KAYIKI
Press Release
CALL FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF TANER KILIÇ, MEMBER OF
KAYIKI AND HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER
9 June
2017
On June
6, 2017 Taner Kılıç, devoted lawyer, chair of Amnesty International Turkey,
founding member of Mülteci-Der and a member of Kayiki network, has been
detained in Izmir, Turkey.
We,
members of Kayiki, call for his immediate and unconditional release and
suspension of all charges. The accusations brought against Mr. Kılıç are vague
and non-evidence based.
Taner Kılıç
is a respected lawyer who has been defending and advocating human rights for
decades. He stood at the basis of various human rights organisations, as well
as our Greek-Turkish network on refugee and migrant rights across borders. He
is a leading figure in refugee rights advocacy and contributes significantly to
the establishment of a human rights based civil asylum system in Turkey. At the
same, he has been training and educating lawyers in the field of refugee rights
across Turkey.
The rule
of law has always been the leading principle in his work. His current detention
along with 22 lawyers from Izmir, on suspicion of being a member of Fetullah
Gulen (“FETO”) is yet another example of arbitrary and unlawful practices
carried out by the Turkish government in the aftermath of the attempted coup in
July 2016.
Taner Kılıç
is our friend and gifted colleague, a human rights defender and a courageous lawyer.
He has been always on the right side to speak out for the others.
We are
calling for his immediate release and ask the support and solidarity of the international
community to defend a respected human rights defender.
#FreeTanerKilic
Kayiki
About KAYIKI
Kayiki is a
network of human rights activists promoting refugee rights on both sides of the Aegean
Sea. It was
established in
2008 and since then active
in networking especially about the
deaths of refugees in Aegean Sea and the violations of human rights in the
border areas.
Like a “kayiki” (a
common word for fishing-boat in Greek and Turkish) our initiative aims to
establish networks and cooperation and to raise awareness in both sides of the Aegean Sea and in
the rest of Europe.
Contact:
kayikiv3@gmail.com
Efi Latsoudi 0030 6976234668 (Greece)
Orçun Ulusoy 0031 620746152 (The Netherlands)