OUTCOME: FREE IMPRISONED HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER

Dear Chief Public Prosecutor Akın Gürlek,

I write to express my deep concern at the ongoing detention of the prominent human rights defender, Nimet Tanrıkulu, who has been held at Sincan women’s prison in Ankara since November 29, 2024. In December 2024, she was indicted for “membership of a terrorist organization” by a court in Ankara, which also ruled that it had no jurisdiction and transferred the prosecution file to Istanbul, the province of her residence and where she was detained. The first hearing in the prosecution will take place on March 4, 205 at the Istanbul Heavy Penal Court no. 24.

Amnesty International examined the questions Nimet Tanrıkulu was asked during interrogation and allegations in the indictment, namely her historic travel, participation in civil society events relating to Kurdish human rights issues during the 2013/14 peace process, mobile phone signals from same base station as other individuals, and witness statements. None of the accusations leveled against Nimet Tanrıkulu could be considered on their own as constituting material links with an armed group.

The speed with which an indictment has been drawn up is welcome, however, Amnesty International believes that the accusations in the indictment appear to be a series of inferences and vague allegations rather than rely on material evidence that demonstrate that she is guilty of having committed an internationally recognizable offense. This fits into a pattern documented by the organization of how baseless anti-terrorism charges have been used to target and silence peaceful, legitimate dissent in Türkiye.

I therefore call on you to request that Nimet Tanrıkulu is released from pre-trial detention pending her prosecution.

Yours sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]