05.10.221

To download the Press Release as Word Document: TEACHERS’ DAY 2021-Press-Release-eng_V1

To download the Press Release as PDF Document: TEACHERS’ DAY 2021-Press-Release-eng_V1

 

Two years after the COVID-19 pandemic, many education systems still face significant disruptions. Students and teachers in more than 50 countries continue to be affected by the total or partial school closure. But whether students are learning face-to-face or remotely, teachers are at the center of the process. Education is at the center of building human capital. Although teaching is the utmost important job, they are underpaid.  Adequate payment is not the only problem they are facing.

Today, we celebrate the extraordinary dedication and courage of all teachers and their capacity to adapt and innovate under very challenging and uncertain conditions. They are at the center of global education improvement efforts and play a key role in accelerating progress towards an inclusive, equitable, and quality education for every student, in all circumstances.

 

According to research carried out among teaching unions in more than 30 countries across Asia, Africa, Europe, and South America by Education International.^[1]

 

• There is a rise in profit-making, low-fee private schools, mainly in Africa and Latin America, which pay low teacher salaries and compromise quality as operating expenditures are brought down as much as possible to maximize profits.
• According to 50 percent of the unions; Violence in the classroom is making teaching unsafe.
• The mass media promotes “either a negative or a very negative attitude” towards teachers, according to 39 percent of the unions.
• Only one in three teachers report having access to continuing professional and leadership development (CPLD), and three-quarters see the CPLD they receive as poor quality.

Today, education is under attack in many countries. The attacks range from the bombing of schools to the killing of students and teachers. Rape and sexual violence, arbitrary arrests, and forced recruitment also occurred, instigated by armed groups. Attacks on education harm the students and teachers, but they also affect the communities in the short and long term.

 

To mention a few of these from many, ^[2]

• More than 22,000 students, teachers, and academics were injured, killed, or harmed in attacks on education during armed conflict or insecurity over the past five years.
• Between 2015 and 2019, 93 countries experienced at least one reported attack on education, marking an increase of 19 affected countries, up from 74 countries in the previous reporting period of 2013-2017.
• Attacks on higher education were reported in 73 countries. Law enforcement, military forces, or pro-government armed groups used excessive, even lethal, force to disperse university students and staff protesting on campuses or over education-related grievances, primarily in situations of insecurity.

 

As Broken Chalk, we want to take the attention of the international, national human rights organizations, human rights defenders, stakeholders, educational foundations, and associations into the challenges of  Teachers In Turkey.  The teachers from Turkey have been facing human rights violations from their Government for a long time now. Turkish Government has taken the lives of the teachers, their families. Being tortured and losing their jobs are among that educators have been suffering. Teachers have been exposed to torture, put in prison, exiled, and lost their lives.

 

• According to the data compiled by the Union of Education (Eğitim-Sen), Government dismissed 41,005 educators, including 33,965 teachers, 5,740 academic personnel, 1,300 administrative staff at educational facilities.^[3]
• Moreover, the Government revoked the teaching licenses of more than 23,464 teachers, who used to work for the private schools affiliated with the Gülen movement.^[4]
• One thousand sixty-nine private schools, 1550 university preparation schools, 301 private study centers, sixteen private universities were closed. ^[5]
• The Turkish Foreign Minister has been boastful about the abduction of around 100 educators from 18 countries by the Turkish National Intelligence Agency.^[6]

 

Due to unlawful and injustice practices of the current Government in Turkey, society’s oppression, cancellation of teachers’ diplomas, work permits, and passports, hundreds of thousands of people had to leave their country illegally by risking their lives. Unfortunately, some of them, including babies and children, lost their lives during their journeys across the Aegean Sea and Evros River.

 

As Broken Chalk,

• We urge the governments to honor the teachers for their commitments to quality education and ensure students have the trained, qualified and empowered teachers they deserve.
• We asked the Governments and armed groups to end attacks on education and refrain from using schools and universities for military purposes.
• We asked the Turkish Government to give all the rights of Teachers back.

