12 November 2008
Press Release: For immediate release

 

 

Jon Rud, a member of the EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC) Refused Entry into Turkey

 

 

Jon Rud is a Norwegian human rights lawyer, and a member of the EUTCC. He was formerly Chairman of the Norwegian Bar Human Rights Committee and of Amnesty International in Norway . On 7 November this year, he was refused entry into Turkey . He had been invited by the Working Group on Justice of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (of which he is also a member) to a seminar in Istanbul .

 

In 1999, Mr. Rud was declared an “unwanted person” by the Turkish Government, following various speeches and media appearances, which were seen to be “hostile” to Turkey . Before arriving in Turkey , there had been contacts with the Turkish Ministry of thee Interior and with two Turkish Ambassadors, who had examined his case. Based on these contacts, Mr. Rud was led to believe that he would be allowed entry. However, upon arrival at the airport in Istanbul , he was stopped and put back on the next returning plane to Europe . The Turkish police told him that he would never be permitted entry into Turkey , without giving any reason for this drastic decision.

 

The decision is a clear violation of human rights, and yet another confirmation that Turkey does not follow up with sincerity its stated intention to become a member of the European Union.

 

The EUTCC urges

 

-          the Turkish authorities to revoke its decision to ban Jon Rud from entry into Turkey ,

-          the European Commission to bring this case to the attention of the Turkish authorities and insist that Turkey must comply with its promises to adhere to European human rights standards.

 

 

 

For further information please contact

 

Kariane Westrheim

Menneskerettighetenes plass 1

5007 Bergen, Norway

Tel. +47 976 42 088

 

  

 

 

FACT SHEET ON DENIED ENTRY TO TURKEY

 

Mr. Jon Rud , Advokat (Lawyer)

 

 

In the spring of 1999, Mr. Jon Rud , a Norwegian lawyer, Chairman of the Norwegian Bar Human Rights Committee, was informed by the Turkish Embassy in Oslo that he had been declared an unwanted person in Turkey , and hence would not be permitted to enter Turkey .

 

Mr. Jon Rud , born in 1937, since 2000 a resident of Spain , has a longstanding engagement in human rights issues. Through his positions in various non-governmental organisations, e.g. as Chairman of Amnesty International (Norway) and member of the Norwegian Bar Human Rights Committee (since 1984), he has been involved in human rights activities relating to a large number of cases throughout the world, including as observer in political trials. 

 

Resulting from his experience with several cases in Turkey , he became involved in establishing the Norwegian Council for the Rights of the Kurdish People, in 1993-94. This NGO, officially recognised by the Norwegian authorities as a humanitarian organization, is working for an improvement of the human rights situation of the Kurds and a solution of the “Kurdish problem”, based on the principle of change through democratic and non-violent means.

 

In March 1999, the Norwegian Bar Association and members of the Norwegian Parliament asked two lawyers, including Mr. Rud, and a Member of Parliament, to visit the lawyers of Abdullah Öcalan, in order to investigate the working conditions of his lawyers.

 

In May 1999, Mr. Rud received a phone call from the Turkish Embassy in Oslo , informing him that the Turkish Government had decided that he was an “unwanted person” in Turkey .  He was informed that the Ambassador as a matter of courtesy had instructed that Mr. Rud be informed about this decision. He was told that the normal procedure is to neither inform the “unwanted” person or give any reason for the decision, nor to inform the person if the decision eventually is revoked.  

 

In a subsequent conversation with the Ambassador, Mr. Rud asked about the reasons for this ban. He was not given a clear answer, but it was implicitly gleaned that all his writing, speeches and appearances in the media were seen to be hostile to Turkey . Mr. Rud was also given to understand that the ban might be reconsidered if he would sign a declaration that he would no longer appear as “hostile” to Turkey . Mr. Rud did not follow up this invitation to be “more friendly” to the Turkish authorities.

 

The Norwegian Foreign Ministry protested against the Turkish decision on various occasions, but to no avail. There is reason to believe that the decision to ban Mr. Rud was prompted by the above-mentioned visit to Turkey in March 1999. Mr. Rud has since heard from informed sources within the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the decision to declare him an unwanted person was based on rumours that he was among the defense team of Öcalan. Mr. Rud states categorically that any such allegations are completely false and unfounded.

