Turkey/AI: Amnesty International’s Chief Not Allowed To Visit Jailed Turkish Human Rights Defender İdil Eser

September 7, 2017

Amnesty International Secretary General Salil Shetty was not permitted to visit the Amnesty’s Turkey director İdil Eser, who was jailed on “terrorism” charges two months ago. During his visit to Turkey, Shetty applied for authorization to visit to Eser in İstanbul’s infamous Silivri Prison but he was not received at the prosecutor’s office at the prison.

As she does not have any first-degree relatives, Eser is reportedly not allowed any visits other than a one-hour meeting once a week with her lawyers. She is also not allowed to stay with two other arrested rights defenders, Özlem Dalkıran and Nalan Erkem.

According to government decree no. 667 issued under a state of emergency (OHAL) that was put into effect soon after a botched coup attempt in Turkey last July, people who are arrested on terrorism charges can only meet with their immediate family and lawyers once a week.

Eser’s lawyer, Erdal Doğan, said: “İdil Eser’s father and mother are not alive, she has no siblings, she is not married and has no children. According to the OHAL law, nobody can go to visit her. Thus, because of the OHAL law she has no visitors. This is a most serious violation of human rights and the law.”

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https://stockholmcf.org/amnesty-internationals-chief-not-allowed-to-visit-jailed-turkish-human-rights-defender-idil-eser/

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/the-saddening-state-of-turkish-courts.aspx?PageID=238&NID=117666&NewsCatID=409

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/turkey-erdogan-failed-coup-gulen-democracy-trials-human-rights-a7934171.html

https://turkeypurge.com/prosecutors-issue-arrest-warrants-for-64-over-bylock-use

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/hdp-holds-justice-watch-at-top-court-finds-meeting-with-top-judge-unsatisfactory.aspx?pageID=238&nid=117616

https://www.economist.com/news/europe/21728648-crackdown-gets-brutal-torture-returns-turkey

https://turkeypurge.com/economist-torture-abductions-return-to-turkey-but-international-response-is-weak

https://www.turkishminute.com/2017/09/09/ai-secretary-general-visits-turkey-director-in-istanbul-prison-calls-for-her-immediate-release/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/amnesty-chief-visits-her-jailed-turkey-director-in-prison/2017/09/09/49f48b4a-955e-11e7-8482-8dc9a7af29f9_story.html

https://www.evrensel.net/haber/331583/idil-eser-avukati-disinda-kimseyle-gorusturulmuyor (TURKCE)

http://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/haber/turkiye/818222/Uluslararasi_Af_Orgutu_Genel_Sekreteri_Shetty__Turkiye_daha_iyisini_hak_ediyor.html (TURKCE)

http://www.laregione.ch/articolo/turchia-direttrice-di-amnesty-detenuta-negata-la-visita-del-segretario-generale/50630 (ITALIANO)

A letter from a Turkish prison from our friend Ozlem: “We never lost faith in ourselves, in what we do and in our struggle for human rights; but the fact that you have stood by us has helped us to be even more resolute in prison.” https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/profile/ozlem-dalkiran

(Front Line Defenders Facebook)

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Tanzania: UPDATE 2-Tanzanian opposition lawmaker wounded by gunmen – party

September 7, 2017

Tanzanian opposition lawmaker Tundu Lissu, a fierce critic of President John Magufuli’s government, was shot and wounded by unknown assailants at his residence in the administrative capital Dodoma on Thursday, his party said.

“Lissu has suffered multiple gunshot wounds and is being treated at the main public hospital in Dodoma,” Tumaini Makene, spokesman for the main opposition CHADEMA party, said.

CHADEMA said in a separate statement the incident took place at his Dodoma residence on Thursday afternoon.

“We strongly condemn this attack and are closely monitoring his condition,” the statement said.

Lissu, who is also the president of the Tanganyika Law Society and opposition chief whip in parliament, has previously been arrested by police on several occasions and charged with incitement.

He was arrested in July and later released after having called Magufuli a “dictator”.

The motive of the shooting is unclear. Tanzania police’s spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL8N1LO3UF

http://www.dailyprogress.com/official-opposition-lawmaker-shot-in-tanzania-s-capital/article_c3ff23ea-516a-5ed0-9e5f-a74a6a2d9962.html

http://tls.or.tz/about-tls/

India: LAWYER FIGHTING HONOUR KILLING CASE ‘ATTACKED’

September 7, 2017

Amit Katarnavre says that his car was vandalised by around 10-12 people near his office in Juinagar.

