Since the attempted coup d’état of 15 July 2016 and the declaration of a state of emergency in Turkey, the Government has adopted more than 30 decrees with the effect of seriously curtailing fundamental rights and freedoms and eroding democracy in Turkey. The “Turkey Human Rights Litigation Support Project” , established in collaboration with the Law Faculty of Middlesex University, seeks to support human rights lawyers and advocates within the country to engage in strategic litigation and legal advocacy to counter downward human rights trends. The project activities started in early 2018 by identifying strategic cases related to the state of emergency, and work is now underway on selected cases and third party interventions. Helen Duffy of HRiP/ Leiden University and Philip Leach of Middlesex University are the project supervisors, working alongside the project team Ayse Bingol Demir, Sanya Karakas and Beril Onder and Turkey-based partners.
For cases and interventions, see ‘Litigation and Advice’.