Turkey's new draconian measures on right of assembly challenged by lawyers

ANKARA

Turkey's Union of Turkish Bar Associations (TBB) has appealed the Council of State for the suspension and annulment of the execution of a new regulation by the Interior Ministry that restricts the right to assembly and demonstration.

The regulation contradicts relevant laws, the European Convention on Human Rights and democratic society order, as well as not being prudent, the TBB said in its petition. 

The union called on the Council of State to apply to the Constitutional Court, as the regulation had no basis in the constitution. 

The change in the 1985-dated decree regulating the right to assembly and demonstration restricts the use of this right considerably. The change grants governors and district governors the ability to cancel any meeting or demonstration on the grounds of posing a risk to public order.

The Interior Ministry renewed the regulation and restricted the use of rights on assembly and demonstration. The new decree has given civilian authorities authorization to ban assemblies and demonstrations in cases of “open and close danger.”

While a previous regulation gave security officers the right to “disperse groups by using force,” the amendment now allows security forces to “use pressurized water, colored water or other methods of force.”

Police officers will be authorized to make detentions without warning if they determine any crime has been committed.

The supervising authority will have the ability to choose the routes of the march if there is more than one alternative. The supervising authority will also be responsible for blocking and informing security officers about attendees wearing symbols of illegal groups and those covering their faces.