Global Call For Action to Free Muharrem Erbey

A High Criminal Court in Diyarbakır province will process release request in the Diyarbakır KCK Main case for defendants including Muharrem Erbey, a human rights advocate and Vice Chairperson of Human Right Association (IHD). 

Recipient of 2012 Ludovic-Trarieux International Human Right Award, Erbey has been jailed for 4 years in Diyarbakır D Type Prison. 

Several human rights associations including FIDH, OMCT, EMHRN and Turkey’s IHD and TIHV released a joint statement expressing their worries regarding the “arbitrary arrest periods”. 

“Accusations concern his human rights advocacy work” 

The statement said the following on the case where 152 Kurdish politicians are standing trial: 

“On December 24, 2009, Muharrem Erbey has been detained by the anti-terror teams under Diyarbakır Police Headquarters within a simultaneous operation in 11 cities across Turkey.  

He stood trial and got arrested. He was accused of being a KCK member and being “an illegal organization member” according to Turkish Penal Code Article 314. If found guilty, Erbey will be sentenced to 7.5 to 15 years of prison. 

Erbey’s statement to prosecutor on December 25, 2009 demonstrated clearly that the main reason behind his arrest is about his human rights activism. According to Erbey’s advocates, his charges are mainly related to attending a workshop on the constitutional revisions to improve the right of minorities in September 2009, as well as his previous speeches in the parliaments of Belgium, Sweden and UK on the right of Kurdish people and his participation of Kurdish Films Festival in Italy in 2009. 

“His peaceful and dissident activism lead to his arrest in 2009 along with 8,000 people who were arrested within KCK operations which were merely an attempt to criminalize all political and cultural efforts on the Kurdish Question.”

“We condemn long arrest periods”

“Muharrem Erbey’s situation is important as it sets an example for long arrest periods which is against international jurisdiction standards. Our organizations strictly condemn Erbey’s 4 year long unlawful arrest period. 

“Our organizations also urge officials to immediately free Muharrem Erbey without any preconditions and guarantee a fair trial, as well as to stop pressures on all human rights advocates in Turkey.” (AS/BM)