NJW’s Advocacy Visit to Canadian Parliament: Highlighting the Human Rights Abuses by Erdogan’s Regime

Northern Justice Watch recently advanced its essential mission to bring global attention to the human rights abuses committed by the Erdogan regime in Turkey. We arranged a series of visits to the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa, facilitating dialogues with various MPs, MPPs, and senators. Among these, MP Melissa Lantsman of Thornhill ON, a member of the Conservative party, demonstrated a sincere commitment to understanding our cause.

On March 27th, our delegation, consisting of notable international human rights lawyer Sarah Teich, Michael Polak, Kevin Dent, NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom, Northern Justice Watch President Yasemin Mamaloglu, survivors Mesut Kacmaz and Meral Kacmaz, as well as Murat Acar and Candan Acar, engaged in a meaningful discussion at MP Lantsman’s parliamentary office. Sait Murat Simsek, the Program Development Director of Northern Justice Watch, was also an essential part of the delegation.

We shared the harrowing stories of the Kacmaz and Acar families during this meeting. The Kacmaz family endured abduction in Pakistan in 2017 and were forcibly repatriated to Turkey, facing intense physical and psychological hardship. The Acar family, despite being under UN protection, were unlawfully surrendered to Turkish authorities by Bahraini police and detained on charges allegedly linked to the Gülen movement in 2016.

Northern Justice Watch remains firmly dedicated to unearthing these severe human rights abuses and emphasizes the immediate need for international intervention. We express our gratitude to MP Melissa Lantsman for her deep engagement and eagerness to delve deeper into these critical issues. Our journey towards justice carries on.