The European Judges for Democracy and Freedoms (MEDEL) translated into 12 languages and published letters from Turkish judges and prosecutors who were jailed or dismissed after a 2016 coup attempt in Turkey, in solidarity with the victims of a purge that has been taking place in the country.
Some of the letters were written by relatives of jailed judges and prosecutors in order to inform the organization.
MEDEL declared May 23 the “alert day” for the independence of justice in Europe, marking the date of Giovanni Falcone’s assassination by the Italian mafia in 1992.
The organization will also hold a conference in Poland where the letters from Turkish colleagues will be exhibited.
“Very dark signs have arisen all over Europe in recent years, inside and outside the European Union. However, in no place as in Turkey did we witness such an orchestrated and premeditated campaign to completely destroy the independence of the Judiciary and the Rule of Law,” the organization said in a statement.
“During these years, MEDEL received many messages from colleagues, relatives and other sources, reporting what was happening to judges and prosecutors in Turkey. With the collaboration of its member associations, MEDEL is today publishing an ebook with a selection of those letters, translated in 12 different languages,” it added.
Most of the letters were published without names due to the massive crackdown targeting even the families of purge victims.
Turkey has dismissed more than 4,000 judges and prosecutors since the coup attempt.