Turkey: Unlawful detention of lawyer Mehmet Pehlivan and escalating repression of the legal profession in Turkey | Joint statement
Full .pdf joint statement (EN) Avukat Mehmet Pehlivan’ın hukuka aykırı olarak tutuklanması ve Türkiye’de avukatlık mesleğine yönelik artan baskılar (.pdf TR) 1 July 2025 Unlawful detention of lawyer Mehmet Pehlivan and escalating repression of the legal profession in Turkey The … [Read more...]
Türkiye: Open letter to the European Commission and European Council regarding the assault on the right to political participation, the rule of law and human rights in Türkiye | Joint letter
Full pdf joint letter Ms Ursula von der Leyen President of the European Commission European Commission Rue de la Loi / Wetstraat 200 1049 Brussels Mr António Costa President of the European Council European Council Rue de la Loi / Wetstraat 175 1048 Brussels CC: Ms Kaja Kallas, … [Read more...]
Türkiye: Attacks on the Legal Profession Unacceptable | Joint Statement
Turkey: Attacks on the Legal Profession Unacceptable International legal and human rights community condemns moves to undermine the independence of lawyers and the rule of law The escalating attacks by Turkish authorities on the Istanbul Bar Association, its leadership, and members of the legal … [Read more...]
LRWC Letter to Turkiye re Vahit Bicak 2023-03-22
On 10 March 2023, Dr. Bicak was convicted of insulting the memory of a dead person (Art. 130) and her family members (Art. 125) in the 35th Heavy Criminal Court. He was sentenced to 17 ½ months imprisonment on these charges. Brian Samuels, KC, LRWC Director, sent this follow-up to Turkish … [Read more...]
LRWC Letter to Turkiye re Vahit Bicak 2023-03-08
Dr. Bicak has become the target of a campaign of judicial harassment, most recently having been charged with insulting the memory of a dead person (Art. 130) and her family members (Art. 125) in the 35th Heavy Criminal Court. Brian Samuels, KC, LRWC Director, sent the following letter to Turkish … [Read more...]
LRWC intervenes at the UN Human Rights Council on violations in over a dozen countries | Letters and statements at the 51st Session 12 September to 7 October 2022
During the 51st session of the UN Human Rights Council held 12 September to 7 October 2022, Lawyers' Rights Watch Canada (LRWC) intervened to seek the Council's action to address serious human rights violations in a number of countries including: Afghanistan, Cambodia, China, Myanmar, the Occupied … [Read more...]
Turkey: Arbitrary detention of Judge Murat Arslan | Letter
Full pdf letter (EN) 30 March 2022 Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan President of the Republic of Turkey Cumhurbaşkanlığı Külliyesi 06100 Beştepe, Ankara, Turkey Tel: +90 (312) 525 55 55 ; Fax: +90 (312) 525 58 31 Email: contact@tccb.gov.tr Mr. Abdulhamit Gül Minister of … [Read more...]
UN Human Rights Council: Turkey: Abuse of anti-terrorism laws to arbitrarily detain human rights lawyers and defenders | Joint oral statement
Full pdf statement See the Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Counter Terrorism. See LRWC's statement at 01:51:24 Organization: Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada Item: Item 3: Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Interactive dialogue with the … [Read more...]
Turkey: Urgent Action letter to UN Special Procedures: Imminent risk to health and life of ill prisoner Aysel Tuğluk | Joint letter
See the full urgent action letter (EN) On 20 January 2022, LRWC was among 43 human rights organizations signing an urgent action letter to six UN Special Procedures mandates to express grave concern over the treatment of the seriously ill prisoner, a human rights lawyer, Aysel Tuğluk … [Read more...]