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EU Court condemns Turkey over police
detentions
28.11.2007
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November 28, 2007
STRASBOURG, Council of Europe, -- The
European Court of Human Rights Tuesday condemned
Turkey in two rulings for its "abusive" length of
police custody for Turks suspected of supporting the
Turkey's Kurdish PKK separatist party.
In the first case, court judges awarded damages
totalling 7,000 euros (10,500 dollars) for the
suffering of three claimants seized and held for
between eight and nine hours in 2000, on accusations
of being Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) members.
The court judged unanimously that the detention of
Medine Yakut, Sebiha Zengin and Huseyin Utanc was
too long and violated the right to liberty and
security.
In the second case, Mehmet Siddik Celepkulu --
suspected of aiding the PKK -- complained of being
tortured by police officers and being extorted under
pressure during a lengthy police detention in 1997.
The court ruled there was not enough evidence to
back up allegations of torture but awarded him 2,500
euros damages under the same violation of his right
to liberty. www.ekurd.net
Since 1984 the PKK took up arms for self-rule in the
country's mainly Kurdish southeast of Turkey.
AFP
**
Kurds are not recognized as an official minority in
Turkey and are denied rights granted to other
minority groups. Under EU pressure, Turkey recently
granted Kurds limited rights for broadcasts and
education in the Kurdish language, but critics say
the measures do not go far enough.
The use of the term "Kurdistan" is vigorously
rejected due to its alleged political implications
by the Republic of Turkey, which does not recognize
the existence of a "Turkish Kurdistan" Southeast
Turkey.
Others estimate over 40 million Kurds live in
Big Kurdistan (Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Iran, Armenia),
which covers an area as big as France, about half of
all Kurds which estimate to 20 million live in
Turkey.
Turkey is home to over 25 million ethnic Kurds, some
of whom openly sympathise with the Kurdish PKK for a
Kurdish homeland in the country's mainly Kurdish
southeast of Turkey.
Before August 2002, the Turkish government placed
severe restrictions on the use of Kurdish language,
prohibiting the language in education and broadcast
media.
The Kurdish alphabet is still not recognized
in Turkey, and use of the Kurdish letters X, W, Q
which do not exist in the Turkish
alphabet has led to judicial persecution in 2000 and
2003
The Kurdish flag flown officially in Iraqi Kurdistan
but unofficially flown by Kurds in Armenia. The flag
is banned in Iran, Syria, and Turkey where flying it
is a criminal offence"
Southeastern Turkey:
North Kurdistan (
Kurdistan-Turkey)
wikipedia
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