The founding of CLEA
At the start of 2006, the Committee for Liberty of Expression and Association (CLEA) was formed as a reaction to the announcement that Bahar Kimyongur risked receiving a prison sentence of seven years on the grounds of heading a terrorist organisation. A number of professors, researchers and students of the Free University of Brussels - from which Bahar
received a degree in art history in 1996 – came together and decided to organise, asking the question; "How is it that Bahar can be called a terrorist?"
The Belgian anti-terrorist law of 2003
It quickly became clear to the committee that the new legislation on terrorism is a threat to our liberties. Bahar's case is symbolic in this respect.
This 32-year-old academic has not committed a crime, nor had any intention of doing so in Belgium, Turkey or elsewhere. What the Belgian judicial system holds him to be culpable for is that he translated, published and commented upon a statement by the Turkish Communist organisation DHKC and to have been a member of the information bureau of this party in Belgium. So, if we examine the charge against Bahar in judicial terms, it is clear that to express oneself and to organise is a terrorist act according to the
new anti-terrorist legislation. From this, Belgian justice is showing a political character, for liberty of expression and association, guaranteed by the constitution, are under attack; and this is larger than a process of criminalising political andcitizen's action.
In addition, this law puts in question basic principles of our penal law, such as those of individual responsibility and the territorial principle of penal law.
CLEA as an information collective
Awareness by committee members that this law kills liberty has led CLEA to organise two conferences. The central idea behind them is this: if, in discourse, terrorism is presented as the danger menacing democracy, it must be realised in practice that it is under the pretext of fighting terrorism that freedom of expression and association is being undermined.
During these conferences, Zoe Genot (Ecolo deputy), Manuel Lambert (Human Rights League), Paul Bekaert (vice-president of the bar in Brugge) and Jean-Claude Paye (sociologist) were able to take part in a critical debate on this legislation. More than 200 citizens were able to ponder this proposition: "To express oneself, to organise and to protest is not terrorism".
Moreover, CLEA organised a delegation to support Bahar at his trial, called the "Erdal trial" since there were 11 people on trial in all. It was held in Brugge in the first instance, and the delegation went there to observe the manner in which the law was being applied in concrete terms. The verdict, on February 28, was that Bahar was sentenced to four years in
prison, but he was not immediately incarcerated. He immediately lodged an appeal against the verdict.
No to the extradition of Bahar to Turkey!
The work of Bahar Kimyongur
For a number of years, Bahar has devoted himself to encouraging awareness of the situation of political prisoners in Turkey. Torture (electric shocks, sexual abuse etc.) and murder are an everyday experience among prisoners, as is made clear by reports by Amnesty International as well as by verdicts pronounced on the Turkish state by the European Court of Human Rights. Bahar, in his involvement opposing the legal impunity of that state, has made many interventions in public to make citizens more aware of
what is happening and to organise a number of delegations to observe the prisons, involving members of the European Parliament. This allows him to say: "So, in the course of years, I have fought against terrorism, for democracy and justice in Turkey and in the world, within a democratic and legal framework."
The international arrest warrant issued by Turkey
While preparing for a cultural event, Bahar was arrested by the Dutch police on the night of April 28, 2006. On this occasion he was told that Turkey had issued an international arrest warrant against him.
The reason given: membership of a terrorist organisation, and specifically: having interrupted a Turkish government minister at a meeting of the
European Parliament in the year 2000. Since his arrest, he has been on hunger strike. On May 1, the legality of the warrant was confirmed by the Dutch judiciary. Within 40 days, the Dutch authorities must give a decision on extradition.
The role of Belgium
The Belgian state had known for several days that the warrant existed but did not bother to warn the person concerned. Quite on the contrary, when Bahar left Belgian territory he was stopped by two unmarked police cars. In this business, nothing was left to chance: the Belgian state has sacrificed one of its citizens to satisfy the Turkish state - which feels insulted by the disappearance of Fehriye Erdal – and the guilty verdicts on February 28 have created the climate leading to this dramatic situation.
Bahar in the hands of the torturers he has denounced? Never!
One can ask how well-founded the Belgian anti-terror law is - CLEA is among those who think it is a threat to democracy. But the current physical risks to Bahar are real and so we find ourselves in a new and problematic situation. Bahar knows better than anyone in Belgium that if he is extradited from the Netherlands to Turkey, he will be in the same situation as the political prisoners for whom he has struggled, and against whom the state in Turkey commits atrocities. It is not even a matter here of whether one considers Bahar's actions as political involvement or terrorism. We see it as a case of a human being's life being in danger. If he is to answer
for his actions, it should be at the Gand (Ghent) court where his appeal opens on May 8. CLEA is confident that he could prove his innocence there and demonstrate that the legal arsenal arrayed against him is one that kills freedoms. But to leave Bahar Kimyongur to the mercy of the Turkish police is something no democrat can permit.
CLEA as a support committee
We reject the extradition of Bahar to Turkey, where his life is threatened. We demand that the Belgian state should protect one of its citizens and put pressure on the Netherlands to repatriate him to our country. We call for the immediate freedom of Bahar so he can defend himself in his appeal in Belgium. These three demands are contained in a petition which can be signed at the address http://perso.wanadoo.fr/clea.be/
CLEA calls on all citizens to sign the petition which will be submitted to the Belgian authorities so that they take an official position in favour of Bahar and cease their hypocrisy. Since Bahar's arrest, there has been mobilisation: in a week, more than 1,500 people have already signed the appeal. In Belgium and abroad, more and more people in the world of politics, associations and culture are supporting Bahar in denouncing the attitude of the Belgian state. They understand that Bahar is now a symbol. Though unintentionally, Bahar has become a symbol of the dangers that the new anti-terrorist laws constitute for our liberties. Not just because these laws negate freedom of expression and association but because they
can lead to a situation where someone who has committed no crime risks state torture. The fight to support Bahar will continue and grow, until he is freed.