 

We continue to claim the rights of teachers through the national and international judiciary. We want to draw the attention of governments, stakeholders, non-governmental organizations, and human rights defenders to fight against the Human Rights Violations which educators are facing.

 

We wish all the teachers in the world a Happy World Teachers’ Day!

Broken Chalk announces it to the public with due respect.

Broken Chalk*

 

*Broken Chalk is a human rights organization and mainly concentrates on violations in the educational field.

^[1] https://www.tes.com/news/seven-stark-problems-facing-teachers-globally

^[2] https://protectingeducation.org/publication/education-under-attack-2020/

^[3] https://stockholmcf.org/turkish-teacher-not-assigned-over-his-alleged-links-to-gulen-movement-killed-in-workplace-accident/

^[4] Source: https://stockholmcf.org/turkish-teacher-not-assigned-over-his-alleged-links-to-gulen-movement-killed-in-workplace-accident/

^[5] https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/2035329/ACCORD+Turkey+COI+Compilation+2020.pdf, https://stockholmcf.org/turkey-celebrates-teachers-day-as-tens-of-thousands-of-dismissed-teachers-jobless-or-in-prisons/

^[6] https://www.aa.com.tr/en/politics/over-100-feto-members-brought-back-to-turkey-cavusoglu/1205603

Cover Picture is from: https://en.unesco.org/sites/default/files/styles/commemoration_header/public/commemorations/world-teachers-day-2021-cover.png?itok=18IrYAVc

Reactions continue against the arbitrary detention of educator Orhan Inandi, who was kidnapped 9 days ago in Kyrgyzstan and allegedly held in the Turkish Embassy in Bishkek.

A group of activists gathered in Amsterdam Dam Square, the capital of the Netherlands, and called for educator Orhan İnandı to be found immediately.  Mr. Erdinc Demirkok reads the press release of Broken Chalk on the Enforced Disappearances of Educationist Orhan Inandi.

To download the press release as pdf please click the Orhan_Inandi_Press_Release_eng

 

Mohammed Ayat, Chair of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances, said tens of millions of disappearances are perpetrated around the world, with the daily number climbing towards 1,000 a day.[1]

 Another enforced disappearance occurs last week in Kyrgyzstan. Dual Turkish-Kyrgyz Citizen Educationist Orhan Inandi has been missing since May 31, 2021. Inandi is under the risks of torture, removal to Turkey.[2]

Orhan Inandi has been serving in Kyrgyzstan since 1995. He has been the chairman of International Sapat Educational Institutions since 2001.[3] The Turkish government in 2019 accused İnandı of links with the Gülen movement.[4]

Since 2015, hundreds of men alleged by the Turkish authorities to have links with the Gülen movement, living in countries around the world, have been arbitrarily detained and forcibly returned to Turkey. All these people are faced with very serious human rights violations in Turkey.

According to Turkey’s Justice Ministry, Turkey requests 807 people from 27 countries. Among those, 116 were transferred to Turkey as of July 2020.[5] In recent years some Turkish teachers have also been extradited from Albania[6], Kosovo[7] , and Malaysia[8] to Turkey.  The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found both parties guilty in those cases.

Allowing İnandı’s rendition to Turkey would violate Kyrgyzstan’s obligations under the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which it ratified in 1997. Article 3 of the convention includes an absolute prohibition on extraditing or returning anyone to a place where they risk being tortured. His forcible return could also set a worrying precedent in Kyrgyzstan.[9]

We request the Kyrgyzstan authorities for an urgent, transparent, and open investigation of the Disappearances of Inandi.

We call all the international bodies, human rights defenders, and every member of the public to raise their voices for the  Disappearances of Inandi, before it is too late.

Broken Chalk announces it to the public with due respect.

Broken Chalk*

 

*Broken Chalk is a human rights organization and mainly concentrates on violations in the educational field.

