CCS wrote to authorities in Turkey to protest the policy of the Istanbul police, as reported by the Istanbul Bar Association, to systematically deny access to legal assistance for protesters as they were arrested. A student of computer engineering, Ismail Cem Bakir, was unable to consult his attorney as police arrested him and raided his home, in violation of his fundamental human rights.
His Excellency Abdullah Gül, President
Office of the President
Cumhurbaşkanlığ ı 06689
Çankaya, Ankara , Republic of TurkeyJuly 26, 2013
Your Excellency:
We are an independent organization of scientists, physicians, engineers and scholars devoted to the protection and advancement of human rights and scientific freedom for colleagues all over the world. We write now in concern for Ismail Cem Bakir and other students arrested in a crackdown on those who participated in antigovernment demonstrations in June.
According to a July 16, 2013 article in the New York Times, the Istanbul Bar Association claims that the police, citing terrorism laws, issued a temporary order withholding legal assistance to detainees and denying them access to their lawyers and families. One of the students who had participated in the protests, Ismail Cem Bakir, a computer student at Istanbul Technical University, was arrested in July. According to his sister, the police confiscated computers, books and magazines and threatened to charge Mr. Bakir’s lawyer, who had come over to assist the family. This event would confirm the Bar Associations’s complaint about the police.
Denial of access to counsel is expressly prohibited by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Turkey is a signatory, as well asby the European Convention on Human Rights, to which Turkey is a party. Bakir’s right to peaceful protest is also protected by the Covenant.
We urge you to investigate this case as well as any others where legal assistance and access to families have been denied to students or other protesters. We also urge you to arrange for the immediate release of Bakir if he is still in jail on the basis of his right to peaceful protest and expression of opinion.
Thank you for your attention,
Sincerely yours,
Eugene Chudnovsky
Alexander Greer
Joel Lebowitz
Walter Reich
Paul PlotzCo-Chairs, Committee of Concerned Scientists
Copies to:
His Excellency Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Prime Minister
Office of the Prime Minister
Basbakanlik 06573
Ankara , Republic of TurkeyHis Excellency Sadullah Ergin
Minister of Justice
Ministry of Justice 06669
Kizilay, Ankara ,Republic of Turkey
(Fax: 90-312-419-33-70)His Excellency Besir Atalay
Minister of Interior
Ministry of Interior
T.C. İçişleri Bakanlığı, Bakanlıklar
Ankara, Republic of TurkeyHis Excellency Dr. Ahmet Davutoglu
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Turkiye Cumhuriyeti Disisleri Bakanligi
Dr. Sadik Ahmed Cad. No. 8
Balgat Ankara 06100His Excellency Nabi Şensoy
Ambassador of Turkey to the United States
Embassy of the Republic of Turkey
2525 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20008The Honorable James F. Jeffrey
U.S. Ambassador to Turkey
Embassy of the United States of America/
Ankara 110 Atatürk Blvd. Kavaklidere, 06100
Ankara, Republic of TurkeyHigh Representative Catherine Ashton
European Union EEAS
COMM-SPP-HRVP-ASHTON@ec.europa.eu
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