Eren Keskin

Eren Keskin is vice-president of the Turkish Human Rights Association (IHD) and former president of its Istanbul branch. She has been repeatedly threatened, assaulted, and arrested by Turkish authorities for exposing and speaking out against the abuses suffered by women in Turkish prisons, and co-founded the project "Legal Aid for Women Who Were Raped or Otherwise Sexually Abused by National Security Forces." In 1995, Keskin was imprisoned for her human rights activities and was adopted as a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International. In 2004, she received the prestigious Aachen Peace Award "for her courageous efforts and activities for human rights." And in 2005, she was awarded the Esslingen-based Theodor Haecker Prize for Civic Courage and Political Integrity. In March 2006, Keskin was sentenced to 10 months' imprisonment for insulting the Turkish military; the sentence was later converted to a fine of 6,000 New Turkish Liras, which she refused to pay.