The Italian lawyer Barbara Spinelli was stopped on the frontier, in Istanbul airport, while she was travelling to Ankara to participate, as a speaker, to the International Conference “The judicial system under the state of emergency in Turkey”, organised by the European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and World Human Rights.
Following a night of administrative detention, the lawyer Barbara Spinelli was expelled and banned from Turkey, and returned to Bologna, Italy, being considered dangerous for public order for her activity of international observer on Human Rights.
MEDEL expresses its full solidarity to the lawyer Barbara Spinelli for the unjust treatment suffered related to her professional activity and reiterates its deep concerns for the prolongation of the state of emergency in Turkey, in derogation to the fundamental rights recognised by the European and international community, which hits in particular lawyers, journalists, civil servants and magistrates committed to democracy and Rule of Law.
MEDEL calls for the immediate release of lawyers, journalists, civil servants and magistrates imprisoned in Turkey and for the celebration of fair trials opened to international observers.
17 January 2017