Today marks 1000 days of detention and ongoing violations regarding the political case well known in the media as the “Conspiracy Case”, during which detainees continue to be subjected to a long-term deprivation of their freedom, and systematic violations of their fundamental rights.
Intersection Association for Rights and Freedoms follows with deep concerns the direction in which the legal course has taken in this case, which has been accompanied, since February 2023, by a series of arrests that targeted more than 40 opposition figures from various political and civil circles, notably activists, politicians, party leaders, and independent figures.
After nearly three years of these arrests and their accompanying infringements, the situation has continued to decline from the moment of arrest to the sentencing and conviction, in a trial that lacks the principles of justice.
Intersection Association for Rights and Freedoms recalls the serious violations it has documented over this period, most notably: arbitrary arrests, ill-treatment in detention, neglect of medical follow-up and delays in addressing critical cases, deprivation of some detainees’ fundamental rights, violation of the right to defense, and denial of a fair and public trial.
In this context, the association expresses its ultimate refusal to the continuation of the imprisonment of political detainees and their persecution, such as inflicting harsh treatment on them, violating their rights inside prison cells, especially with those undergoing hunger strikes, protesting the injustice they’re being subjected to.
The association also strongly condemns the authorities’ persistence in conducting remote trials and denying the detainees to attend in person, which constitutes a violation of the right to defense, the presumption of innocence, and the principle of public hearings.
Intersection Association for Rights and Freedoms advocates for the detainees to be present during their hearings, the banning of remote trials, and safeguarding their rights within national law and international standards of a fair trial.
Additionally, the association condemns the restrictions that have targeted not only political detainees, but their families as well, and their legal representatives, seeking to intimidate them and jeopardize their activism.
Intersection Association for Rights and Freedoms insists that the accumulation of these violations over the course of 1000 days, and the continuation of their detention under these conditions, highlight the absence of fundamental fair trial principles and judicial independence, and reflect a political context where the the executive power dominates other state functions, making this case a clear example of attempts to manipulate the judiciary, as part of an effort to silence opposing voices and limiting political activity.