[1] https://www.un.org/press/en/2020/gashc4297.doc.htm

[2] https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/06/09/kyrgyzstan-missing-dual-turkish-kyrgyz-citizen-risks-torture-removal-turkey

[3] https://24.kg/english/195976_Sapat_educational_institution_asks_for_help_in_search_for_Orhan_Inandi/

[4] https://nordicmonitor.com/2019/08/5045/

[5] https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/15-temmuz-darbe-girisimi/firari-fetoculer-icin-105-ulkeyle-yurutulen-iade-trafigi/1908422

[6] https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=25127

[7]https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Detention/Opinions/Session88/A_HRC_WGAD_2020_47_Advance_Edited_Version.pdf

[8] https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Detention/Opinions/Session81/A_HRC_WGAD_2018_11.pdf

[9] https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/06/09/kyrgyzstan-missing-dual-turkish-kyrgyz-citizen-risks-torture-removal-turkey

Racial discrimination is any discrimination against any individual based on their skin color or racial or ethnic origin.[1] Systemic racism and discrimination are rooted in society’s structure, governments, the workplace, courts, police, and education institutions. Racism can be explicit but often exists in implicit, subtle, and insidious forms that can be hard to pin down.

As Broken Chalk[2], we would like to celebrate International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.[3] United Nations celebrated this year’s day with the theme of “Youth standing up against racism.”

Education plays an essential role in solving social problems and building a multicultural environment where there is no racism and discrimination. It plays a vital role in preparing the young generation for active participation in society and promoting solidarity and tolerance. Education should enable young people to acquire the sensitivities and skills needed to succeed in different communities. Unfortunately,  educational environments are at the forefront in meeting this need. Ethnic and religious minorities are still lagging in enjoying all their education rights. Racism and discrimination continue to show up in education systems in many ways today, such as; access to rights and education, bullying and harassment, discrimination in school, dropouts, educational attainment, emotional and symbolic violence, and monitoring and correction mechanisms.[4]

According to the YMCA’s Young and Black report[5], 95% of young none-white people in the U.K. have heard or witnessed racist language at school, with 51% of males saying they heard it “all the time”. Afro-American students are three times more likely to be suspended or expelled than their White peers.[6]

Structural inequalities and discrimination in our societies have increased more with the Covid-19 outbreak. There are new types of inequality and discrimination, particularly in healthcare, vaccines, and economics which the World is facing.  Access to education is a big challenge in many countries. Students and teachers are facing new types of discrimination due to pandemics.

All the E.U. member states are prohibited from direct and indirect racial discrimination in their national constitutions. But the overwhelming majority of the E.U. Member States do not restrict these types of unequal treatment in their education laws. Out of 28 E.U. member states, only nine states prohibited direct racial discrimination while only seven states prohibited indirect racial discrimination in their educational laws. Besides, there are only six states that refused harassment in education laws.[7]

Here we only mentioned the figure in the European Countries. European countries should immediately implement such laws in their constitutions to Eliminate Racial Discrimination.

An education provided equally, with inclusive teaching and learning materials, is a powerful preventive tool and antidote for conflict. Tackling structural racism requires a collaborative, society-wide effort. To Elimination Racial Discrimination, Broken Chalk asked all the governments and stakeholders to take this issue as the number one task in their educational plan. All the education ministers of the states should try their best to Eliminate Racial Discrimination in schools.

 

Broken Chalk announces it to the public with due respect.

Broken Chalk

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racial_discrimination

[2] Broken Chalk is a human rights organization and mainly concentrates on violations in the educational field.

[3] The UN General Assembly resolution 2142 (XXI)(link is external), adopted on 26 October 1966, proclaimed 21 March as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination to be commemorated annually. from https://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/2142%20(XXI)

[4] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330324073_Fighting_racism_and_promoting_equal_rights_in_the_field_of_education

[5] https://www.ymca.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/ymca-young-and-black.pdf

[6] https://www.thoughtco.com/how-racism-affects-public-school-minorities-4025361

[7] https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/racial_discrimination_in_education_and_eu_equality_law_web.pdf

Human rights violations in Tukey are increasing every individual day. Moreover, it is not easy for human rights defender to do their work.

