On Wednesday, 26 June, at the beginning of the trial in Turkey of 16 representatives of civil society – including human rights defenders Osman Kavala and Yiğit Aksakoğlu – for their involvement in the demonstrations in Gezi Park in 2013, the spokesperson for the European External Action Service stressed the importance of the presumption of innocence.
In a statement, the spokesperson said that “real and lasting improvements in the area of fundamental freedoms and the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary, including respect for the principle of the presumption of innocence and due process of law, remain essential for the development of EU-Turkey relations”.
She stressed that the EU would continue to monitor the ongoing trial closely, as it would all trials involving journalists, parliamentarians, human rights defenders, lawyers and academics.
And while the spokesperson welcomed the release of Yiğit Aksakoğlu pending the verdict, she called for the release “without delay” of philanthropist Osman Kavala (see EUROPE 11897/7). “The use of prolonged pre-trial detention may undermine the principle of the presumption of innocence and the defendant’s right to a fair trial”, she stressed, as the two men had been held in detention since November 2018 and November 2017 respectively.
The spokesperson added that the decision to charge demonstrators in Gezi Park and request life sentences is a source of concern. It “contributes to creating a climate of fear and discouraging the right to peaceful assembly”, she added, expressing the hope that independent civil society organisations will be able to go about their legal and legitimate activities without restriction. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)