About Me – Hakkımda

🔹Member of Brussels & Ankara Bar Associations

As a member of both the Ankara and Brussels Bar Associations, I have been dedicatedly practicing law since 2004. My academic journey in law began with an LLB degree from the University of Ankara, followed by an LLM in International and European Law at Vrije Universiteit Brussel. I am fluent in Turkish, proficient in English, and have a basic understanding of Dutch.

2004 yılından bu yana avukatlık yapıyorum. Hukuk alanındaki akademik yolculuğum Ankara Üniversitesi’nden aldığım lisans derecesi ile başladı ve ardından Vrije Universiteit Brussel’den Uluslararası Hukuk ve Avrupa Hukuku alanında yüksek lisans derecesi aldım. Türkçe, İngilizce ve temel düzeyde Hollandaca biliyorum. Ankara ve Brüksel Barosu üyesiyim.

🔹Human Rights Lawyer & Expert in Individual Applications to:
▫ European Court of Human Rights
▫ UN Human Rights Mechanisms
▫ INTERPOL Commission for the Control of Files
▫ Extradition and Asylum Procedures

🔹Expert Witness in extradition and asylum cases

I completed expert witness training in the University of London. I am a member of the EIN’s Directory of Experts on Country of Origin. I provide expert witness reports on Turkish law in general, as well as on extradition and asylum cases. I have been involved as an expert witness in cases in the USA, the UK, Scotland and Belgium. (https://www.ein.org.uk/experts/yildiz)

🔹Author of several human rights monitoring reports on Turkey

I am a regular legal writer, publishing on Verfassungsblog, Just Security, and with The International Association of Constitutional Law. I often provide comments to international media, including the Wall Street Journal, Al-Monitor, Balkan Insight, Turkish Minute, Ahval, Free Turkish Press, and The National.

🔹 Member, Legal Experts Advisory Panel of Fair Trials
🔹 Member, Lawyers Against Transnational Repression
🔹 Recipient, ECBA Scott Crosby Human Rights Award 2025

My dedication to the legal profession has been recognized through several international distinctions. In 2019, I was shortlisted as a finalist for the Lawyers for Lawyers Award, which honours lawyers who have shown exceptional courage and commitment to defending human rights and the rule of law. In 2021, I was invited to join the Legal Experts Advisory Panel of Fair Trials, a leading European NGO promoting fairness and justice in criminal proceedings. In 2025, I became one of the founding members of Lawyers Against Transnational Repression, an international network of legal professionals defending those targeted across borders. That same year, I was honoured with the Scott Crosby Human Rights Award by the European Criminal Bar Association (ECBA) in recognition of my work for human rights and the legal profession.

Hukuk mesleğine olan bağlılığım, uluslararası alanda çeşitli ödül ve görevlerle takdir edildi. 2019 yılında Lawyers for Lawyers Ödülü finalisti oldum. 2021’de, ceza adaleti ve insan hakları alanında önde gelen Avrupa sivil toplum kuruluşu Fair Trials’ın Hukuk Uzmanları Danışma Kurulu’na katıldım. 2025 yılında, sınır ötesi baskılara karşı mücadele eden hukukçuları bir araya getiren Lawyers Against Transnational Repression (LATR) ağının kurucu üyelerinden biri oldum. Aynı yıl, insan hakları ve hukuk mesleğine katkılarımdan dolayı Avrupa Ceza Avukatları Birliği (ECBA) tarafından verilen Scott Crosby İnsan Hakları Ödülü ile onurlandırıldım.

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🔹Recent cases / Referans Davalar

(2025) A.E. against Turkey, European Court of Human Rights, 38448/17

(2025) R.Y. against Turkey, European Court of Human Rights, 49106/22

(2024) S.T. against Sweden, The UN Committee Against Torture, CAT/C/81/D/1109/2021

(2024) S.T. İsveç’e karşı, BM İşkenceye Karşı Komite, CAT/C/81/D/1109/2021

(2022) X and Y against Switzerland, The UN Committee Against Torture, CAT/C/75/D/1081/2021

(2022) X ve Y İsviçre’ye karşı, BM İşkenceye Karşı Komite, CAT/C/81/D/1081/2021

(2024) S.Y. against Turkey, European Court of Human Rights, 37810/20

(2023) M.C. against Turkey, European Court of Human Rights, 56308/17

(2023) M.T. against Turkey, European Court of Human Rights, 27220/18

(2022- 2025) Successful reconsideration submissions for refusal of diploma recognition requests to the Belgian NARIC authority. / Diploma denklik taleplerinin reddine dair Belçika NARIC kurumu kararlarına karşı başarı ile sonuçlandırılan yeniden değerlendirme başvuruları.

(2022- 2025) Several successful cases before the Commission for Control of Files of Interpol for data deletion. / Interpol Dosyalarının Kontrolü Komisyonu nezdinde başarılı şekilde sonuçlandırılan çok sayıda verilerin silinmesi davası.

(2022-2025) Advising clients for the removal of personal data from AML/CFT compliance databases and due diligence watchlists. / Kişisel verilerin finansal mevzuata uyumluluk veri tabanlarından ve izleme listelerinden çıkarılması için müşterilere danışmanlık verilmesi.

(2022-2025) Expert opinions in extradition cases and asylum cases that are related to Turkey in the courts of the USA, the Netherlands, Scotland and Belgium. / ABD, Hollanda, İskoçya ve Belçika mahkemelerinde Türkiye ile ilgili iade ve iltica davalarında uzman görüşü.