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In
its annual report, Amnesty International cites many
cases of human rights violations. The rights of
human rights activists, refugees, homosexuals and
transgender people, children and others were not
respected.
May
29, 2009
LONDON, UK, Amnesty International
Amnesty International (AI) has published its 2009
Report on "The State of the World's Human Rights".
Organised by region and also by country, its
comments on Turkey show that human rights have not
seen improvements in the country in the last year.
The report is based on visits which AI made to
Turkey in February, March, April and May of this
year.
Human rights suffered in the context of political
instability and military clashes. Reports of torture
and other ill-treatment increased, while dissenting
views were met with prosecution and intimidation.
The right to freedom of peaceful assembly was
denied, and law enforcement officials used excessive
force to disperse demonstrations. Anti-terrorism
legislation was also used to restrict freedom of
expression. Unfair trials persisted especially for
those prosecuted under anti-terrorism legislation,
while barriers remained in bringing law enforcement
officials to justice for human rights abuses. No
progress was made in allowing the right to
conscientious objection to military service.
Forcible returns of refugees increased.
Discrimination based on sexual orientation and
gender identity persisted. Implementation of laws
aimed at preventing violence against women and girls
remained slow.
Background
Political tension and instability were heightened by
polarizing legal battles, including at the
Constitutional Court, and armed clashes between the
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Turkish armed
forces.
In legal cases that threatened the right to freedom
of association, the ruling Justice and Development
Party (AKP) faced closure on the grounds that it was
a focal point for anti-secular activities, as did
the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) on
the grounds that it engaged in activities against
the unity and integrity of the country. The
Constitutional Court rejected the closure of the AKP
in July; the case against the DTP was continuing at
the end of the year.
In February parliament passed constitutional
amendments aimed at withdrawing the ban on women
wearing the Islamic headscarf at universities, but
the Constitutional Court overturned the amendments
in June on the grounds that they violated the
secular principles of the state. However, the
judgment did not adequately demonstrate the need for
this limitation of freedom of religion and
conscience based on the human rights of others.
In July, the indictment was issued in a
groundbreaking prosecution against an alleged
ultranationalist network, Ergenekon, with links to
state institutions. Eighty-six people, including
senior retired army officers, were charged with
various offences relating to an alleged plot to
violently overthrow the elected government through
political assassinations and incitement of violence.
The trial was continuing at the end of the year.
Armed clashes between the Turkish army and PKK
continued and the use of temporary security zones in
eastern and south-eastern provinces increased. Bomb
attacks, often by unknown individuals or groups,
killed and injured civilians. The army carried out
military incursions into northern Iraq targeting PKK
bases. In October, parliament authorized the armed
forces to make further military interventions in
northern Iraq.
In the context of the conflict, Turkish citizens of
Kurdish origin faced increased hostility, including
harassment, assaults and attacks on their property
perpetrated by unknown individuals or groups. In
September, such attacks took place over several days
in Altınova province, western Turkey.
Freedom of expression
Human rights defenders, writers, journalists and
others were unjustly prosecuted under unfair laws
and subjected to arbitrary decisions by judges and
prosecutors. Article 301 of the Penal Code was
amended by parliament in April but remained an
unfair limitation to freedom of expression.
Investigations under Article 301 continued,www.ekurd.net
authorized by the
Justice Minister as required by the amendments.
Other articles and laws continued to be used to
limit freedom of expression. Courts also acted
disproportionately when shutting down websites on
the basis of posted items.
People expressing dissenting views remained at risk,
with individuals threatened with violence by unknown
individuals or groups. Police bodyguards were
provided in a number of cases.
•In August, Minister of Justice Mehmet Ali Şahin
gave permission for the prosecution of writer Temel
Demirer under Article 301 for statements he made
claiming state responsibility in the murder of
journalist and human rights defender Hrant Dink in
2007.
•Nine children, all members of the Diyarbakır
Yenişehir Municipality Children's Choir, were
prosecuted under Article 7/2 of the Anti-Terrorism
Law for singing a Kurdish anthem among other songs
at a cultural festival. They were acquitted at the
first hearing, but an arrest warrant remained in
force for the choir leader, Duygu Özge Bayar.
Human rights defenders
The work of human rights defenders was hampered by
unjustified prosecutions, and some high-profile
human rights defenders were subjected to regular
criminal investigations. Human rights NGOs faced
excessive administrative scrutiny of their work.
Human rights defenders were threatened by unknown
individuals or groups as a result of their work.
•Orhan Kemal Cengiz received threats because of his
legal work on behalf of the families of three men
murdered in an attack on a Christian publishing
house in Malatya in 2007. The authorities provided
him with a bodyguard and investigated the threats.
