Numerous Turkish trade union organisations, such as the DERI-IS textile workers’ union, the Birlesik Metal-Is metal workers’ union, the HABER–IS communications workers’ union, the HAVA-IS air transport workers’ union and the transport workers’ union TUMTIS, all organise private sector workers and are all facing criminal charges. All court cases are characterised by baseless charges, often involving vague allegations of setting up or belonging to «terrorist organisations».
One of the most arrant cases has been what became known as the «KESK trial». On 22 October 2010, in a hearing that only lasted 15 minutes, the Izmir High Court yet again postponed its decision in the case concerning 31 public sector unionists, including 27 Egitim Sen leaders and members. The charges against the defendants remained the same as those shortly after their arrest in May 2009, i.e. providing “intellectual support to illegal organisations”. The defendants are either members of KESK or its affiliate Egitim-Sen, and are either Kurdish or have links with the Kurdish community. They were arrested on 28 May 2009 following months of phone taps and monitoring of personal e-mails. Their homes and workplaces were searched and computers confiscated. The arrests were conducted in a very brutal way. All defendants risk up to ten years of imprisonment. Since their arrest and detention in May 2009, the trial has been postponed four times, on 22 November 2009, and on 2 March, 22 June and 22 October 2010. All this time, the defendants have been under a travelling ban, which prevented Egitim Sen Women’s Secretary Gulçin Isbert from attending the Education International World Women’s Conference.