Michael Newman, a solicitor in the
employment and discrimination team at Leigh Day, was recently invited to be a legal observer at a criminal trial in Izmir, Turkey on behalf of ICTUR (the International Centre for Trade Union Rights). The case has been followed by ICTUR for two years, in which 30 trade unionists have been charged with terrorist offences, subjected to lengthy periods of detention, and prevented from travelling during a protracted legal process.
Michael reports that freedom of association in Turkey is being 'severely undermined' by the use of restricted indictments, charges without specified evidence, and an unduly long prosecution process. The report looks also at the international standards applicable to this case under the Conventions of the International Labour Organisation and under the European Convention on Human Rights.
His report is published today and can be accessed via the trial observers page at the new
ICTUR website.
The report has been presented to KESK (the public sector union to which the defendants belong) and to the global union federation Education International, which has been coordinating the international trade union response to this case.