The Witnesses

Judicial Independence and Access to Justice Witness: The witness testified that he was a judge for 15 years and served as investigative judge at the Supreme Court Criminal General Assembly. He was a member of YARSAV and member of its board of directors between 2012 and 2014. In July 2016, […]

Judicial Independence and Access to Justice Witness: The witness is a persecuted, imprisoned and exiled Kurdish politician for HDP and a former member of parliament. He is currently a refugee in Europe. The witness referred to documents attesting that soldiers and police officers were informed during operations in the Kurdish […]

Judicial Independence and Access to Justice Witness: The witness was a prosecutor in different cities in Turkey between 2004 and 2016. Between 2011 and 2014, he served as an expert on the High Judiciary Council. From 2012 to 2013, he served as a member of the Council of Europe, the […]

Impunity Witness: The witness, who is a fashion designer and an activist for LGBTQ rights, testified that on multiple occasions he has been subject to violence. He testified that on 28 December 2012 he was subjected to organised violence and that none of the perpetrators were caught. In 2013, he […]

Impunity Witness: The witness testified that his 23-year-old brother was killed by Turkish police officers during the Newroz festivities in Diyarbakir on 21 March 2017. The witness stated that the day after his brother was killed, the state seized all photographs and footage taken of the incident in order to […]

Impunity Witness: The witness testified that both she and her husband used to be schoolteachers. However, after the coup d’État, they were both dismissed from their schools. The witness testified that a search took place in their apartment and that her husband was violently interrogated by the police and taken […]

Press Freedom Witness: The witness is a Turkish journalist and activist for media freedom and independence. He appeared before the Tribunal in camera, due to security concerns for him and his family, even in exile. As part of his testimony to the Tribunal, he referred to the different challenges to […]

Press Freedom Witness: The witness, a journalist, testified with regard to the judicial harassment he was subjected to for reporting on government corruption and later, for other critical publications. He also testified about his arrest and detention at Turkey’s Silivri Prison, as well as the different forms of direct and […]

Press Freedom Witness: The witness, a Kurdish journalist, testified as to the crime she was accused of and to her years’ imprisonment. The witness explained that on 12 April 2016, around 15 special operations and police officers raided her house in Nusaybin (South East Turkey) and detained her and a […]

Abduction Witness: The witness was represented by his lawyer, since he did not feel capable of addressing the general public. The witness testified that he was an electrician, a labour union representative and shared socialist ideas. He was abducted on 20 January 2021 by being pushed into a car. He […]