and through its
suburban sprawl for 90 minutes. The outskirts of Istanbul becoming
uglier on each journey as the once green land sprouts ever-increasing
high rise concrete apartment blocks stretching into the horizon, often
shoddily constructed, making billionaires out of construction moguls,
some of whom, close associates of Prime Minister Erdogan, have just,
in the last week, been arrested on corruption charges.
These recent arrests reflect the political tensions in Erdogan's
authoritarian government, of concern to many Turkish citizens as well
as its Kurds. The political opposition to Erdogan covers a wide
spectrum of complex issues, including the humanitarian disaster in
Syria, Turkey's role in supporting the opposition there, and, of
course, the continuing question of whether it really wants to solve
its Kurdish problem and make peace non-violently, using dialogue and
negotiation, rather than the gun, and the continual silencing and
persecution of its Kurdish population. These trials of lawyers, in a
country which hosts over 10,000 political prisoners, are, declared
several of the advocates, shaming Turkey's reputation abroad. They
begged the judge to be aware of our presence as international
observers in his court and to show more respect to us by allowing us
to sit nearer to the bench so we could better follow the proceedings.
The corridors of the Court house are crowded with the families of the
defendants. 15 of the 45 lawyers, whose alleged crime is that they
represent the imprisoned Kurdish leader, Abdullah Ocalan, have been in
prison for more than 2 years. Others have spent many months in
detention, and when occasional releases on bail have been granted, no
reasons are given and these decisions appear to have no logical basis.
All are accused of being members or on the board of a "Leadership
Committee" which the Prosecutor declares is an arm of the PKK, and is
covertly delivering terrorist typed messages to it from the imprisoned
Kurdish leader.
My previous blogs have detailed the facts that demonstrate so clearly
that this trial, like the many other long-drawn out ones going on
across Turkey, is a political one, and patently unfair. There is
without doubt, no evidence for these allegations. The Prosecution has
called not a single witness. Moreover, the arrests of the lawyers
breach Turkey's own domestic laws, international standards on the
rights of lawyers, and articles of the ECHR.
As before, we, along with the families, are herded into the very back
seats of the vast courtroom from where it is quite impossible to even
make out, unless you have telescopic eyes, the figure of the Judge,
Mehmet Kildiz, his co-judges or the Prosecutor. Two big screens will
allow us to see the defendants and their lawyers, but not the Bench or
the Prosecutor.
We must rely on the few friends we have among the latter, and the
wonderful and helpful Ramazan Demir (himself now facing possible
charges over his work as defence lawyer of the journalists indicted
under the Terrorism law in another trial) to provide us with whispered
translations of what is being said in Turkish, translated from the
Kurdish speeches of the defendants.
But this was a special and emotional day for the Kurds for it is the
anniversary of the shocking attack with chemical weapons, in 1999, on
the prison in Istanbul, when many Kurdish prisoners died or were
horribly injured. The defence also recalled the wave of arrests of
lawyers, elected mayors, parliamentarians, academics, journalists, and
NGO activists following the BDP election successes in 2009; and the
massacre of innocent Kurds in Roboski in 2011 where 38 people were
killed including 8 children. This trial, they declaimed, is yet
another example of AKP hypocrisy and perfidy, pretending on the one
hand, to gain international approval, that it is willing to make
peace, and on the other hand using the lawyers as "hostages" in its
war with the Kurds.
As the defendants came up through the door in the front section of the
court, several metres in front of us, relatives and small children,
elderly mothers, old fathers and sad brothers waved, tried to shout
greetings to their loved ones. We waved too.
And then the long hearing began, little different from previous ones
but with more fireworks and dramatic political speeches delivered in
Kurdish by lawyers, one of whom was quite Shakespearean in his
gestures making me think of Garrick, Kean and our very own Michael
Mansfield, accompanied by bursts of extreme temper from Judge Mehmet
Kildiz.
It was a very long, tiring and difficult day, with much drama and
anger. Here I have only space and time to report the key issues.
1. There is no presumption of innocence.
2. No examination or cross-examination as there are no witnesses.
3. The judge has never actually seen the so-called digital evidence
upon which much of the prosecution case rests. A woman defence lawyer
skilfully produced a detailed technical analysis of the report by an
internet expert that proved the police claim of digital evidence to be
totally unfounded. The Internet cafe alluded to in the indictment had
CCTV so would have shown the defendant to be there as alleged, and
the photograph showing him in the street outside had no relevance to
the charges; he often walked that street as his office was nearby.
