Turkish Human Rights Lawyer Taner Kılıç Speaks Out After Acquittal, Cites Amnesty InternationalS Crucial Support During Imprisonment
Istanbul, Türkiye – prominent Turkish human rights lawyer Taner Kılıç has spoken publicly for the first time following his recent acquittal, detailing the psychological impact of imprisonment based on unsubstantiated allegations and the vital role international organizations like Amnesty International played in securing his freedom. Kılıç was initially arrested in 2016 amidst a widespread crackdown following a failed coup attempt,accused of using the ByLock messaging app – a claim he vehemently denies.
“The accusations against me were absurd and unfair. Yet a campaign was waged against me on television, newspapers and social media. I wanted to stop everyone on the street – whether I knew them or not – and tell them: ‘What they say about me is not true. They are lies!'” Kılıç recounted, describing his helplessness while incarcerated and cut off from the outside world. “During this time when my voice was suppressed and silenced, Amnesty was my voice. Psychologically that was very important for me.”
Kılıç’s case was far from isolated. He estimates the ByLock allegation appeared in the files of “tens, if not hundreds, of thousands” of people, leading to widespread convictions.His case garnered international attention, prompting statements from Amnesty International, united Nations committees, the European Parliament, and foreign ministries including the German Foreign Ministry.
“If there were so many inconsistencies in my case, imagine the other cases,” Kılıç stated, drawing on his experiences as a lawyer while imprisoned and reviewing numerous files. He described a system where individuals were routinely imprisoned immediately upon being brought before a judge.
While acknowledging a decrease in arrests in recent years,Kılıç cautioned against assuming fairness in Turkey’s political processes. “It would be premature to claim that political processes in Turkey are fair,” he said, noting that both the Turkish Supreme court (Yargıtay) and the European Court of Human Rights ultimately found in his favor.
The period following the July 2016 coup attempt saw a dramatic increase in pressure on civil society, with numerous organizations closed and activists facing prosecution and arrest, as detailed in reports by Amnesty International (https://www.amnesty.de/2016/7/18/tuerkei-nach-dem-putsch-menschenrechte-ernsthaft-gefahr and https://www.amnesty.de/informieren/aktuell/angeklagt-weil-sie-menschenrechte-verteidigen). This pressure, Kılıç explained, forced many individuals working in or aspiring to work in state institutions to withdraw from civic organizations, significantly weakening civil society and human rights solidarity networks.
