News Center -The European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and World Human Rights (ELDH) and Association for Democracy and International Law (MAF-DAD) will hold a conference titled “Rights and Freedoms in Turkey: Law, Prisons, and the Kurdish Issue” at the European Parliament on June 13 in cooperation with Die Linke and Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D).

Lawyers of Asrın Law Office to attend the conference

The opening speeches of the conference will be made by Martin Schirdewan, Co-chair of German Left Party, Prof. Bill Bowring, co-chair of the ELDH, Heike Geisweid, Chairperson of the MAF-DAD. Three panels will be held at the conference. At the first panel, lawyer Faik Özgür Erol, member of the Asrın Law Office, will talk about, “The impact of the judiciary on the political process in Turkey”. Prof. Philip Leach, Professor of Human Rights Law at Middlesex University, will talk about “The failure to implement ECtHR judgments - what next for Osman Kavala and Selahattin Demirtaş?”.

Second panel

 The second panel to be held at the conference titled, “Prison, Isolation and Judiciary”. At the panel, Nahit Eren, head of Diyarbakır Bar Association, will discuss the penal system of Turkey. Cengiz Yürekli, lawyer of the Asrın Law Office, will speak on the panel about “isolation, prisons, and the Imrali experience” in Turkey. Miriam Frieding, lawyer and member of the Prison Delegation of 2023, will convey the observations and recommendations. Rengin Ergül, member of the Lawyers Association for Freedom (ÖHD), will evaluate the “right to hope” decision of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.

Third panel

The third panel to be held at the conference is titled, “Democratic perspective for Turkey”. Declan Owens, the International Officer for the Socialist Lawyers Association of Ireland, lawyer from Ecojustice Ireland and the co-chair of the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers, will talk about “Conflict Resolution Experiences and the Role of Law”. Caroline Stockford, PEN Norway Turkey Adviser, will talk about “The right to defense in Kurdish and oppression against the Kurdish journalists and media”. Giuliano Pisapia, MEP, Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament, will talk about, “Turkey's Democratization and Europe: Challenges and Contributions”.