‘Behind bars, beyond borders’: solidarity in the face of the criminalisation of a social work human rights defender

Abstract

This commentary piece is written by Bilal Yildiz, a social worker in Turkey and a human rights defender. It tells the story of his arrest on trumped-up charges and the continuing threat to his freedom as a result of his social work activities. Bilal graduated from Istanbul University, Department of Social Work, and continues his master’s programme in human rights law at Istanbul Bilgi University. He has been working as a social worker at the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey since 2016. In addition to his professional work, he has been active in many professional and human rights organisations. He is currently a board member of the Association of Social Workers, a member of the Human Rights Association, a member of the Kurdish Studies Association and a founding member of the Migration Monitoring Association.