When the Turkish President declared in an infamous speech that “old Turkey no longer exists. This Turkey is new Turkey”, the story of Turkish authoritarianism had once and for all taken on a new character. Since the July of 2016, the Turkish government has improperly imprisoned 130,214 homemakers, teachers, NGO workers, academics, judges, prosecutors, and journalists. Once upon a time, the Republi
c of Turkey was lauded by insiders and outsiders for constituting a powerful model for democratization. In New Turkey, however, silence against the regime’s draconian laws, mass imprisonment, and frequent violations of universal human rights has become the sole norm. In a regime which ranks as the worst upholder of the rule-of-law in Eastern Europe & Central Asia, 187 media outlets have been shut down and 308 journalists, including Idil Eser, Ahmet Altan, Hidayet Karaca, Aslı Erdoğan, Şahin Alpay, Selahattin Demirtaş, and Andrew Brunson are political prisoners of the state. Human rights in New Turkey are absent. Respect for human dignity in New Turkey is absent. We are a group of lawyers, judges, academics, journalists, and hundreds of activists who cherish democratic ideals and universal human rights. We are prisoners of conscience wanted by Erdogan’s regime, relatives of political prisoners, and victims who have lost their jobs, property, and family members to the current administration which has been described as a Mafia State. We are the Advocates of Silenced Turkey. We, the Advocates, have made it our mission to champion the rights of Silenced Turkey until universal human rights and democratic governance are established and sustained as the utmost priorities of the Republic of Turkey. AST is a 501(c)(3) Not for Profit charitable and educational organization based in NJ exclusively for defending human and civil rights. To address all human rights violations in Turkey regarding civil, political, economic, social, and cultural as contained in the basic human rights documents. To prevent genocide, crime against humanity, arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment, discrimination and to defend the right to life, rule of law, right to privacy, freedom of expression, freedom of thought, conscience and religion, freedom of associations. To utilize all human rights advocacy tools, mechanisms, and systems that can possibly be used to protect and promote the human rights of those whose voices are being silenced in Turkey and beyond. To hold accountable the perpetrators of Human Rights in Turkey and beyond together with the opportunity for victims to obtain justice and reparation, in order to do so, it uses the power of the law to fight the impunity of perpetrators, accomplices, and instigators of crimes defend the interests of victims before national and international courts and bring cases before the appropriate international human rights bodies, in close collaboration with its local partners and the victims to get authorities to take firm action against violations.
