17 April 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This statement calls for reduction of pre-trial detention in Turkey and for\nthe use of alternatives to detention, in order to reduce the danger of\noutbreaks of the COVID-19 disease, as a safety measure for the health and\nwellbeing of the penitentiary staff and detainees, and to avoid disproportionate\nisolation procedures inside prisons. Current orders for pre-trial detention\nshould be revoked, and judges should resort to alternative measures for\njudicial control when necessary. Similarly, for new arrestees, pre-trial\ndetention should be avoided. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The developing COVID-19 crisis is making measures countering the possible\noutbreak of the virus in any places of detention an urgent priority. The World\nHealth Organization has indicated that \u201cthe risk of rapidly increasing\ntransmission of the disease within prisons or other places of detention is\nlikely to have an amplifying effect on the epidemic, swiftly multiplying the\nnumber of people affected.\u201d[1]<\/a>\nIn other words, \u201cefforts to control COVID-19 in the community are likely to\nfail if strong (\u2026) measures are not carried out in prisons as well.\u201d[2]<\/a>\nReleasing persons behind bars without discrimination is one of the measures\nrecommended by international bodies as an important step to lowering the risks\nof outbreaks.[3]<\/a> Other measures commonly\nused in fighting COVID-19, such as distancing and quarantining, are close to\nimpossible to implement in places of detention or may have very significant\nnegative side-effects. Hence the emphasis should be on limiting the number of persons\nin detention. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While the government was already preparing the Third Judicial Reform\nPackage tackling change in the Law on Execution of Sentences, a rapid\nsubmission of the bill (Ceza ve G\u00fcvenlik\nTedbirlerinin \u0130nfaz\u0131 Hakk\u0131nda Kanun ile Baz\u0131 Kanunlarda De\u011fi\u015fiklik Yap\u0131lmas\u0131na\nDair Kanun Teklifi<\/em>) was made to the Grand National Assembly last week. The\nadoption of the bill on 15 April 2020 will reduce the total number of people imprisoned\nby approximately one third. With Turkey\u2019s prisons hosting approximately 294,000\npeople, releasing up to 90,000 prisoners will be in line with UN High\nCommissioner for Human Rights\u2019 call for \u201cgovernments and relevant authorities\nto work quickly to reduce the number of people in detention.\u201d[4]<\/a>\nAt the same time, it is disappointing, as has been expressed in a number of\nappeals by human rights organisations,[5]<\/a>\nthat the measures under this law do not extend more widely and indiscriminately\nto all persons deprived of liberty with particular risk of the COVID-19\ninfection because of their age or pre-existing illnesses or conditions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As this law only affects persons already convicted, we want to draw attention\nfor one further category of persons behind bars: the thousands who are being\nheld in pre-trial detention. Article 13 of the Constitution of the Republic of\nTurkey and Article 109 of the Criminal Code clearly outline that judicial control\nshould have precedence over being arrested during the investigation process.\nSimilarly, according to international human rights standards, clarified by ECtHR\njudgements, the legal principle of presumption of innocence until proven guilty\nand the right to liberty conclude that pre-trial detention should be a matter\nof last resort. In the current situation,\nthis argument becomes all the more urgent. According to information obtained\nfrom the Ministry of Justice, approximately 43% of the prison population are in\npre-trial detention,[6]<\/a>\nso reducing the number of pre-trial detainees can make a significant\ncontribution to alleviating the risk of outbreaks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The (conditional) release of arrestees is only possible if a judge rules\nin this regard. Judges have the competence to release arrestees but keep them\nunder judicial control, codified in Article 109 of the Criminal Code. (In the\ncase of conditionally releasing suspects\/defendants of violence against women\nand children, Law No. 6284 on Family Protection\nand the Prevention of Violence against Women (6284 say\u0131l\u0131 Ailenin Korunmas\u0131\nve Kad\u0131na Kar\u015f\u0131 \u015eiddetin \u00d6nlenmesine Dair Kanun<\/em>) should be applied to avoid\nbringing the alleged perpetrator and victim into the same closed space, and to\ntake all other preventive measures to protect the victim when needed.