Around 10 to 12 people allegedly attacked the lawyer, who is fighting the Swapnil Sonawane honour killing case on behalf of his family, at Juinagar on Tuesday afternoon.

Advocate Amit Katarnavre, who has been the Sonawane family’s lawyer since the death of their son allegedly at the hands of the family of the girl he was in love with last year, said he escaped with minor injuries, but his car was damaged.

Speaking to Mirror, Katarnavre said that he resides in Juinagar while his office is a little distance away. “I was in the car with my associates when suddenly, we were surrounded by around 10-12 people. Some of them were on foot while others rode bikes,” Katarnavre said, adding that the assailants also tried to break the glass windows of the car when he refused to get out.

After fleeing the area, he immediately went to the police station and lodged an FIR. “While I know who are behind the attack and I have named them before the police, I can’t disclose the same to the media as of now. All I can say is that I was targeted because of my work for the society’s lower castes,” Katarnavre said.

Earlier, Katarnavre and the Sonawanes too had demanded security, claiming that they had received death threats multiple times.

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https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/mumbai/crime/lawyer-fighting-honour-killing-case-attacked/articleshow/60400951.cms

Kenya: Solidarity of the CCJA with the judges of the Supreme Court of Kenya

September 6, 2017

The Conference of Constitutional Jurisdictions of Africa (CCJA) and the South African Judiciary, are deeply concerned about the remarks reportedly made by His Excellency President Uhuru Kenyatta about Chief Justice Maraga and other colleagues in the Kenyan Judiciary. They were evidently triggered by the Supreme Court’s annulment of his re-election.

His Excellency the President is reported to have said that Kenya has a “problem” with its Judiciary that must be fixed, asked “who even elected you”, and said “six people have decided that they will go against the will of the people”. He allegedly went so far as to label the Chief Justice and his colleagues as “wakora” or “crooks”.

These widely televised and publicized remarks are most unfortunate, ill-advised and disturbing because of their potentially inciteful nature coming from the Head of State. This is especially so when made in an electoral atmosphere that was not completely free of extreme tension and fairly serious incidents of violence. They could be intimidating but could also expose the Kenyan Judiciary to danger. They inadvertently project Judges as enemies of the will of the people who must be “fixed”.

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http://www.cjca-conf.org/blog/solidarity-of-the-ccja-with-the-judges-of-the-supreme-court-of-kenya/

http://www.cjca-conf.org/

United Arab Emirates/Prix Ludovic-Trarieux: Remise du XXIième Prix international des droits de l’homme à M. Mohammed al-ROKEN

le 7 septembre, 2017

(Ludovic Trarieux Facebook)

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/05/lawyer-mohammed-al-roken-awarded-human-rights-prize-170528103532469.html (ENGLISH)

https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/case/case-history-mohamed-al-roken (ENGLISH)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammed_Al-Rukn (ENGLISH)

Hong Kong/China: Lawmaker threatens protests and legal action unless HKU investigates pro-democracy professor Benny Tai

September 7, 2017

Pro-Beijing lawmaker Junius Ho has submitted a petition of more 80,000 signatures to the University of Hong Kong (HKU), urging it to investigate pro-democracy law scholar Benny Tai.

Last month, Ho wrote to the university’s governing council saying it was contradictory for Tai – the co-founder of the original pro-democracy Occupy Central campaign – to advocate for the spirit of civil disobedience whilst also teaching students about defending the rule of law. Tai is an associate professor in the Department of Law.

Ho launched an online petition, which he claimed had gathered 80,623 signatures in a week. He said there were over 1,700 from the legal sector and 8,800 from the education sector. The names of the people who signed the petition were not made public.

“The school must face it, and consider it,” he said at a press conference on Wednesday.

Legal threats

Ho, a lawyer himself, said he hoped the university would reply to him a week, otherwise he may consider holding a public rally and ultimately lodging a judicial review.

He said he was not intending to interfere with academic freedom and had no personal grudge against Tai.

“It is not about academic freedom at all. It may be easy for anyone to make up an excuse… on the contrary, we have seen ample evidence to show that Mr Tai himself had actively participate[d] in the Occupy Central movement, and that obviously was contrary to the role that he was supposed to be… just preaching the law,” Ho said.

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https://www.hongkongfp.com/2017/09/07/lawmaker-threatens-protests-legal-action-unless-hku-investigates-pro-democracy-professor-benny-tai/

http://www.thestandard.com.hk/section-news.php?id=187137&sid=21

http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2110047/petition-oust-occupy-co-founder-benny-tai-university-post

http://macaudailytimes.com.mo/occupy-central-initiator-accused-interfering-macau.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benny_Tai