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| Amnesty's Turkey chief and 10 others go on trial in post-coup crackdown | |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| The head of Amnesty International in Turkey and 10 other rights activists have gone on trial in Istanbul in one of the most high-profile tests of Turkish criminal law since the failed coup in 2016 led to tens of thousands of arrests and dismissals from public office. | |
| Taner Kılıç, chair of Amnesty in Turkey since 2014, is on trial on two separate charges, largely on the basis of allegations that he downloaded a widely available phone messaging application called ByLock. | |
| The Turkish prosecuting authorities claim the app was used by supporters of the US-based cleric Fethullah Gülen to communicate secretly ahebefore the coup attempt. | The Turkish prosecuting authorities claim the app was used by supporters of the US-based cleric Fethullah Gülen to communicate secretly ahebefore the coup attempt. |
| The Turkish government has asserted that Gülen was the mastermind behind the coup and the Turkish supreme court of appeals ruled in September that possession of the encrypted app may be sufficient basis to determine whether someone backed the military uprising. | The Turkish government has asserted that Gülen was the mastermind behind the coup and the Turkish supreme court of appeals ruled in September that possession of the encrypted app may be sufficient basis to determine whether someone backed the military uprising. |
| “This is ostensibly a trial of human rights defenders attending a workshop on an island in Istanbul, but in fact it is the Turkish justice system and Turkish authorities that are on trial,” said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty’s director for Europe and Central Asia, outside the courthouse. | |
| Police blocked off the square outside the court, Istanbul’s Palace of Justice in the central Caglayan district, although the area was thronged with journalists. | |
| The charges relate to a digital security and stress training workshop Amnesty held in a hotel outside the city that the prosecuting authorities claim was a secret meeting to organise an uprising, or even conduct espionage. Most of the 10 Amnesty supporters present at the meeting have been held in jail since their arrest on 18 July. Kılıç did not attend the workshop, because he was in prison after being arrested the previous month. He is accused of knowing it was going ahead. | |
| Kılıç, in his witness statement, says he had not even heard of the app until after the coup. The Turkish prosecution case states records in its file show his phone number downloaded the app in August 2014. | Kılıç, in his witness statement, says he had not even heard of the app until after the coup. The Turkish prosecution case states records in its file show his phone number downloaded the app in August 2014. |
| Amnesty disclosed that it has conducted two forensic examinations of Kılıç’s phone, including one by the international technology firm SecureWorks, and found no trace of the ByLock app on the phone. Such an investigation could not be totally conclusive, but security experts say it would take “a highly skilled technical operator” to remove all trace of the app from the phone. | Amnesty disclosed that it has conducted two forensic examinations of Kılıç’s phone, including one by the international technology firm SecureWorks, and found no trace of the ByLock app on the phone. Such an investigation could not be totally conclusive, but security experts say it would take “a highly skilled technical operator” to remove all trace of the app from the phone. |
| Amnesty pointed out that downloading ByLock should not of itself be a crime since the app had been downloaded over 600,000 times throughout the world between April 2102 and April 2016. | Amnesty pointed out that downloading ByLock should not of itself be a crime since the app had been downloaded over 600,000 times throughout the world between April 2102 and April 2016. |
| But in a landmark case the Turkish supreme court in September ruled that the ByLock app was redesigned exclusively for the use of Gülenist members, and was therefore sufficient grounds to find someone guilty of being member of a terrorist organisation. | But in a landmark case the Turkish supreme court in September ruled that the ByLock app was redesigned exclusively for the use of Gülenist members, and was therefore sufficient grounds to find someone guilty of being member of a terrorist organisation. |
| Turkish intelligence claims to have identified via IP addresses nearly 100,000 Turks who may have communicated with the ByLock server. But Amnesty argues that an IP address is not linked to a single individual, and cannot be used as the basis for charging anyone. | Turkish intelligence claims to have identified via IP addresses nearly 100,000 Turks who may have communicated with the ByLock server. But Amnesty argues that an IP address is not linked to a single individual, and cannot be used as the basis for charging anyone. |
| Kılıç is also accused of having a bank account with Bank Asya not for his own benefit, implying that he put money into the Gülen-linked bank on behalf of the Gülenist movement. | Kılıç is also accused of having a bank account with Bank Asya not for his own benefit, implying that he put money into the Gülen-linked bank on behalf of the Gülenist movement. |
| Kılıç, a respected lawyer specialising in refugee work, said tens of thousands of people have Asya bank accounts and that he used the account to help pay for the schooling of his daughter. He has also been accused of being linked via his brother-in-law with the Gülenist newspaper Zaman. | Kılıç, a respected lawyer specialising in refugee work, said tens of thousands of people have Asya bank accounts and that he used the account to help pay for the schooling of his daughter. He has also been accused of being linked via his brother-in-law with the Gülenist newspaper Zaman. |
| The post-coup crackdown has seen more than a hundred thousand Turks imprisoned or lose their jobs. It has also led to a rupture in relations between the EU and Istanbul, including a decision by EU leaders to consider cutting EU accession funding to Turkey. | The post-coup crackdown has seen more than a hundred thousand Turks imprisoned or lose their jobs. It has also led to a rupture in relations between the EU and Istanbul, including a decision by EU leaders to consider cutting EU accession funding to Turkey. |