The police never passed on to the court details of the claimed
"digital" evidence, on which the indictment is based, such as
Internet email communications that were supposed to prove that the
defendants were passing on terrorist type messages to PKK agents.
4. Again and again, lawyers have made comments or requests to the
judge that are never answered. The Judge remains silent or simply
answers “No". For example that:
- Ocalan, the principal witness for this prosecution, (for all the
charges concern him and his relationships and conversations with his
lawyers) be brought to court to be examined;
- The court follow the ruling of the Turkish Supreme Court which,
reliant on Article 6 of the ECHR, ruled on a "reasonable" length of
any pre trial detention.
- One defendant is a victim of triple jeopardy. He had twice been
charged and acquitted on the same alleged offence and now, charged
again, is in prison. (Faced with this argument, the Judge simply
shouted " You have no right to accuse people of my court" but made no
other response)
- Give reasons why release on bail has not been granted, and where it
has, on what grounds
- Show respect for the international observers and invite them to sit
nearer the front of the court, so they could better follow the
proceedings
- Delay the closing speech of the Prosecutor until the Judge has
answered the defence arguments
5. The arrests of Kurdish lawyers, journalists, and other peace
activists, occur exactly when the peace negotiations between the AKP
and Ocalan come to a halt. Harassment, arrests and detention of
these individual journalists, trade unionists, and politicians who
dare to stand up for the human rights of the Kurds appear to have a
direct connection with the degree to which the AKP is genuine about
wishing to resolve the Kurdish problem by peaceful means.
6. It is ludicrous that the defendants are indicted for visiting Ocalan
in his island prison, and having discussions with him as his lawyers,
(often in the presence of a government agent, and these confidential
discussions bugged and taped) when the AKP and the BDP are visiting
him. Their visits are lawful, but the lawyers’ visits are criminal.
7. The defendants, as Ocalan's advocates were "simply doing their
professional job". Their conversations with their client were
"privileged".
Finally. Around 7pm. The court was adjourned and the defendants
left the court, the 15 detainees taken back to the prison in the vans,
nobody knowing whether any of them would be released.
The prosecutor, for the first time this day, opened his mouth to tell
us that since he was new to the case, having only been appointed to it
for the 6th hearing in September, he was unable to make a closing
speech since he had yet to read the full indictment. Gasps of
disbelief from everyone at this admission. He has had over 3 months
to read the documents whilst innocent lawyers are kept in harsh
detention for over two years.
After 30 minutes we returned, to hear from the Judge that 5 detainees
would be released on bail. Again, no reasons were given.
The case is now adjourned until April 8th, with the possibility that
the next hearing will accommodate some of the other trials of lawyers,
facing similar charges, elsewhere. These trials could continue for
years.
We left Istanbul no happier. Still 10 lawyers, as many of us sit down
to enjoy our Christmas dinner, with our family and friends, will be
starting a third year in a cold, hard, and wretched prison. What
sort of peace with the Kurds is Erdogan intending?
Alas, I have not done justice to the marvellous oratory of the
defendants and their lawyers, women and men advocates, and the
multiple and appalling examples of injustice, and absence of due
process duly exposed. My notes are copious and I wish I had more
space and time to write more fully.
But I am now off to Rojava, to work with the PYD and the Syrian
Kurdish women to ensure they are participants in any Syrian peace
process and that UN SCR 1325 will be adhered to by all actors in it.
I also intend, in the next few months, to have learnt sufficient
Kurmamji. Kurdish to understand the defendants speeches at the 8th
hearing next April, and one day to make a speech in this beautiful
and ancient tongue on the streets of Ankara and Istanbul.
Margaret Owen O.B.E. Barrister. Peace in Kurdistan
---
For more information on the KCK trial delegation, contact:
Peace in Kurdistan Campaign for a political solution of the Kurdish QuestionEmail: estella24@tiscali.co.uk <mailto:estella24@tiscali.co.uk>
www.peaceinkurdistancampaign.wordpress.com
Contacts Estella Schmid 020 7586 5892 & Melanie Sirinathsingh - Tel: 020 7272 7890
Fax: 020 7263 0596
Patrons: Lord Avebury, Lord Rea, Lord Dholakia, Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP, Jill Evans MEP, Jean Lambert MEP, Jeremy Corbyn MP, Hywel Williams MP, Elfyn Llwyd MP, Conor Murphy MP, John Austin, Bruce Kent, Gareth Peirce, Julie Christie, Noam Chomsky, John Berger, Edward Albee, Margaret Owen OBE, Prof Mary Davis, Mark Thomas
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