Broken Chalk condemns the decision to strip human rights defender and Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Deputy Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu of his parliamentary seat and parliamentary immunity on and his detention.

Gergerlioglu’s conviction, expulsion from the Parliament, and detention undermine Turkey’s parliamentary democracy’s trust.  He was sentenced to 2 years and six months due to a social media post still available.[2]  His case is another example of the terrifying situation of freedom of speech in the country, the abuse of anti-terror measures to silence any critical voice, and the particular crackdown on the opposition in an attempt to limit pluralism.[3]

Turkish President presented a new Human Rights Action Plan[4] just three weeks before Gergerlioğlu’s expulsion from Parliament and his detention. That proves the Turkish Government is not ready to implement Human Rights Action Plan in the country.  Actions speak louder than words, and in this case, they talk notably louder than any promise of legal reforms and any speech towards the public.[5]

Gergerlioğlu firmly stands against all kinds of human rights violations in Turkey. He uses his political position to fight the Human Right Violations in the country. He has been the voice of victims of emergency decree laws, those who were subjected to torture and ill-treatment in prisons and police stations, those whose social and cultural rights were ignored in the Turkish Parliament. Nowadays, he was targeted by the parliament members of the ruling party (AKP).

There was a strip search on female university students in Usak[6]. Gergerlioglu increases his voice against this horrible act[7] and got support from many people within Turkey. People who face strip search publish their stories on social media.

In this respect, protecting human rights is becoming more complex every day in Turkey. Government increases its control on NGO’s and human rights defenders are doing their work under the pressure of the Turkish Government. At Broken Chalk, one of our primary duties is to protect and support all human rights defenders worldwide.

We call upon Turkish authorities to stop Human Rights violations that are done by Governmental bodies.  The Turkish Government should act according to its commitments to European standards and the international conventions that Turkey is a party to.

We express our support and solidarity with him and his family and continue to fight against human rights violations. We urge all human rights bodies, defenders, and stakeholders to stand for human rights, peace, and democracy in solidarity with him against injustice.

Broken Chalk announces it to the public with due respect.

Broken Chalk

[1] Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu (born 2 November 1964, in Şarkikaraağaç, Turkey) is a medical doctor (pulmonologist), human rights activist and an MP (Member of the Turkish Grand National Assembly – TBMM) for the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP). He has dedicated his political career to fighting

[2] https://bianet.org/english/politics/239629-court-of-cassation-upholds-hdp-deputy-gergerlioglu-s-prison-sentence

[3] https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20210317IPR00117/leading-meps-condemn-another-example-of-crackdown-on-opposition-in-turkey?xtor=AD-78-[Social_share_buttons]-[twitter]-[en]-[news]-[pressroom]-[leading-meps-condemn-another-example-of-crackdown-on-opposition-in-turkey]-

[4] https://www.aa.com.tr/en/politics/new-human-rights-plan-for-the-people-turkish-leader/2162111

[5] https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20210317IPR00117/leading-meps-condemn-another-example-of-crackdown-on-opposition-in-turkey?xtor=AD-78-[Social_share_buttons]-[twitter]-[en]-[news]-[pressroom]-[leading-meps-condemn-another-example-of-crackdown-on-opposition-in-turkey]-

[6] https://www.duvarenglish.com/strip-search-sexual-violence-claims-in-turkish-prisons-prompt-outrage-news-55501

[7] I will not give up following the incident in which the young female students got strip-searched on 31 August in Usak Police HQ. https://twitter.com/gergerlioglueng/status/1338956656151994369

Ukrainian soldiers arrested Salih Fidan[1] and Samet Gure[2] while trying to illegally cross the Ukraine-Poland border, which alleged the pair were members of the Gulen Movement.

