Turkey: demanding the release of activists and a fair and impartial judgment

The trial of more than 30 Turkish activists has started in the city of Izmir, today (19), and will last up to tomorrow. The proceedings are being followed by an international delegation of 40 people, composed by members of the International Trade Union Confederation, trade unions centrals from various countries, World March of Women activists and the Lawyers without Borders network, besides hundreds of Turkish trade union, women’s and human rights activists.

All of them were arrested in the months of May and June, and had not been informed of the reasons for their detention. The legal process was kept confidential and only recently the lawyers had access to the files. The total number of detained are 22 people (10 women and 12 men); the others were released and are now waiting for the trial. Four of the women on trial are members of the World March of Women: Elif Akgul, former women’s secretary of the Teachers Union, and Yuskel Mutlu, retired teacher and member of the Human Rights Association and the Turkish Peace Assembly; Songul Morsumbul, women’s secretary of KESK (Confederation of Public Employees Trade unions of Turkey) and Gulcin Isbert, member of Egitim-Sen, the Teachers Union.

Miriam Nobre, WMW International Secretariat coordinator, reports that, in this first session of the trial, the prosecution presented as the reason for the charge the fact that a central of a trade union was being established and that its members are connected to members of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party), considered illegal in Turkey. However, Miriam says that the way the trial is being conducted leads to the intention of restricting trade union activities: “the ‘evidences’ presented by the prosecution are passenger flight lists, meetings reports, emails, phone calls, actions that are part of a union’s everyday life”. Miriam also points out to the fact that, when summarizing the arguments of the defense, the judge stated that he believes it is the same thing to carry out an”action“or an”illegal action".

From the beginning, the defense demanded the suspension of the trial, which is in contravention with all relevant international conventions ratified by Turkey, and also informed that they will appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.

Yesterday, 18^th, the WMW in Europe has organized actions in front of Turkish embassies and consulates around the continent. Sisters from Portugal report that demonstrators were received in the embassy by a high number of police officers, with stone proof cars, and some of them with machine guns. A committee composed of four members of the WMW was received by a person of the Embassy, who made a speech indicating that a conviction is already pre-defined.

The WMW requests to all its members and allied movements to keep the pressure on the diplomatic representations and Turkish government to demand the release of all those in prison (most of them civil workers with a known address) besides demanding a fair and impartial judgment and the end to the repression of oppositional movements.

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Read the complete declaration and call to action sent by the WMW European Coordination: Solidarity with activist trade unionists in Turkey on the eve of their trial (19^th-20^th November 2009)

and previous information of the case in the following link:
http://www.worldmarchofwomen.org/structure/cn-groupes/europe/turquie/declaration11122009/en