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Keeping COVID-19 risks in mind, prosecutors\u2019 requests to arrest should\ncome to end; and decisions to arrest by (Sulh Ceza) judges should end. Any\ncontinuation of decisions to arrest brings with it many risks. Prosecutors and\njudges applying alternative measures to arrest, which are codified by judicial\ncontrol provisions, are vital in the times we find ourselves in. As a matter of\nfact, according to an explanation provided by the Ministry of Justice, as of\nthis week, people in prison have started passing away as a result of COVID-19.[7]<\/a>\nThis is an indication that the pandemic has reached prisons, and it is\nunfortunately an indication that the situation will continuously worsen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK) has delegated to courts the\nintroduction of measures to respond to the pandemic, which includes postponing\nhearings. However, even if judicial proceedings and hearings of cases of detainees\nare not being postponed, the pandemic still leads to an increased risk to the\nright to life of detainees in the period in which suspects\/defendants wait for\ntheir hearings. Therefore, from this\nperspective, taking steps to reassess detention rulings, without waiting for\nhearings and to employ alternatives to pre-trial detention, is important. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In line with the right to fair trial, and the principle of non-discrimination, and echoing the Council of Europe\u2019s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT), we urge judges to make all efforts to \u201cresort to alternatives to deprivation of liberty\u2026 Authorities should make greater use of alternatives to pre-trial detention\u2026\u201d[8]<\/a> The undersigned organizations urge the Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK) to issue clear guidance to local courts that pre-trial detention should in principle be avoided in line with international law.\u00a0 This is a general principle that has become even more important because of the pandemic, in which all risks and violations of the right to life must be avoided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 Albanian Helsinki Committee [1]<\/a> World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe,\n\u201cPreparedness, prevention and control of\nCOVID-19 in prisons and other places of detention \u2013 Interim guidance<\/em>,\u201d\npublished on 15 March 2020, http:\/\/www.euro.who.int\/__data\/assets\/pdf_file\/0019\/434026\/Preparedness-prevention-and-control-of-COVID-19-in-prisons.pdf<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [2]<\/a> Ibid.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n [3]<\/a> European\nCommittee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or\nPunishment (CPT), \u201cStatement of\nprinciples relating to the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty in\nthe context of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic<\/em>,\u201d published on\n20 March 2020, https:\/\/rm.coe.int\/16809cfa4b<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [4]<\/a> United\nNations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, \u201cUrgent action needed to prevent COVID-19 \u2018ramping through places of\ndetention\u2019 \u2013 Bachelet<\/em>,\u201d published on 25 March 2020, https:\/\/www.ohchr.org\/EN\/NewsEvents\/Pages\/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25745&LangID=E<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [5]<\/a> \u0130nsan Haklar\u0131 Derne\u011fi (\u0130HD), T\u00fcrkiye \u0130nsan Haklar\u0131\nVakf\u0131 (T\u0130HV), \u00d6zg\u00fcrl\u00fck i\u00e7in Hukuk\u00e7ular Derne\u011fi (\u00d6HD), \u00c7a\u011fda\u015f Hukuk\u00e7ular Derne\u011fi\n(\u00c7HD), Sa\u011fl\u0131k ve Sosyal Hizmet Emek\u00e7ileri Sendikas\u0131 (SES), Ceza \u0130nfaz\nsisteminde Sivil Toplum Derne\u011fi (C\u0130SST), \u201cCovid-19\nSalg\u0131n\u0131 ve Hapishanelerde Acilen Al\u0131nmas\u0131 Gereken \u00d6nlemler<\/em>,\u201d published on\n30 March 2020, https:\/\/www.ihd.org.tr\/covid-19-salgini-ve-hapishanelerde-acilen-alinmasi-gereken-onlemler\/<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n [6]<\/a> Antalya Bar\nAssociation, \u201cCOVID 19 Salg\u0131n\u0131na