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Turkey allows: "Bury where you kill"
21.4.2006
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Prof. Dr. Fincanci says Turkey
may be sentenced at ECHR for burying those killed in
clashes without proper autopsy. IHD's Alatas warns
practice may allow cover-up of suspicious deaths,
says it's a blow to confidence and unity.
BIA (Istanbul) - Reacting to the wave of
incidents that swept through Southeast Turkey during
and after the March 28 funeral ceremonies conducted
for PKK militants killed in clashes, the government
has launched its new practice of burying dead
suspects where they are killed without bringing them
back home for a proper autopsy.
The first example of the policy change was witnessed
recently in the Southeast province of Sirnak
although it was decided upon during a
Counter-Terrorism Supreme Commission meeting earlier
this month following the Southeast unrest.
Professor Doctor Sebnem Korur Fincanci who
previously headed the Istanbul University Forensic
Medicine Department told Bianet in an interview that
the practice itself was a violation of international
human rights and that Turkey could be convicted at
the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) for it.
Human Rights Association Chairman Yusuf Alatas said
that aside from being in clear breach of the
European Convention on Human Rights, burying the
dead where they were killed should also be seen as
"one of the greatest blows that can be delivered to
the unity of the country."
Fincanci: Autopsy is a must
Fincanci told Bianet that in each and every death
resulting from clashes, a formal autopsy needed to
be conducted and that only this could reveal the
true reason of death.
"Only an autopsy can answer questions such as
whether a person was killed in a clash, or was he
killed while running away, or was the death result
of torture after being captured. If international
regulations of conflict are being violated, these
can only be revealed by an autopsy."
She argued that bodies of the dead could not be
buried where they were killed and added "an autopsy
must certainly be carried out at a center, by
forensic medicine experts."
She referred to the international Mennesota Autopsy
Protocol covering the effective investigation of
extrajudicial killings saying, "the conditions of an
autopsy are clearly stated in this protocol accepted
by the United Nations. Because these conditions are
not being met, Turkey could be sentenced at the ECHR
for failing to conduct an effective investigation".
Fincanci added that according to the Turkish Penal
Code, no matter who the deceased was, respect had to
be shown to their funerals and the bodies had to be
surrendered over to their families.
Alatas: How are suspicious deaths going to be
revealed?
IHD Chairman Alatas recalled on his part that there
were numerous allegations related to the killing of
PKK militants in the recent months and stressed that
almost no one knew what was going on in the conflict
zone.
"There are claims that the bodies are being
mutilated, that their organs are being cut off, that
even if they are caught alive, they are tortured and
killed as well as allegations that chemical weapons
are being used. How are these going to be
investigated?" he asked.
"This comes to the same meaning as the state saying,
I have the right to kill you without being
monitored" Alatas added.
The IHD Chairman argued that the practice also meant
punishing those relatives and families that had a
right to the bodies and noted, "this is something
that does not even happen in wars. It is a general
rule to respect those bodies of the deceased and to
surrender them over to their families. What happens
to the body is an issue that concerns the family".
Pointing out that this new practice effectively
meant violation of article 8 of the European
Convention on Human Rights, which governs respect
towards family and private life, Alatas concluded,
"in essence this is a practice to punish the Kurdish
people. It is a practice that provokes enmity and
hatred, which means the cutting off of sentimental
feelings between the people and their state. This is
one of the greatest blows that can be delivered to
the unity of the country.
Bianet.org
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