Recommendations A/HRC/33/51/Add.1 Situation during the visit A/HRC/33/51/Add.1 Measures taken/current situation Level of implementation and observations (to be completed by the WGEID) Human Rights Association Although defence has arguably been one of the three constituent elements of the judiciary, there is an ample number of lawyers in Turkey who are being prosecuted because of their professional activities, and the identity and actions of their clients. As can be seen in the attached list of lawsuits, many professional activities such as: acting as a defense lawyer for Abdullah Öcalan; acting as a lawyer for the public opposition and the people; visiting inmates who went on hunger strikes in prisons in order to determine their legal and medical conditions; attending funerals and autopsy procedures of their clients charged with affiliation with a terrorist organization; exercising their right to assembly and peaceful protest; exercising their right to freedom of speech; reminding the state of its liability in massacres brought about by bombing attacks perpetrated by illegal armed organizations; defending the rights and sharing the conditions of their clients who were subjected to torture and ill-treatment by lawenforcement officers with the public; reminding their detained clients of their right to remain silent as designated by law; promoting human rights; and most significantly fighting against impunity -- are considered to be criminal offences. Lawyers stand trial for aiding and abetting an armed organization regulated under Article 220/6-7 and 314/2-3 of the Turkish Penal Code and frequently making propaganda for an armed organization as per Article 7 of the Anti-Terror Code, even having been charged with claims that such activities were conducted on behalf of those organizations. UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers visited Turkey between October 10 and 14, 2011. A preliminary survey report was issued following this visit. The recommendations put forward in this report have unfortunately not been put into practice yet, while the situation has deteriorated under the State of Emergency conditions. JWF – IAHRA Geneva One of the lawyers retained by the family for an individual subject to enforced disappearance in Turkey was subject to severe beating. One family currently residing outside Turkey reported authorities under the pretext of combatting terrorism. With respect to the impact of emergency laws on human rights and fundamental freedoms, the Working Group has underlined that procedural safeguards upon arrest and during the first hours of deprivation of liberty are fundamental to prevent possible violations, such as enforced disappearances, torture and illtreatment. These safeguards include immediate registration, judicial oversight of the detention, notification of family members as soon as an individual is deprived of liberty, and the hiring of a defence lawyer of one’s choice, and lawyer-client privilege. It is a matter of grave concern that some of the emergency measures have been incorporated in the postemergency legislation with a view to combatting terrorism and protecting national security. The Working Group cautions against the imprecise or vague use reference to “terrorism threats” as a basis to deny individuals their fundamental non-derogable rights. A/HRC/45/13/Add.4 45