Kar\u015f\u0131 Hapishane ve Di\u011fer Tutma\nYerlerinde \u0130nsan Haklar\u0131n\u0131n Korunmas\u0131 i\u00e7in Sa\u011fl\u0131k Hakk\u0131 Raporu,\u201d p. 9, published on 1 April 2020, http:\/\/www.antalyabarosu.org.tr\/Detay.aspx?ID=124794<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n [7]<\/a> Bas\u0131n ve Halkla \u0130li\u015fkiler M\u00fc\u015favirli\u011fi, \u201cAdalet Bakan\u0131 Abdulhamit G\u00fcl Ba\u015fkanl\u0131\u011f\u0131nda\nGer\u00e7ekle\u015ftirilen Koordinasyon Toplant\u0131s\u0131nda Koronavir\u00fcs Tedbirleri\nDe\u011ferlendirildi,<\/em>\u201d 13 Nisan 2020, http:\/\/www.basin.adalet.gov.tr\/Etkinlik\/adalet-bakani-abdulhamit-gul-baskanliginda-gerceklestirilen-koordinasyon-toplantisinda-koronavirus-tedbirleri-degerlendirildi<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n [8]<\/a> European\nCommittee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or\nPunishment (CPT), \u201cStatement of\nprinciples relating to the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty in\nthe context of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic<\/em>,\u201d published on\n20 March 2020, https:\/\/rm.coe.int\/16809cfa4b<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 37 rights-groups calls for reduction of pre-trial detention in Turkey and for the use of alternatives to detention, in order to reduce the danger of outbreaks of the COVID-19 disease, as a safety measure for the health and wellbeing of the penitentiary staff and detainees, and to avoid disproportionate isolation procedures inside prisons with this joint statement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[217],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esithaklar.org\/eski\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esithaklar.org\/eski\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esithaklar.org\/eski\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esithaklar.org\/eski\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esithaklar.org\/eski\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4894"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.esithaklar.org\/eski\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4894\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4896,"href":"https:\/\/www.esithaklar.org\/eski\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4894\/revisions\/4896"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esithaklar.org\/eski\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esithaklar.org\/eski\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esithaklar.org\/eski\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\u2022 Amnesty International Netherlands
\n\u2022 Association for Monitoring Equal Rights (Turkey)
\n\u2022 Bulgarian Helsinki Committee
\n\u2022 Center for Civil Liberties (Ukraine)
\n\u2022 Center for the Development of Democracy and Human Rights (Russia)
\n\u2022 Centre on Drug Policy Evaluation
\n\u2022 Citizens’ Assembly Turkey
\n\u2022 Civic Space Studies Association (Turkey)
\n\u2022 Civil Rights Defenders
\n\u2022 Civil Society in the Penal System (Turkey)
\n\u2022 Fair Trials
\n\u2022 Foundation for Society and Legal Studies (Turkey)
\n\u2022 Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly – Vanadzor (Armenia)
\n\u2022 Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (Poland)
\n\u2022 Human rights Center “Viasna” (Berlarus)
\n\u2022 Human Rights Center ZMINA (Ukraine)
\n\u2022 Human Rights Monitoring Institute (Lithuania)
\n\u2022 Instituto RIA (Mexico)
\n\u2022 International Drug Policy Consortium
\n\u2022 Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and the Rule of Law
\n\u2022 Legal Policy Research Centre (Kazakhstan)
\n\u2022 Life Memory Freedom Association (Turkey)
\n\u2022 Media and Law Studies Association (Turkey)
\n\u2022 Netherlands Helsinki Committee
\n\u2022 Promo-LEX Association (Moldova)
\n\u2022 Public Association Dignity (Kazakhstan)
\n\u2022 Public Verdict Foundation (Russia)
\n\u2022 Punto24 (Platform for Independent Journalism P24) (Turkey)
\n\u2022 Research Institute on Turkey
\n\u2022 Swedish OSCE Network
\n\u2022 The Barys Zvozskau Belarusian Human Rights House
\n\u2022 The Human Rights Movemet: Bir Duino (Kyrgyzstan)
\n\u2022 Truth Justice and Memory Center (Turkey)
\n\u2022 Turkish-German Forum of Culture
\n\u2022 World Organisation against Torture – OMCT
\n\u2022 Youth RISE <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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