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The ETF calls for the immediate release of Turkish TÜMTIS members in Ankara
17 January 2008
The
European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) has submitted today a formal complaint about the scarce progress achieved to clarify the situation of TÜMTIS Ankara branch chairman Nurettin Kılıçdoğan and other six union members, all of them arrested last 23 November 2007 in Turkey’s capital on charges that are still unclear.
TÜMTIS members reported that, to date, these cases have been hanging in suspense. While legal proceedings are being delayed, the detained have neither been notified of the reasons for their imprisonment nor of their rights, which include the right to fair trial and proper legal assistance.
Information on the evidence held against them should be promptly provided, says the
ETF in a protest letter addressed to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and other members of the government. Union representatives affirm that their colleagues have been accused of involvement in trade union activities and the protection of workers’ rights in Ankara.
The
ETF is also calling for free access to the case files since the union’s lawyers have been so far impeded to consult them.
Condemning anti-union harassment in Ankara, the
ETF demands institutional mediation to resolve the situation and reiterates that the course of events is leading to a serious violation of trade unions rights laid down by the United Nations in International Labour Organisation Conventions, which Turkey has ratified.
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