On November 25, 2019, hundreds of women gathered in
Istiklal Street in Istanbul, under heavy police presence, to march
on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence
against Women. Although the demonstration was initially
banned by the District Governorate of Beyoglu, following the meetings between
the Istanbul 25 November Women Platform and the District Governorate, the
demonstration was eventually authorised at Tunel Square, at the end of Istiklal
Street. Around 7:00 PM, the protesters gathered in the Square while Istiklal
Street was blocked by the police 140 metres down the square, preventing
protesters from walking down the street. Following a press statement, and as
the crowd was preparing to leave the area, the police attacked the peaceful
protesters with tear gas and plastic bullets. The Police Directorate stated in
its press release that “there was a group of some 50 extremist and LGBTI people in the crowd, who refused to leave
the area in defiance of police orders and who pushed the police barricade”. The
statement also added that “the group was dispersed by shooting tear gas towards
the ground, which” - according to the authorities - “was a proportionate
intervention”, and that “no one was taken into custody”. The Ministry of
Interior Affairs also denied the accusations of police violence against women
protesters.
On December 8, 2019, a group of women gathered in
Kadikoy, Istanbul for a remake of the dance performance “A
Rapist in Your Path”, staged by the Chilean
group Las Tesis to protest violence against women. At this occasion too, the
police used force to disperse the crowd on the grounds that the demonstration
was “illegal” and that the lyrics “the rapist is you, the murderer is you, the
police, the judges, the state, the president” constituted a crime. Six women’s
rights defenders were taken into police custody and released the following day
on probation. Two of them reported bruises as a consequence of alleged
excessive use of force by the police while being taken into custody. All six
faced the accusations of “defamation of the Turkish Republic and its
institutions”, “insulting the President” and “violating the Law on Public
Assemblies and Demonstrations”. On 16 December, after contesting the decision
of conditional release, women gathered in front of the Anadolu Courthouse for a
press statement, but they were again prevented from doing so by the police.
Similar demonstrations have since taken place in
Ankara, Izmir and other parts of Istanbul. On December 12, 2019, women who
gathered in Ankara to perform “A Rapist in Your Path” were dispersed by the
police, and nine women and a journalist were taken into police custody. All
nine were individually fined TRY 320 (approximately EUR 50) pursuant to the
Misdemeanour Law. Additionally, on December 14, 2019, women deputies from the
Republican People’s Party (Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi - CHP) organised a
performance in the National Assembly to show solidarity with the women’s rights
defenders who were targeted because of the performance. The Ministry of
Interior Affairs criticised the deputies saying that it is not necessary to
accuse the police, the judges, the state, the president of being “rapist(s)”
and “murderer(s)”. Finally, on December 16, 2019, an investigation was launched
against approximately 20 women, who participated in a performance on December
15 in Izmir, on the grounds of “defamation of the Turkish Republic and its
institutions” and “violating the Law on Public Assemblies and Demonstrations”.
Within the scope of this investigation, 20 women were taken into police custody
and released after their testimony was taken.
In addition to the use of force by the police against peaceful protesters, women’s
rights defenders and organisations also face other types of harassment. In
November 2019, the Antakya
Purple Solidarity Women’s Association (Antakya Mor Dayanışma Kadın Derneği), a women’s rights organisation founded in Antakya in
2014 which advocates against gender-based violence, organises awareness-raising
events, and follows gender-based violence cases, was subjected to a TRY 51,168
fine (approximately EUR 7,730) for allegedly “organising trainings without
permission”. Subsequently, their premises were sealed without any
notice on this particular measure. Previously, in August 2019, officials from the District
Directorate of National Education accompanied by the police had visited the
organisation’s premises and taken
pictures of the voluntary activities taking place in their premises, without a
warrant. The women and their children, taking part in the activities, were
asked questions on whether they made any payments to the organisation. Women’s rights defenders are
concerned that the police’s presence in their building and their harassment was
mainly aimed at stigmatising them in the eyes of the community, which they work
in close contact with, and obstructing their work. The Association filed a
lawsuit to challenge the administrative fine, and the case is pending.
These episodes add to previous instances
where the police reportedly used force against women’s rights defenders, e.g.
during the peaceful demonstrations in Istanbul on March 8, 2019, International
Women’s Day, and November 25, 2018, International Day for the Elimination of
Violence against Women. More broadly, since the state of emergency was declared
following the failed coup in July 2016, attacks on women human rights defenders
and women’s rights organisations have gained momentum. Several women’s rights
associations have been closed down by emergency decrees, particularly the ones
led by Kurdish women in the South East of Turkey, and their assets confiscated.
In addition, the trustees appointed by the central government to the South
Eastern municipalities held by the Peoples’ Democratic Party (Halkların
Demokratik Partisi – HDP), shut down many women consultancy centres in those
municipalities. Today, many women human rights defenders, journalists,
academics and elected representatives in Turkey still remain in detention
pending trial and/or face judicial harassment. In November 2019 alone, at least
three women journalists were arrested, including Mss. Ruken Demir and Sadiye
Eser from Mezopotamya
News Agency, as
well as Melike Aydın from Jinnews.
Our organisations are deeply
concerned about the ongoing harassment and stigmatisation of women’s rights
defenders in Turkey, which takes place against the backdrop of a serious
deterioration of the rule of law in the country in recent years and an
increasingly shrinking space for civil society.
We urge the Government of Turkey to
take the necessary steps to address the systematic violations of women’s rights
in Turkey. We emphasise that women’s rights defenders are key actors for a
democratic and inclusive debate on women’s rights, and that they must be
included in the dialogue. We call on the Government of Turkey to refrain from
criminalising, or otherwise obstructing the work of women’s rights defenders.
We also call upon the same authorities to refrain from suppressing free speech,
including when this is directed at expressing legitimate criticism of
governmental institutions, and to recognise and take their demands into
account, including on the effective implementation of the Istanbul Convention
on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence.
We also urge the Government of
Turkey to respect the right to freedom of assembly and association as well
as freedom of expression and media freedom, which are protected both by the
Constitution of Turkey and international instruments to which Turkey is a party,
including the European Convention of Human Rights. We more generally call upon
the Turkish authorities to ensure a conducive environment for human rights
defenders, including women’s rights defenders, in Turkey, and to recognise
their fundamental role of watchdog in a democratic society.
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