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Ebru Timtik

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Ebru Timtik
Born1978
Died (aged 42)
Bakırköy Dr. Sadi Konuk Research and Training Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
NationalityKurdish[1]-Turkish
OccupationLawyer
Known forDied after hunger striking

Ebru Timtik (1978 – August 27, 2020) was a Kurdish[2][1]-Turkish human rights lawyer who died after going on hunger strike in pursuit of a fair trial. She was one of a group of 18 lawyers known for representing clients critical of the Turkish government, who were arrested in September 2017.

Biography

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Timtik was part of a group of 18 lawyers arrested in September 2017.[3] They were all members of either the Progressive Lawyers Association (Turkish: Çağdaş Hukukçular Derneği, ÇHD) or the People’s Law Bureau (Turkish: Halkın Hukuk Bürosu), known for representing clients critical of the Turkish government. These included cases such as the miners who died due to government failings in the Soma mine disaster, Berkin Elvan, Engin Çeber, and Dilek Dogan.[4] In March 2019, they were found guilty of membership or association with the outlawed Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP-C) and sentenced to lengthy prison terms.[5][6] Timtik was sentenced to 13 years and 6 months in prison and Aytaç Ünsal to 10 years and 6 months.[4] Milena Buyum, Amnesty International's senior campaign manager on Turkey called the convictions "a travesty of justice and demonstrate yet again the inability of courts crippled under political pressure to deliver a fair trial."[5] She called for the lawyers to be unconditionally released and for the convictions to be quashed.[5] In October, Timtik's appeal to the Istanbul Regional Court of Appeal was rejected and at the time of her death, her appeal to the Turkish Supreme Court was pending.[4]

Hunger strike

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On January 2, 2020, Timtik initiated a hunger-strike to fight for her right to have a fair trial and Ünsal joined her on February 2. On April 5, Timtik and Ünsal declared that they would go through with their fasting until their deaths.[6] On June 1, the International Association of Democratic Lawyers submitted a petition signed by 365 foreign and 400 Turkish lawyers to the Supreme Court urging it to acquit the imprisoned lawyers.[7] In the early hours of July 30, Timtik and Ünsal were taken from the high-security Silivri Prison to separate hospitals in Istanbul.[8] On August 12, 2020, the European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and World Human Rights sent an open letter addressed to the United Nations, expressing their grave concern about the hunger-striking lawyers.[4] Her cousin who visited her in the hospital said she was pressured into breaking her fast: "They are constantly manoeuvring to break her will. They're using every pretext."[9] After 238 days of fasting Timtik died on August 27, 2020, weighing only 30 kg.[1][10] She became the fourth Turkish prisoner to die on a hunger strike in 2020, following the deaths of Helin Bölek, İbrahim Gökçek, and Mustafa Koçak earlier this year.[11]

Aftermath

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Deutsche Welle reported the Turkish police impeded the participation at the burial ceremony in the cemetery by her supporters, countering them with armored vehicles, a helicopter and teargas.[12]

Reactions to her death

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News of Timtik's death was met with condemnations of the Turkish judiciary:

  • Turkish politician Nesrin Nas wrote on her Twitter: "I am so sorry. She just wanted a fair trial. A state that turns a deaf ear to its citizens’ demand to a fair trial…Where are we running to?"[6]
  • Turkish musician Zülfü Livaneli wrote on his Twitter that her death was the "death of humanity, justice and conscience" in Turkey.[6]
  • Turkish opposition politician Sezgin Tanrıkulu in an interview slammed the decision not to release her: "Shame on those who did not give a decision for release. We had begged the Court of Cassation [Supreme Court] to handle this file."[6]
  • European Democratic Lawyers tweeted: "We, from all over the world, tried our best, but as a result of injustice, the dysfunctional judicial system of Turkey, we could not get her from their hands."[13]
  • The Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović stated: "Ms Timtik’s death is a tragic illustration of the human suffering caused by a judicial system in Turkey that has turned into a tool to silence lawyers, human rights defenders and journalists, through systematic disregard for the most basic principles of the rule of law."[14]
  • A statement from the European External Action Service read: "The tragic outcome of their fight for a fair trial painfully illustrates the urgent need for the Turkish authorities to credibly address the human rights situation in the country, which has severely deteriorated in recent years, as well as serious shortcomings observed in the judiciary."[11]

Award

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The Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) bestowed Ebru Timtik posthumously with a Human Rights Award in 2020.[15]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Turkish human rights lawyer dies after hunger strike". Al-Monitor. 28 August 2020. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  2. ^ Kurdish human rights lawyer Ebru Timtik dies after 238-day hunger strike, By Dana Kennedy, New York Post, August 29, 2020
  3. ^ "SUMMARY OF TRIAL AGAİNST 20 LAWYERS" (PDF).
  4. ^ a b c d "Lawyers on hunger strike near death". EJDM – ELDH European Association of Lawyers for Democracy & World Human Rights. August 12, 2020. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c "Turkey: Conviction of lawyers deals heavy blow to right to fair trial and legal representation". Amnesty International. March 20, 2019. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Lawyer Ebru Timtik loses life on 238th day of her death fast demanding fair trial". Gazete Duvar. August 27, 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-08-30. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  7. ^ "Submit a petition to Turkish courts to free imprisoned lawyers". International Association of Democratic Lawyers. 3 June 2020. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  8. ^ "Forced intervention to death-fasting arrested lawyers". Bianet - Bagimsiz Iletisim Agi. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  9. ^ Sweeney, Steve (August 14, 2020). "Ebru Timtik's cousin says hospital conditions worse than prison for hunger-striking Kurdish lawyer". Morning Star. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  10. ^ Sweeney, Steve (August 28, 2020). "Ebru Timtik laid to rest as Turkish police brutally attack mourners". Morning Star. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  11. ^ a b "Turkey: Statement by the Spokesperson on the death of Ebru Timtik". EEAS - European External Action Service - European Commission. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  12. ^ Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "Hunger-striking Turkish lawyer dies — denied fair trial, EU says | DW | 28.08.2020". DW.COM. Retrieved 2020-08-30.
  13. ^ "Turkish lawyer Ebru Timtik dies on hunger strike after 238 days". Al Arabiya English. August 28, 2020. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  14. ^ "Commissioner reiterates her call to restore and uphold the role of lawyers as human rights defenders in Turkey in the aftermath of the death of lawyer Ebru Timtik". Commissioner for Human Rights. August 28, 2020. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  15. ^ Söylemez, Ayçe. "Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe grants exceptional award to lawyer Ebru Timtik". Bianet. Archived from the original on 2020-11-28. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
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