<\/p>\n
Eren Keskin is a lawyer and co-President of the Turkish Association for Human Rights (IHD).<\/strong>\u00a0In 1997, she founded a legal aid office dedicated to women who suffered sexual assaults or rape by the security forces in Turkish prisons. Very critical towards the Turkish regime, Eren Keskin regularly denounced the exactions committed on minorities, especially the Kurdish. She was consequently accused several times of \u201cdisparaging the Turkish State\u201d. In 1995, she was imprisoned for 6 months for having used the term \u201cKurdistan\u201d in an article. She was also condemned several times for having denounced the abuses committed by the Turkish army.<\/p>\n Her involvement, as well as the judicial harassment she is the object of (with a\u00a0total of 143 procedures launched against her<\/strong>), have earned her many distinctions: Eren Keskin is an honorary member of the Paris Bar association; she received the Helsinki Civil Society Award in 2018; she also received the Martin Ennal Award in 2019, which is bestowed by 10 of the most important human rights NGOs (as a tribute to Martin Ennals, Secretary General of Amnesty International).<\/p>\n As part of a solidarity campaign organized to support the pro-Kurdish newspaper\u00a0<\/strong>\u00d6zg\u00fcr G\u00fcndem<\/em><\/strong>, she held the function of co-editor-in-chief from 2013 to 20165.<\/strong><\/p>\n Because of this campaign, Eren Keskin is prosecuted along with Asli Erdogan (writer and editor of\u00a0\u00d6zg\u00fcr G\u00fcndem<\/em>) and Erol \u00d6ndero\u011flu (representative of Reporters Without Borders in Turkey), as well as many other human rights defenders. The charges are \u2013 among others \u2013 \u201cassociation with a terrorist group\u201d, \u201cdamage to the national unity\u201d, \u201cpublic incitement to the commission of crimes\u201d.\u00a0She was condemned on March 30th<\/sup>, 2018 to 7,5 years of imprisonment due to articles written in this newspaper.<\/strong><\/p>\n On May 21st<\/sup>, 2019, Eren keskin was again condemned to 3 years and 9 months of prison on charges of \u201cpropaganda on behalf of a terrorist organization\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>(which again is linked to her writings in\u00a0\u00d6zg\u00fcr G\u00fcndem<\/em>).<\/p>\n On March 20th<\/sup>, 2018, she had already been condemned in 49 procedures, among which 6 imprisonment sentences. These 6 sentences were replaced by day-fines (9541\u20ac in total). For 40 other procedures amounting to a total of 5 years of imprisonment (day-fines amounting to 69357\u20ac), appeals are being examined. She was acquitted in 3 other procedures.<\/p>\n During the audience before the 14th<\/sup>\u00a0Criminal Court of Istanbul, Eren keskin declared: \u201cI support freedom of thought and expression. I became editor-in-chief because I supported freedom of publication. I do not think I committed a crime. Nor do I think that this very thought is a crime. I demand my acquittal<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n The OIAD\u00a0<\/strong>expresses its full support to Eren keskin as well as to all the\u00a0Turkish lawyers\u00a0facing repression from the regime. Turkish authorities must cease all intimidation attempts against lawyers struggling for the respect of fundamental rights and liberties.<\/p>\n