Turkish-Belgian lawyer specializing Turkish law, human rights, and political issues, with expertise in transnational repression, persecution of dissidents, prison conditions, and torture in Turkey.
I am a lawyer and have been a member of the bar associations in Ankara since 2004 and Brussels since 2020. In 2002, I graduated from Ankara University Faculty of Law. In 2019, I received an L.L.M degree from Vrije Universiteit Brussels (VUB) in International and European Law.
Since 2022, I have been a member of the Legal Experts Advisory Panel of Fair Trials International. I am also founder and director of the Arrested Lawyers Initiative. I am also amongst founding members of Lawyers Against Transnational Repression.
I have advised about human rights situation in Turkey and Turkish law public institutions of several western countries that are responsible for processing asylum applications.
I also submitted expert opinions to courts of the US, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Scotland about asylum and extradition matters and also on Turkish law.
Legal Reports and Dissertations
ByLock Prosecutions and the Right to Fair Trial in Turkey: The ECtHR Grand Chamber’s Ruling in Yüksel Yalçınkaya v. Türkiye, with Dr. Emre Turkut, State Watch, March 2024
Perils of Unconstrained Prosecutorial Discretion: Prosecuting Terrorism Offences in Post-Coup Turkey, with Kevin Dent KC and Dr. Emre Turkut, July 2023
Weaponization of Anti-Terror Financing Measures, with Michael Polak, September 2022
A Legal Examination of Recent Extradition Proceedings about Turkish Citizens Abroad, with Ben Keith, September 2022
Algorithmic persecution in Turkey’s post-coup crackdown, with Dr. Emre Turkut, Statewatch, November 2021
Yildiz, Ali and Spencer, Leighann, The Erosion of Property Rights in Turkey (April 27, 2020). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3586084.
Yildiz, Ali, Turkey’s Recent Emergency Rule (2016-2018) and its Legality Under the European Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (April 29, 2019). Institute for European Studies, 2019. Available at SSRN: https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3567095
Articles and Blogposts
The Individual Application Mechanism is on the Verge of Collapse, and so is Turkish Constitutionalism, with Dr. Emre Turkut, 23 November 2023, Verfassungsblog
Strasburg Weighs In On Political Persecution In Turkey, 31 October 2023, Verfassungsblog
After Spotlight on Red Notices, Turkey is Abusing Another Interpol Mechanism, with Ben Keith, 13 July 2023
NAVO-deal maakt uitlevering Turkse politieke dissidenten waarschijnlijk niet mogelijk, Jubel, (July, 18, 2022)
Advocatuur wereldwijd onder vuur: casus van de Turkse advocaten, Jubel, (June, 26, 2022)
La Turchia accoglie gli oligarchi russi e diventa un rifugio per i loro capitali, Linkiesta, (April 5, 2022), with Eleonora Mongelli,
Turkey’s opposition bloc appears to have agreed to a very bad judicial deal, Ahval, (May 22, 2021)
Does the pro-Kurdish HDP stand a chance of a fair trial in Turkey? (March 24, 2021)
The Erosion of Property Rights in Turkey, International Association of Constitutional Law Blog, 28/05/2020.
The ECHR’s priority policy is failing Turkey’s human rights victims, Ahval,(November 28, 2020)
Purge victims’ lives in shambles years after Turkey’s failed putsch, Ahval, (October 21, 2020)
The Legality of Mass Arrests of Lawyers in Turkey, Verfassungsblog, (September 28, 2020) https://verfassungsblog.de/continuing-violation/
Early parole reforms in Turkey put political prisoners at increased risk, Open Global Rights (July 2, 2020) https://www.openglobalrights.org/early-parole-reforms-in-turkey-put-political-prisoners-at-increased-risk/?lang=English (For Spanish and Turkish)
¡No olvidemos a los presos políticos de Turquía ante la amenaza de COVID-19! | Abogacia Espanola, 07/05/2020.
El proyecto de ley de Turquía para frenar el coronavirus en las prisiones victimiza a los presos políticos, El Diario, 02/04/2020.
Before it Spreads “Like Wildfire”: Prisoners’ Rights in the Time of COVID-19 | Verfassungsblog, 01/04/2020, (with Emre Turkut).
Human Rights in a State of Emergency, International Association of Constitutional Law Blog, 26/03/2020.
Did Turkey’s Recent Emergency Decrees Derogate from the Absolute Rights? | Verfassungsblog, 28/09/2019.
The Turkish Judiciary’s Violations of Human Rights Guarantees: The ECtHR’s Recent Parmak & Bakir Judgment and Turkey’s Post-Coup Terrorism Trials, Verfassungsblog, 9/1/2020 (with Spencer, Leighann).
Turkey’s Disregard for the Freedom of Movement, Verfassungsblog, 11/12/2019.
Turkey’s Ad Hominem Emergency Decrees – Measure or Penalty? (Post 2 of 2), International Association of Constitutional Law Blog, 19/12/2019.
Turkey’s Ad Hominem Emergency Decrees – Measure or Penalty? (Post 1 of 2) , International Association of Constitutional Law Blog, 17/12/2019.
Does the Turkish Constitutional Court Provide Effective Remedies for Human Rights Violations, International Association of Constitutional Law Blog, 19/11/2019.
¿Han sido los DDHH derogados por los recientes decretos de excepción de Turquía? | Abogacia Espanola, 24/10/2019.