Over 50 organizations from France condemn the verdict in Gezi trial

Click to read the article in Turkish

The convictions in the Gezi retrial have been protested in France as well.

Led by the Assembly of Citizens from Turkey (ACORT), over 50 NGOs, trade unions and political parties from France have released a joint statement and condemned the ruling handed down on April 25, 2022.

CLICK - Gezi trial: Aggravated life sentence for Osman Kavala, 18 years in prison for seven others

Declaring that they will follow up the process, the groups include almost all left parties (France Unbowed, Greens, French Communist Party and others), the largest trade union of France CGT, human rights associations (Ligue des Droits de l'Homme, MRAP), migrants' associations and Academics for Peace in France among several others (ATTAC, SOS Racisme).

'Ruling is political; we condemn it'

Published in Turkish and French, the statement reads:

"On April 25, Turkey's judiciary delivered a ruling which confirms a point of no return for what remains of the judicial system in the country.

"At the end of the so-called 'Gezi' trial, Osman Kavala, a philanthropist entrepreneur and an important figure in civil society detained for 4 years despite the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the Constitutional Court of Turkey, was sentenced to life imprisonment, the maximum sentence, for 'attempting to overthrow the government'.

"Mücella Yapıcı, Çiğdem Mater, Hakan Altınay, Mine Özerden, Can Atalay, Tayfun Kahraman and Yiğit Ali Ekmekçi received 18 years in prison.

"They are the representatives of Taksim Solidarity platform created during the protests that spread across the country in 2013. This platform brought together professional organizations of architects, engineers, lawyers, artists, journalists, doctors, trade unionists, representatives of various associations and political parties opposed to the plan to demolish the Gezi Park.

"While the accusation had already been dismissed and the defendants had been acquitted twice, this time, the new judges did not even bother to study the file before pronouncing these unfair sentences.

"One of the three judges, urgently appointed to the Criminal Court, is a former prospective parliamentary candidate from the [Justice and Development Party] AKP, [President] Erdogan's party.

This ruling confirms the end of the rule of law in Turkey and deals a devastating blow to not only Osman Kavala, his co-defendants and their families, but also to all those who believe in justice and in the importance of human rights.

"This ruling has come in a context where the policy of repression and intimidation has escalated ahead of the general elections in 2023.

"In recent weeks, [HDP] MP Garo Paylan has been accused of 'treason' for having submitted (for the ninth time as he has been doing every April 24) a bill to recognize the Armenian genocide. This year, all commemoration of the genocide was banned in Turkey. Similarly, a military operation called 'Tiger Claw' was launched against the Kurdish regions.

"As the signatory organizations:

"We condemn this political ruling and demand the immediate release of the arrestees; urge the French government and European leaders to question their Turkish counterparts about the abuses committed by the regime in place; let us reaffirm our unwavering support and vigilance for all progressive forces in Turkey, which resist authoritarianism to bring democracy to life. Long live international solidarity!"

The undersigned

• Assemblée Citoyenne des Originaires de "Turquie (L'ACORT)
• Agir pour le changement et la démocratie en Algérie (ACDA)
• Assemblée Européenne des Citoyens ( AEC- HCA-France)
• Association France-Kurdistan
• Association Culturelle des Travailleurs Immigrés de Turquie (ACTIT)
• Association de Défense des Droits de l'Homme au Maroc (ASDHOM)
• Association de Travailleurs Maghrébins de France (ATMF)
• Association Démocratique des Tunisiens en France (ADTF)
• Association des Marocains de France (AMF)
• Association des Tunisiens en France (ATF)
• Association Hassan Saadaoui pour la Démocratie et l'Egalité
• Association Nachaz-Dissonances Tunisie
• Association pour la taxation des transactions financières et pour l'action citoyenne (ATTAC France)
• Association Tunisienne de Défense des Libertés Individuelles
• Association Tunisienne de Soutien des Minorités (ATSM)
• Association Vigilance pour la Démocratie et l'Etat civique
• ATDVU
• Centre d'études et d'initiatives de solidarité internationale (CEDETIM/IPAM )
• Collectif Soumoud – Tunisie
• Comité pour le Respect des libertés et des Droits de l'Homme en Tunisie (CRLDHT)
• Confédération Générale Autonome des Travailleurs en Algérie (CGATA)
• Fédération des Tunisiens pour une Citoyenneté des deux Rives (FTCR)
• Femmes Plurielles
• Front uni des immigrations et des quartiers populaires (FUIQP )
• Ligue des droits de l'Homme (LDH)
• Memorial 98
• Mouvement contre le racisme et pour l'amitié entre les peuples (MRAP)
• Mouvement des femmes kurdes à Toulouse
• Organisation contre la torture en Tunisie
• Réseau Euromed France (REF )
• Solidarité avec les Universitaires pour la Paix et Défense des Droits Humains en Turquie (SUP-DDHT) SOS Racisme
• Syndicat national autonome du personnel de l'administration public en Algérie (SNAPAP)
• Union Culturelle Française des Arméniens de France (UCFAF)
• Union des Travailleurs Immigres Tunisiens (UTIT)
• Confédération Générale du Travail ( CGT)
• Fédération Syndicale Unitaire (FSU)
• Union syndicale Solidaires
• Ensemble! (Mouvement pour une Alternative de Gauche, Écologiste et Solidaire) Europe Ecologie Les Verts (EELV)
• Génération·s
• La France Insoumise
• Nouveau Parti Anticapitaliste (NPA)
• Parti communiste français (PCF)
• Parti Socialiste Paris 10e
• Pour une Ecologie Populaire et Sociale (PEPS)

(EMK/SD)