Freedom Convention Turkey 2025 - Panel I: Law, Rights, and Repression — Authoritarianism on Trial

Описание: This panel explores how Turkey’s legal and political systems have been co-opted to serve authoritarian power, dismantling the very institutions meant to protect rights and democracy. We examine the erosion of judicial independence, politicized prosecutions, and the normalization of rights violations under a legal façade.
Panelists will address Turkey’s defiance of international obligations, including its refusal to implement ECtHR rulings and its disregard for binding human rights standards. The session also highlights the persistence of impunity, weaponization of laws, while spotlighting efforts to advance accountability and transitional justice through documentation, legal advocacy, and truth-telling initiatives. Finally, the panel underscores the role of transnational solidarity—from diaspora organizing to global feminist and legal alliances—in challenging repression and defending civic space. At the heart of this conversation lies a critical question: how do we reclaim law as a tool for justice, not oppression?

Dr. Murat Can: “This is called civil death.”
Exiled scholar Dr. Murat Can described the systemic destruction of academic freedom following the 2016 coup attempt.

“I was questioned on absurd charges. I was prosecuted for crimes that were never crimes. I was sentenced to nine years in prison without even being given a chance to defend myself.”
He recounted the devastating effects of state-imposed isolation:
“Even our closest relatives and neighbors turned their backs on us out of fear. Our bank accounts were frozen. My wife sold our car, then my motorcycle, to survive and pay the lawyer fees. When she applied for a job, she was told, ‘If we hire you, we’ll lose our business.’ This is called civil death.”
Dr. Can reminded attendees of the scale of the purge:
• Over 2 million investigated
• Approx. 400,000 detained
• Approx. 120,000 arrested
• Approx. 140,000 dismissed from public service
“Each number represents a life, a child’s cry, a young person’s suicide, a spouse’s pain, a mother’s tears, a father dying in prison. I am ashamed to speak only in numbers.”

Andrea Barron: Criminalizing ordinary life
Andrea Barron of TASSC International shared observations from serving as an international human rights monitor in Istanbul:
“I attended the hearings of 41 defendants—almost all women and minors. The prosecutor accused them of ‘pressure, intimidation, terror, or threats against the Republic.’
Yet the judge never asked about weapons, violence, or military training. Instead, he questioned why university students studied math and science together, went bowling, read the Quran, or prayed.”
Her statement highlighted the judicial absurdity weaponized to persecute civilians.

Azra Polat: The silenced children and youth
College student Azra Polat, whose father has been imprisoned for years, emphasized the emotional and generational toll of repression:
“Our discussion is not just about one place—it is a sign that we stand against oppression everywhere. The part most neglected is the children and youth.”
She reflected on societal fear:
“Society was divided, and one part kept silent out of fear—fear of unemployment, fear of stigma, fear of being labeled a terrorist.”
Azra delivered one of the day’s most memorable reflections:
“I am my dad’s girl; I shall not forsake my beliefs, nor what is right, even if it costs me my life. Every person must have a stance, and stances come with a price. My father and his friends paid that price with their lives and their possessions—and they are still paying it. No matter what the price, can you say you are willing to stand tall?”

Se Hoon Kim: “What’s happening in Turkey is insanity.”
Journalist Se Hoon Kim, Senior Correspondent at Global Strat View, delivered a forceful media-freedom message:
“What Erdogan is doing against dissidents is like high-school ostracism. What’s happening in Turkey is absolute insanity.”
He emphasized the role of the press:
“As journalists, it is our responsibility to ask our leaders the necessary questions to ensure accountability.”


#FreedomConvention #Law #Rights #Repression


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