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Violence against women, while it continues in Turkey as in the whole world, will ever be challenged by women who unyieldingly continue to raise their voices and speak out against violence. The founder of the Legal Aid Office for the Victims of Sexual Harassment and Rape in Custody, Eren Keskin, who has never shrunk from denouncing violence against women, delivered a speech in 2002 at a conference in Cologne, Germany under the theme “Women’s Rights are Human Rights”. In this speech, she shared incidents of violence originating in action of the state with the public. As a result of this speech, she was charged by the Military High Command and Professor Necla Arat with “insulting the moral character of the military” and a case was opened by the Kartal 3rd District Criminal Court against her. In March 2006, at the conclusion of the trial, Eren Keskin was sentenced to 10 months imprisonment. The court, however, converted the sentence into a fire of 6000 YTL. Keskin, who considers this trial to have been a violation of her right to free speech, has declared that she refuses to buy her freedom. Eren Keskin is one of the many women who have been struggling for many years to develop a culture of human rights and democracy in Turkey. During the course of her work with the Legal Aid Office for the Victims of Sexual Harassment and Rape in Custody, she has helped to provide 222 women who have experienced sexual violence at the hands of the state and whose grievances still continue with pro bono legal assistance. However, unfortunately in our country, such work is met with resistance rather than support. In Turkey, as in the rest of the world, there are women who are the victims of sexual violence and torture applied as a strategy of war, who, due to fear of the security forces, do not try to bring their torturers to account. In such circumstances, a human rights activist seeking to open these facts to the public and attempting to raise public debate is being sentenced under the Turkish Criminal Code’s Clause 301 which shows the restriction of “freedom” to a narrowly defined field. Sentenced for disclosing well-documented concrete evidence of violence against women to the public… The matter of discussing the information and evidence uncovered, of pursuing these allegations, punishing violations and taking preventive action if substantiated and the need to disprove these allegations should they prove baseless have been ignored. Rather than dealing with the matter in this way, the full force of the law has fallen on Eren Keskin. The women who have suffered sexual violence at the hands of the state remain unaddressed with no opportunity to present their grievances at all. An essential condition of a democratic society is the maintenance of the right to free speech, not only of those views supporting the official position of the state but also those views which may run counter to popular consensus or even viewpoints which may be shocking to many. A society which does not uphold the right to think freely and which dismisses the grievances of woman can not be said to be democratic, nor can women be said to be free under these conditions. For this reason, the punishment imposed on Eren Keskin, shows once again that in our country, not only free speech but also the freedom of women still face major obstacles. We, the women forming Eren Keskin Solidarity Network, believe that this punishment is a punishment on all who believe in democracy and social peace. We call on everyone who believes in democracy and considers free speech as an essential plank of a democratic society, and we call on all who believe and all who say “No to violence against women!” whoever the perpetrator may be to protest the sentence of the court. “Solidarity with Eren Keskin for Woman and Human Rights!!!” campaign is continuing in two ways: petition campaigns and “Give 1 YTL for Woman and Human Rights!!!” campaign. The petition signatures will be delivered to the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Turkey in June 2006. If the of the Court of Appeal affirms the sentence, 6000 YTL, which is an exchange for expression of ideas, will be collected from the individuals as 1 YTL coins. If the decision of the Court of Appeal goes in the other way, the amount collected in the campaign will be transferred to the Human Rights Association to be used in their studies. To join the campaign, please apply to Human Rights Associations in the cities. The Women in Solidarity with Eren Keskin Network |