President Zelensky personally invited people who suffer from political persecution, and he promised asylum and even passports.[3] The act of extraditing is unbelievable and unacceptable. According to the number of applications to The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), Turkey is the second country after Russia.

 

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Human rights advocates agree that seventy-two years after its issue, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is still more a dream than reality. Violations exist in every part of the world. Including the most develop and democratic countries. Human Rights Watch publish her report for 2020; it includes Australia, Canada, and the United States.[1]

Article 1 from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.[2]

According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, all Humans have a right to access Education, health-care, economic opportunities, and a decent standard of living. That is about not only our future but also the future of our children and grandchildren.

The efforts which done by State Governments, Human Rights Organizations, and Human Rights Defenders are not enough to fight against the Human Rights Violation. We encourage all the stakeholders to concentrate on Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
(1) Everyone has the right to Education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary Education shall be compulsory.

(2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance, and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the United Nations’ activities for the maintenance of peace.[3]

The main problem of humanity is the lack of proper Education.  Education remains an inaccessible right for millions of children around the world. More than 72 million children of primary education age are not in school, and 759 million adults are illiterate. They do not have the awareness necessary to improve both their living conditions and those of their children.[4] With the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic, at least 463 million children globally – were unable to access remote learning when COVID-19 shuttered their schools.[5]

The light of Education can help us eliminate the evils from the society and introduce good thoughts. We want to take all stakeholders and public attention such that Education is in danger in different parts of the world. The attacks range from the bombing of schools to the killing of students and teachers. Rape and sexual violence, arbitrary arrests, and forced recruitment also occurred, instigated by armed groups. Attacks on Education harm the students and teachers, but they also affect the communities both in the short and long term.

To mention a few of this from many,

• Nigeria: 611 Teachers Killed, 910 Schools Destroyed in Nine Years in Northeast[6]
• More than 22,000 students and teachers were harmed or killed in attacks on Education in the last five years.[7]
• America: Since 2009, at least 177 of America’s schools experienced a shooting.[8] Attackers killed 110 students and teachers, 246 injured.[9]
• Between 2015 and 2019, 93 countries experienced at least one attack on Education, 19 more countries than in the previous reporting period of 2013-2017.[10]
• Yemen and the Democratic Republic of Congo were particularly badly hit, with 1,500 attacks on schools in each country, and Afghanistan, Palestine, and Syria all saw 500.[11]
• Ukraine: Since the conflict began in early 2014, more than 750 educational facilities on both sides of the contact line have been damaged or destroyed due to hostilities.[12]
• In Turkey: According to the data compiled by the Union of Education (Eğitim-Sen), Government dismissed 41,005 educators.[13] In addition to that, sixteen private universities, where more than 56,000 students were taking high Education, were also closed, and thus 5,342 people, including 2,465 academicians, lost their jobs.[14]

Children and young people are silent victims of global bureaucracies, whose creative statistics and evasive vocabulary disguise their failure to translate any of the promises made into reality. The law, which mandates Education to be free and compulsory, has been thrown aside.  People in emerging countries are forced to pay up to a third of their annual income to keep a child at school. Worse, children have to work, even at school, to pay the cost of their primary Education.[15]

As Broken Chalk, with the reputable community and press members, we continue to claim the rights to Education through the national and international judiciary. We want to draw the attention of governments, stakeholders, non-governmental organizations, and human rights defenders to fight against the Human Rights Violations that educators are facing.

We wish with this great Human Rights Days will be the era for the entire individual to stand against Human Rights Violations.

Broken Chalk announces it to the public with due respect.

