Human rights defenders in Eurasia

Turkey

Despite recent legal and constitutional reforms in Turkey, human rights defenders continue to be targeted for harassment and intimidation by state officials, and their activities are still restricted through a huge number of laws and regulations. Demonstrations are often dispersed with excessive use of force by police.

Rıdvan Kızgın
Rıdvan Kızgın, chairman of the Human Rights Association’s (İnsan Hakları Derneği – İHD) branch in Bingöl, a city in Eastern Turkey, has been subjected to harassment and threats intended to hinder him in his work as a human rights defender.
Since 2001 over 47 court cases have been launched against him, most recently charges of “insulting the state”, and for sending a letter to government officials featuring the word Cewlik, which is the Kurdish name for Bingöl.

Take action
Urge the Prime Minister of Turkey to:

take steps to extend protection in law to all human rights defenders and allow them to pursue unhindered the monitoring and reporting of human rights issues in Turkey
work with HR defenders and NGOs to implement the UN Declaration on HR Defenders, so that HR defenders, NGOs and other civil society activists can carry out their activities without fear for their safety

Mr Recep Tayyıp Erdoğan,
Office of the Prime Minister,
Başbakanlık,
06573 Ankara,
Turkey
Fax: + 90 312 417 0476,
Email: tayyiperdogan@rterdogan.com
Salutation: Dear Prime Minister

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Turkey
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