Discussing Article 10 of the universal Declaration of Human Rights: you have the right to defend yourself in court when charged with a crime!
Today we focus on a critical part of any credible judicial system that protects your individual human rights:
Your right to defend yourself in a court setting that isn't set up against you.
Article 10 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states:
Article 10 Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.
What does this mean? No one is above the law. Including the government which must adhere to ensuring your basic rights are upheld!
In a fair justice system, if you are charged with a crime you have the entitled right to defend yourself through an independent and impartial tribunal tasked with overviewing the facts of the brought case against you.
You have the right to defend yourself in court!
If you are convicted for a crime without a fair trial or not given an option to defend yourself upon being charged with a crime, you are being treated injustly by a judicial system meant to protect human and civil rights.
Fairtrials.org elaborates by explaining:
"Fair trials are the only way to prevent miscarriages of justice and are an essential part of a just society."
All justice systems should be a pillar of rightness and fairness because such a system is crucial to society's protection and providing legitimacy for a government's authority to hold power.
Laws should not be partisan, biased, or used to further an agenda in any way that could impede on an individual or groups human rights. If a justice system and its courts are not striving to be fair and impartial in how each and every case is ev
aluated, then the system is corrupt and will inveitably be abused by dictators,authoritarian regimes, and other power hungry agents utilizing power wrongfully.
Such wrongful use of the law will always violate human rights in some form.
Right now, the country of Turkey is utilizing their corrupt legal system to abuse the fair trial rights of innocents and targeting those lawyers whose careers are dedicated to representing defendants in court.
Human Rights Watch has just released a jaw dropping report on the ongoing abuses titled "Abusive Prosecutions and Erosion of Fair Trial Rights in Turkey"
It details how literally tens of thousands of innocent Turkish human rights defenders, journalists, human rights supporting politicians, and everyday citizens are being arbitrarily arrested and wrongfully imprisoned for terrorism after trials that are purposefully stacked against them. Evidence is not examined nor are witness testimonies heard.
The lawyers dedicated to protecting the rights of people charged with crimes are now being targeted by the state too. Defense lawyers are being criminalized as terrorists as well simply for doing their job: interacting with their clients and supporting human rights.
""Several lawyers Human Rights Watch spoke to while preparing this report reported accounts of police threatening them or making semi-threatening remarks to them, such as “Watch out. Representing these suspects could be bad for you,” and “It’ll be your turn next”, when they went to police stations to see detainees.""- HRW
The judicial system of Turkey now does not recognize a difference between a client and the lawyer. If one is charge with a crime, both are guilty. On top of all of this courthouse corruption, Police who are being investigated for human rights violations are now threatening lawyers who are working on cases against their corruption. The government has also shut down many law firms dedicated to protecting the rights of individuals wrongfully charged and tried as terrorists.
"The increase in cases of lawyers being threatened and prosecuted has occurred in a context where the Turkish authorities have also imposed rigorous restrictions on the right of individuals in pretrial detention accused of terrorist crimes to benefit from legal counsel and to prepare for defending themselves in court." -HRW
If you or someone you know is being denied their right to a fair trial, you can take action.
Visit Fairtrials.org for resources, information, legal advice, and more to help you protect your rights as well as the human rights of others.
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