10.12.2020

Signed by

Broken Chalk

Human_Rights_Day_2020_Press_Release_PDF

[1] https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/world_report_download/hrw_world_report_2020_0.pdf

[2] https://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/

[3] https://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/

[4] https://www.humanium.org/en/right-to-education/

[5] https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/covid-19-least-third-worlds-schoolchildren-unable-access-remote-learning-during

[6] https://allafrica.com/stories/202009090067.html

[7] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/22000-students-teachers-harmed-killed-attacks-education-last/

[8] https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/3dbf6b680fc84036a3503159a96d50f2

[9] https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2019/07/us/ten-years-of-school-shootings-trnd/

[10] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/22000-students-teachers-harmed-killed-attacks-education-last/

[11] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/22000-students-teachers-harmed-killed-attacks-education-last/

[12] https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/attacks-schools-quadruple-conflict-hit-eastern-ukraine-unicef

[13] https://stockholmcf.org/turkish-teacher-not-assigned-over-his-alleged-links-to-gulen-movement-killed-in-workplace-accident/

[14] https://stockholmcf.org/turkey-celebrates-teachers-day-as-tens-of-thousands-of-dismissed-teachers-jobless-or-in-prisons/

[15] http://www.katarinatomasevski.com/

As the Broken Chalk Platform, we strongly condemn the tragic attack in Nice, France. We share the innocents’ sorrows who lost their lives in the attack.

 

These and similar events have again revealed that radical motivations are a severe threat to humanity. It is a fact that the attack in question targets the peace and tranquility of humanity.

 

It is unacceptable that these and similar radically motivated groups carried out their actions in Islam’s name.

We believe the negative atmosphere that has been created by this sad incident can only be overcome with a common-sense attitude.

 

While it is mentioned that all religions, languages, colors, and people of different nationalities can live together with their differences, world peace, tolerance, love, and universal human values, the terror incident in France deeply saddened us.

 

We hope that common sense and peace will dominate the world of the future, not dark thoughts.

 

We call every one of the public members to condemn the Nice attack without any ifs and buts.

 

 To download the press release in PDF

Broken Chalk

On behalf of the Broken Chalk members, Broken Chalk President Ramazan Ince made the English statement on 25th October in Amsterdam.

 

On 13 April, the Turkish Parliament passed a law it enabled the early release of up to 90,000 prisoners. But far too many people, including teachers, journalists, lawyers, police officers, army people, opposition politicians and activists, others who did not commit any crime other than being affiliated with groups the regime sees as political threats left behind the bars.[1]^{, [2]} Mustafa Kabakçıoğlu, a deputy chief police officer,  was among the prisoners who were not released. Kabakçıoğlu was in prison for the last four years and was accused of donating 5 Turkish Liras ( less than one euro) to a charity organization[3].

Mustafa Kabakçıoğlu was put in a quarantine cell since he started coughing on August 20. Mustafa Kabakçıoğlu died in a solitary confinement cell in Gümüşhane Prison on August 29, 2020, in Turkey [4]. The prison officers reportedly found him sitting alone on a white plastic chair with his head dropped to the back. The pictures released after his death from his quarantine cell summarize the inhuman conditions of the prisons in Turkey.[5]

 

In her efforts to defend human rights, Broken Chalk calls the Turkish authorities to investigate the case urgently, to find the truths behind Kabakçıoğlu’s death.

Turkey’s Justice Ministry has been withholding information from the public about the numbers of COVID-19 patients in the country’s prisons. Meanwhile, experts note that cases have been surging across correctional facilities, with both inmates and workers getting sick.[6]

 

Today in Turkey’s prison, according to the statement done by IHD, there are 1333 sick prisoners, 457 of which are in severe conditions.[7]

 

We call all national/international human rights organizations and human rights defenders to stand against all Turkish prisons’ inhuman treatments and not have the same experience.

Kabakçıoğlu’s death was not the first in Turkish prisons, but with your voice, it can be last.

We call every one of you to raise your voice for the death of Kabakçıoğlu for preventing new cases happen in Turkey.

Broken Chalk announces it to the public with due respect.

