Eren Keskin
Eren Keskin (born 24 April 1959, Bursa, Turkey) is a lawyer and human rights activist in Turkey.
She is vice-president of the Turkish Human Rights Association (İHD) and a former president of its Istanbul branch.
She co-founded the project "Legal Aid For Women Who Were Raped Or Otherwise Sexually Abused by National Security Forces”, to expose abuses happening to women in Turkish prisons.[1] She has been the object of numerous lawsuits in relation to her human rights activities.
In 1995 she was imprisoned for her activities and was adopted as a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International.[2]
In 2002 she was accused by Turkey's State Security of "aiding and abbetting" the PKK because of her advocacy for Kurds to use their native language in Turkey.[3]
In 2004 she received the Aachen Peace Award "for her courageous efforts and activities for human rights." In 2005 she was awarded the Esslingen-based Theodor Haecker Prize for Civic Courage and Political Integrity. [4] In March 2006 a Turkish court sentenced her to 10 months’ imprisonment for insulting the country’s military. The sentence was then converted to a fine of 6000 New Turkish Liras, which Keskin refused to pay.[5]
References
External links
- Solidarity with Erin Keskin site
- Interview in amnesty journal, April 2003 (in German)
- Interview, Quantara, 2005, translated from German
- Biography
- Aachen Peace Awards
