The arrest of Enes Hocaoğulları, a delegate of a selected CSO, for his speech at the Council of Europe constitutes not only a violation of individual rights, but also a threat to civil society's right to participate in decision-making processes at the local, national and international levels, as well as to freedom of association and freedom of expression.
Such interventions targeting the legitimacy of expressing opinions through international mechanisms once again highlight the need to safeguard freedom of expression and democratic participation, while also reminding us that these rights are interdependent and interconnected.
The 17 May Association, the Youth Organisations Forum (GoFor), the Kaos GL Association and the ÜniKuir Association, which came together to issue a joint press statement against the detention decision regarding Hocaoğulları, also shared these views.
Human rights organisations that made a statement at the Ankara branch of the Human Rights Association (İHD) described the detention of Hocaoğulları following his speech as a political decision rather than a legal one.
Accused of ‘spreading misleading information’
Hocaoğulları, a youth delegate to the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe and an LGBT+ activist, was arrested in Ankara on 5 August on charges of ‘inciting hatred and hostility among the public’ and ‘publicly spreading misleading information’ due to a speech he made at the Council of Europe on 27 March.
In his speech at the 48th Session of the Congress, Hocaoğulları addressed the violence faced by young people during protests in Turkey and the arrest of opposition mayors, and was targeted by pro-government media and social media accounts.
In a joint statement by human rights organisations, it was stated that the information provided by Hocaoğulları during his speech was also included in reports by bar associations and civil society organisations, that these issues were being discussed in the public sphere, and that, in this sense, they could not be legally classified as ‘misleading information.’
‘The result of an anti-LGBTQ+ political climate’
The statement summarised as follows:
"We know that the arrest warrant was not issued based on a genuine legal assessment. The crime of “publicly disseminating misleading information” is used in Turkey as a means of suppressing press freedom and civil society. Its definition is extremely vague, and the criteria for what constitutes misleading information are not clearly specified. This ambiguity has been deliberately created by the political authorities in order to arbitrarily restrict freedom of expression and criminalise human rights advocacy.
The punishment of a youth delegate appointed by the Council of Europe for his legitimate statements made on an international platform targets not only the struggle for rights, law, justice and democracy in Turkey, but also the legitimacy of international human rights mechanisms. Enes's arrest is the result of a deepening anti-LGBTQ+ political climate in Turkey, where human rights defenders have long been criminalised and suppressed."
Demands listed
Human rights organisations listed their demands, calling on international mechanisms to intervene urgently on behalf of the Hocaoğulları and on the public to show solidarity.
They demanded the immediate release of Enes Hocaoğulları, a clear stance against the arrest by all international institutions, particularly the Council of Europe, the repeal of Article 217/A of the Turkish Penal Code, which threatens freedom of expression, and an end to hate campaigns against LGBTİ+ people and repressive ‘family year’ policies.