Former Turkish judge Mehmet Tank is "Breaking an 8-Year Silence"

Mehmet Tank is a former tax judge from Turkey with a dedicated career in the judiciary and a steadfast commitment to judicial independence.

He began his career as a tax inspector in 2002 before entering the judiciary in 2005. He served as a tax judge within the administrative justice system. He was involved in YARSAV, the independent Turkish association of judges and prosecutors, especially as officer for international affairs. YARSAV was the AEAJ member for Turkey.

Mehmet faced repeated reassignments - a form of punishment - between 2011 and 2016, and was finally arrested, dismissed and imprisoned until being released on parole in 2021. He is now based in Switzerland, where he lives with his family.

After eight years of silence, Mehmet is finally sharing his story through an interview published on the Swiss media Plattform J, authored by Max Saladin. You can read different parts of the interview here (in German):

Richter im Exil in Bern - Teil 1: "Ich spürte, dass sie mich umbringen wollen."

Richter im Exil in Bern - Teil 2: "Überrascht von der Schweizer Gastfrendschaft."

Further stories and events will be published later by Plattform J.