 

Signed by

Broken Chalk

 

To Download Press Release in PDF form please press this link

 

[1] https://www.amnesty.org/en/get-involved/take-action/turkey-covid-19-prisoners-release/

[2] https://theconversation.com/turkey-releasing-murderers-but-not-political-opponents-from-prison-amid-coronavirus-pandemic-136466

[3] https://pledgetimes.com/how-erdogan-has-his-opponents-penned-up-in-turkey/

[4] https://galusaustralis.com/2020/10/1023558/fear-of-death-in-the-lonely-cell-how-erdogan-locked-up-his-opponents-in-turkey-politics/

[5] https://www.boldmedya.com/2020/10/14/karantina-hucresinden-cenazesi-cikti-plastik-sandalyede-olum/

[6] https://www.duvarenglish.com/health-2/coronavirus/2020/10/13/turkish-justice-ministry-withholds-covid-19-data-on-prisoners/

[7] https://m.bianet.org/bianet/insan-haklari/207245-ihd-hapishanelerde-457-si-agir-1333-hasta-mahpus-var

With the theme “Teachers: Leading in crisis, reimagining the future”

The World is celebrating October 5 as the World Teachers’ Day.

On behalf of the Broken Chalk members, Broken Chalk Spokesperson Erdinç Demirok made the English statement.

“Teachers are the architects of society. Every individual accepts that education is the number one priority of humanity. Without the proper knowledge, we could not be able to create a peaceful community. The light of education can help us eliminate the evils from society and introduce good thoughts. Today we would like to celebrate The Teachers Day of all the teachers in the World. Moreover, we would like to bring to the public attention world teachers in danger in different parts of the world. The attacks range from the bombing of schools to the killing of students and teachers. Rape and sexual violence, arbitrary arrests, and forced recruitment also occurred, instigated by armed groups. Attacks on education harm the students and teachers, but they also affect the communities both in the short and long term.”

To download the English version of the press release 5th_Oct_20_Teachers_Day_Press_Release_Eng

11^th September 2020

President of the European Court of Human Rights Spano visited Turkey in the first days of September. Human Rights Defenders have a great expectation from this visit; unfortunately, it was a great disappointment. Few days after his visit, 11 September 2020, Forty-eight lawyers, seven intern lawyers, four dismissed judges, and one law school graduate are arrested based on which clients they represent.¹

 

The report, which is published by Arrested Lawyers Initiative in August 2020, stated that;

 

“According to the latest version of the report, since 2016’s coup attempt, more than 1500 lawyers have been prosecuted and 605 lawyers arrested (remanded to pretrial detention). So far, 441 lawyers have been sentenced to a total of 2728 years in prison on the grounds of membership of an armed terrorist organization or of spreading terrorist propaganda.”²

 

Following statement said by Turkish President Erdogan on his speech during the opening new legal year for 2020.

 

“If people who work in other institutions can be dismissed from their profession for supporting terrorism, I think the possible necessity of such a move for the lawyers should also be discussed,”³

 

With his speech openly, Erdogan targeted the Lawyers who are defending the oppositions. Only a week after President Erdogan’s speech, 60 Lawyers were arrested.

 

Lawyers are the only legal people who can defend the people who are facing Human Rights Violations. In today’s Turkey, it is not easy for a jailed opposition to get a lawyer who will protect their fundamental Human rights. The persecution of lawyers facilitates torture and ill-treatment of detained persons and prevent them from asking that their fundamental human rights are respected.

 

Please do not remain silent against this unlawfulness.

 

We are requesting urgent action from all Human Rights Defenders and Organizations to take appropriate steps against the Turkish Government’s unlawfulness.

 

Signed by

Broken Chalk

Download Press Release Lawyers Detained in Turkey  as a PDF file 

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¹https://ahvalnews.com/arrested-lawyers/ankara-prosecutor-orders-arrest-60-legal-professionals-gulen-investigation

²https://arrestedlawyers.org/2020/07/30/report-update-mass-prosecution-of-lawyers-in-turkey-2016-2020-2/

³https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/focus-on-judicial-reforms-as-legal-year-begins-in-turkey/news