Sherif Abdel Hamid: The series of human rights violations in Turkey continues until now

During the activities of the 41st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, which began on June 24, 2019 and continues until next July 12, the Maat Foundation for Peace, Development and Human Rights presented an intervention on the violations against human rights defenders in Turkey, during the interactive dialogue with The Special Rapporteur on Peaceful Assembly and Association.

 Where the Foundation denounced during the intervention the practices and violations against human rights defenders in Turkey by the Erdogan regime, which ranged from arrest, imprisonment and threats of physical attacks to the final closure of hundreds of human rights organizations. The intervention also made clear that since the failed coup attempt in 2016, the authorities The Turkish government renewed the state of emergency seven times, and accordingly, about 1,300 associations and non-governmental institutions were closed. Laws have also been amended that paved the way for the Turkish authorities to curb basic freedoms, including freedom of association, under the pretext of preserving national security or public order, and as a result, they arrested a large number of activists and human rights defenders.

Sherif Abdel Hamid, Director of the Research and Studies Unit at Maat Foundation, explained that although the state of emergency officially ended in the country in July 2018, and replaced by an anti-terrorism law, this law does not differ in its arbitrary texts from the emergency law, but rather expanded it by expanding the president's broad powers. Originally - and state governors concerned to restrict gatherings and movement.

Sharif said that the Turkish authorities are working to restrict the right to freedom of peaceful assembly. Sometimes they imprison university students, following peaceful protests, against the Turkish attack on Afrin, where 18 students were imprisoned, and more of them were tried on charges such as "insulting the president." And another accuses the protesters of spreading terrorist propaganda, and the Ministry of the Interior has banned weekly gatherings of some Turkish organizations, and the Director of the Research Unit confirmed that the series of human rights violations in Turkey is still continuing, in what is similar to what is happening now in Turkey with "collective punishment of Turkish citizens."

It is worth noting that the Maat Foundation participates during this session with an international mission consisting of 26 people from 8 Arab, African and European countries, including Egypt, Italy, Romania, Turkey, Latvia, Switzerland, Somalia and Kenya.

During its participation in the work of the 41st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, which started its work yesterday and continues until July 12, 2019,