Social services specialist Bilal Yıldız has been working for the Istanbul Representative Office of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV) since 2015. He offers consultancy services of treatment, rehabilitation, and well-being to torture victims and their close ones. Yıldız, also worked for the Migration Monitoring Association (GÖÇİZDER) in 2016.
Bilal Yıldız was taken into custody during a raid on this home on the morning of June 3rd, 2022, along with 22 others including members and directors of the Migration Monitoring Association, and Ali Koçyiğit - one of the directors of the Istanbul Office of the Human Rights Association (İHD).
He was subjected to ill-treatment in detention
According to forensic reports, Bilal Yıldız received kicks to his torso during the raid and suffered verbal abuse during his detention. During his eight-day-long detention, he was subjected to constant noise and light, not given enough food, and his outcry towards his brutal circumstances was ignored. He was kept from meeting his lawyer during his initial 24 hours at the Istanbul Police Headquarters and a confidentiality order was issued on his investigation file.
Smear campaign launched after arrest
During the investigations of both the law enforcement officers and the prosecution, Yıldız was asked about the workshops, reports, and financial resources of GÖÇİZDER. Additionally, Yıldız’s private phone calls and bank transactions were called into question. On June 11th, 2022, 16 people including Bilal Yıldız were arrested on the allegation of “membership to an armed terrorist organization” by the Istanbul 4th and 8th Criminal Courts of Peace at midnight, just after their detention period had ended. Due to the confidentiality decision on the file, the evidence put forward against the defenders could not be learned. The pro-government media has claimed that the rights defenders have been facilitating finances to PKK by manipulating funds from the European Union and the United Nations.
Regarding Bilal Yıldız’s arrest, The Human Rights Foundation of Turkey has stated that “the fact that this allegation is based on the activities of GÖÇİZDER and Yıldız’s rightful human rights work reveals the arbitrary nature of this investigation and that Bilal Yıldız’s legitimate defense of rights is under attack. There can be no link between Bilal Yıldız and the criminal activities in question.”
Yıldız was placed in Silivri Prison and was kept in an overcrowded ward under immense psychological pressure from the guards. He tried to enter a written plea about this issue to the TİHV, but his letter was confiscated. He was threatened with a disciplinary investigation. His detention was appealed by his lawyers, but the appeal was rejected.
Prosecutor's indictment criminalises rights defence
The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office completed the indictment it prepared within the scope of its investigation on September 1st, 2022. The indictment was accepted by the Istanbul 26th High Criminal Court on September 16th, 2022. In the indictment, Bilal Yıldız's human rights advocacy activities as a whole were cited as evidence.
The first hearing of the lawsuit filed against 23 rights defenders, 17 of whom are imprisoned, including Bilal Yıldız, on charges of ‘membership in a terrorist organization’ under Article 314/2 of the Turkish Penal Code was held on 13 December 2022. The presiding judge announced that, taking into account the number of lawyers and the audience, they decided that the second and third sessions of the hearing would be held in one of the courtrooms in the Silivri Prison compound.
Released after nearly seven months
The second hearing of the case was held on 4-5 January 2023 in two sessions, in the Silivri Prison Campus. In his defense, Bilal Yıldız stated that he is on the executive board of the HRFT (TİHV) and is in contact with many associations and institutions. Stating that his house was raided and he was detained under torture, Yıldız said, “I am on trial only because I am a human rights defender. The existence of human rights defenders is a guarantee for society. All our efforts are for the operation of the justice mechanism and the end of human rights violations.”
Stating that he is also a social worker, Yıldız said that they stand with the disadvantaged groups and that he is accused of fulfilling the requirements of his profession. In addition, Yıldız shared that his participation in Newroz was also the subject of accusation, and that his meeting with a lawyer about refugees in Van was also included in the indictment and stated that his work in his field of expertise was also the subject of accusation.
Pointing out that the money transfers he made to his sister, brother and girlfriend were the subject of accusation in the indictment, Yıldız said that the treatment of the patients they treated was also left unfinished. Yildiz filed for release.
The court ruled that all detained defendants be released with judicial control measures.
The final hearing of the case was held on February 9th, 2024, and the court ruled that 23 people, including Bilal Yıldız, be acquitted of the charge of ‘membership to an armed terrorist organization’, and that 1 person be sentenced to 1 year, 6 months and 22 days in prison for the charge of ‘propagandizing for a terrorist organization’, and that the announcement of the verdict be deferred.
