Mehmet Çömüt Has Been Released Following a Strong International Solidarity!

ATİK | 28 – 11 – 2008 | After being arrested with the demand of ‘extradition’ from the Turkish State in Freiburg, Germany on 24th October 2008, Mehmet Çömüt has been released on the early hours of 24th November 2008 and went back to France on the same day. We are going through the times where these kinds of attacks towards refugees are intended to be normalised, become habitual and practised as a daily event.

Also similar cases on such attack are currently kept in the agenda as a consistent proceeding. With the Mehmet Çömüt case we once again see the importance and the significance of international solidarity.Those democratic organisations and institutions that did not turn a blind-eye to such unjust enforcements and to the tendency to make these enforcements accepted shown the German authorities that they had no choice but set him free. With the Mehmet Çömüt case it is once again obvious that the oppression towards political refugees show that the States involved in the matter clearly contravene with agreements that they too agreed on, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Geneva Conventions. This is nothing else but violation of rights and arbitrary attitudes of those justice and security organisations directed by the states.

It is very positive that some progressive organisations and individuals protect the political refugees as in they did in the Mehmet Çömüt case, thus those violations of refugee rights are immediately condemned. Once again it has been internationally hollered that those who keep the laws in their pockets cannot act as they please. Mehmet Çömüt has been released by courtesy of this spirit of solidarity and protection. We, as ATIK and UPOTUDAK demand an immediate acceptance of Mehmet Çömüt’s claim for asylum by the French authorities. We will be following this case.

Our joy has increased with the release of Mehmet Çömüt, yet our fury is rising with the dark events take place in the dungeons of Europe and the rest of the world. Our solidarity consciousness is united with the fury of all political prisoners in the prisons of Europe. Our solidarity will continue until all the political prisoners are freed. We once again call upon the authorities of the E.U. countries to end all forms of policies which are designed to oppress political refugees.

• Freedom to all political prisoners!

• Solidarity is the courtesy of the people!

• Long live international solidarity!

ATIK 19th General Council

International Commission of Solidarity with Political Prisoners (UPOTUDAK)

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