 

In addition to the complaints made by the Norwegian government on behalf of Mr. Rud, the Norwegian Bar Association also intervened, and informed the Association of European Lawyers (CCBE) about the case. In the late autumn of 1999, the ban was temporarily lifted to allow Mr. Rud to participate in the OSCE meeting held in Istanbul at that time. This was presumably done because the OSCE meeting was chaired by the Norwegian Foreign Minister.

 

In January 2002, Mr. Rud sent a fax to the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and asked for the lifting of the ban. In April 2002, the Turkish Embassy in Oslo informed him that his application had been declined. In line with established practice, no reasons were given for this decision.

 

Mr. Rud also wrote to other relevant persons and institutions, to ask for the revocation of the banning order, e.g.:

 

-         08.11.2003, to Mr Mehmet Elkatmis, President of the Human Rights Commission of the Turkish Parliament

-         28.01.2004, to Mr Vahit Bicak, President of the Prime Ministry Human Rights Presidency

-         19.02.2004, to Mr Erdogan Iscan, Minister Plenipotentiary and Deputy Director General for Council of Europe and Human Rights, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

 

With the exception of Mr Vahit Bicak, no reply was ever received. Mr Bicak answered that the application had been rejected. In line with established practice in Turkey , no reason was given for the decision.

 

Since 2002, Mr Rud has participated in the activities of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN). The EMHRN is a network of more than 80 human rights organisations, established in 1997 in response to the Barcelona Declaration to promote cooperation between the EU and the countries on the southern side of the Mediterranean. For about two years Mr. Rud was chairing the Kurdish Working Group of the EMHRN, a group which subsequently has been closed down. In May 2003, EMHRN sent a letter to the Turkish Embassy in Denmark asking the Turkish authorities to lift the ban. A reminder was sent in October 2003. Mr. Rud is presently a member of the Working Group on Justice, within the EMHRN.

 

Since 2004, Mr. Rud participated in the establishment and activities of the EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC), an organization established by several European NGOs (including the Norwegian Rafto Foundation) to support and monitor the developments of Turkish membership of the EU. He was the Secretary General of that NGO, until the summer of 2007. The EUTCC has organised four consecutive conferences at the European Parliament in Brussels , in the period 2004-2007. The fifth conference is planned for January 2009, also at the European Parliament.

 

In February 2004, Mr. Rud was invited to lecture at a meeting in Dublin on Turkey and the EU, organised by the Irish Institute of European Affairs. The Turkish ambassador to Ireland and Mr. Erdogan Iscan, Minister Plenipotentiary (who was the second lecturer at the meeting), assured Mr. Rud that the continued denial of entry to Turkey must be due to some misunderstanding. In fact, Mr. Iscan invited Mr. Rud to go back to Ankara with him the day after the meeting, and said the whole thing would be sorted out there and then. Subsequent letters and emails to Mr Iscan were never answered.

 

Mr. Rud met the Turkish ambassador to Ireland again in October 2004. The ambassador told Mr. Rud that he had checked the matter, and he could assure Mr. Rud that he was not on “the list”. However, when Mr. Rud insisted whether he could rely on this, the ambassador replied that “maybe there is another list”.

 

In February 2006, Ms Sema Kilicer at the EU Commission Office in Ankara enquired at the Ministry of the Interior (Mr. Ercan Aslantas) whether they could confirm that Mr. Rud was on the list of unwanted persons. After checking it, Mr. Aslantas indicated, although in somewhat ambiguous terms, that there might not be a problem. He did not, however, suggest that there might be “another list”.

 

In the period 8-10 November 2008, Mr. Rud has been invited to participate at a meeting of the EMHRN Working Group on Justice, to be held in Istanbul . Based on the contacts mentioned above with the Ministry of the Interior and two Turkish Ambassadors, Mr. Rud was led to believe that he would be allowed to enter Turkey . He also relied on Turkey to comply with its obligations under OSCE basic acts, e.g. the Copenhagen Document, 1990, under which members of human rights organisations shall be allowed “unhindered access” to OSCE countries. However, when Mr. Rud arrived on 7 November, the police told him that he would never be allowed to enter Turkey , without giving any reason for this drastic decision. He was promptly accompanied by the police to the first departing airplane back to Europe . 

 

 

Altea, Spain, 11 November 2008

 

Jon Rud