Arrest demand for human rights lawyer Eren Keskin

Özgür Gündem former co-chief editor Eren Keskin has been referred to court with a demand for her arrest.

Özgür Gündem former co-chief editor, human rights advocate Eren Keskin has been taken to the Istanbul Courthouse in Çağlayan within the scope of an investigation launched against her on alleged charges of “membership to a terrorist organisation” and “disrupting the unity and integrity of the state”.

.Keskin's lawyers and a number of lawyers from Libertarian Lawyers' Association (ÖHD) and Progressive Lawyers' Association (ÇHD) also cam to court in solidarity with Keskin, an unyielding defender of human rights. Keskin testified to Press Prosecutor Umut Tepe and she was advocated by a group of lawyers, mostly women.

Eren Keskin said the followings in her testimony:

"Me and Hüseyin Aykol run the co-chief editorship of Özgür Gündem daily until March 27, 2016. I am writing for this newspaper every 15 days. My position as co-chief editor is completely symbolic. Many editors and writers of this newspaper were killed in 'unidentified' murders, such as Musa Anter, Ferhat Tepe and Hüseyin Deniz. I became a chief editor of the newspaper in solidarity with the seek for the exposure of these killings. Regarding 'unidentified' murders, Saturday Mothers and IHD held a meeting at Dolmabahçe Palace with the then Prime Minister and now President Reccep Tayyip Erdoğan. I attended that meeting as an administrator of Human Rights Association. Erdoğan pledged that 'there will be no more unidentified murders and perpetrators of all those committed so far will get arrested during our ruling'. This meeting was held in 2014 but I do not remember the exact date. I have no authority or activity like determining the editorial policy of this newspaper. I am actively doing my job as a lawyer. For this reason, it is not possible for me to spend many working hours on this newspaper. I am writing for this paper mainly on human rights and violence against women. I am not informed of the articles written by PKK/KCK executives with pseudonym. I am a human rights defender and I have never been member of any organisation so far. I have never been investigated on charges of 'membership to a terror organisation'. In addition, I am not an executive of the newspaper and I do not accept the accusations directed at me."