•In January, Ethem Açıkalın, head of the Adana
branch of the Human Rights Association (İHD), was
prosecuted under anti-terrorism legislation after
attending a press conference about an alleged
extrajudicial execution. In August, he and another
İHD member, Hüseyin Beyaz, said that they were
ill-treated by police while investigating the arrest
of DTP members. Hüseyin Beyaz' arm was broken. An
investigation was opened against Ethem Açıkalın and
Hüseyin Beyaz for "resisting police officers".
Freedom of assembly
Some demonstrations were banned without legitimate
reason and those held without permission,
particularly in the Kurdish-populated south-eastern
region, were dispersed with excessive force, often
before peaceful methods had been tried. During
clashes, police used plastic bullets and live
ammunition, resulting in deaths and injuries.
Demonstrators were arrested and ill-treated. In some
cases, children were held in adult detention
facilities. Allegations of ill-treatment by security
forces during past demonstrations were not
adequately investigated.
•Traditional Newroz/Nevruz festivals after the 21
March equinox, which are celebrated especially by
the Kurdish community, were refused authorization in
south-eastern Turkey. Television footage showed law
enforcement officials beating people after
demonstrations went ahead without permission.
•Law enforcement officials were filmed ill-treating
15-year-old C.E. during his arrest at a
demonstration in Hakkari, but a prosecutor
subsequently dismissed the complaint. C.E. was,
however, prosecuted for his participation in the
demonstration.
•Permission for Labour Day demonstrations in Taksim
square, Istanbul, was again refused on the
unsubstantiated grounds that they would present a
threat to security. Some 530 people were arrested
for demonstrating without authorization on 1 May in
Istanbul.
•In October, demonstrations were held across
southern and eastern provinces of Turkey to protest
against the alleged ill-treatment of imprisoned PKK
leader Abdullah Öcalan. Reportedly,www.ekurd.net
more than a hundred
children were charged with offences carrying prison
sentences of more than 20 years in relation to the
demonstrations. In addition, the Governor of the
southern province of Adana threatened to withdraw
benefits that allow access to health care and
treatment from the families of children who
participated in the demonstrations. The move, a form
of collective punishment, threatened to violate the
right of everyone to health and to an adequate
standard of living, without discrimination. Adults
and children involved in the sometimes violent
confrontations with police were prosecuted under
anti-terrorism laws.
Excessive use of force
Reports increased of police shooting people who
allegedly failed to obey warnings to stop. In many
cases it could not be established that a threat of
death or serious injury necessitated the use of
lethal force.
•In November, 14-year-old Ahmet Yıldırım was shot by
police officers at close range and paralysed from
the waist down. Police stated that they had
suspected Ahmet Yıldırım of stealing the motorcycle
he was riding and fired at the tyres when he refused
to stop. Eyewitnesses stated that no warning to stop
was given.
Torture and other
ill-treatment
Reports of torture and other ill-treatment rose
during 2008, especially outside official places of
detention but also in police stations and prisons.
People accused of ordinary as well as politically
motivated offences were vulnerable to ill-treatment.
Counter-charges were often brought against
individuals who said they had been ill-treated by
law enforcement officials.
•In October, Engin Çeber died in hospital after
being detained in İstinye police station and Metris
prison in Istanbul. An autopsy found that death was
due to cerebral bleeding as a result of blunt trauma
injuries consistent with those caused by blows to
the head. Nineteen law enforcement officials were
suspended from duty and an indictment was drawn up
against 60 state officials, some facing torture
charges. In the first such statement of its kind,
the Justice Minister apologized to Engin Çeber's
family and acknowledged that the death may have been
due to torture.
Prison conditions
No progress was made in the implementation of a 2007
government circular aimed at improving the
association time allowed to prisoners in
high-security "F-type" prisons. Persistent
allegations were made of ill-treatment in prisons
and during transfer. Punishments, including solitary
confinement, were arbitrarily imposed on prisoners.
Small-group isolation remained a problem across the
prison system for people accused or convicted of
politically motivated offences.
•In March, the report of the European Committee for
the Prevention of Torture was published on the
conditions of imprisonment of PKK leader Abdullah
Öcalan recommending that he receive certain medical
tests, that the material conditions of his detention
be improved, and that the Turkish authorities take
steps to increase his contact with the outside
world.
Unfair trials
Protracted and unfair trials persisted, especially
for those prosecuted under anti-terrorism
legislation. Convictions under anti-terrorism laws
were often based on insubstantial or unreliable
evidence.
•In June, Murat Işıkırık was sentenced to seven
years in prison for "membership of a terrorist
organization" on the basis of evidence that he
participated in the funeral of a PKK member and was
pictured giving a "V for victory" sign.
•In September, Selahattin Ökten was sentenced to
life imprisonment for taking part in armed
activities for the PKK. He was convicted on the
basis of an insubstantial witness statement
allegedly obtained under torture.
Impunity
Investigations into human rights violations by law
enforcement officials remained flawed and
prosecutions remained insufficient. Official human
rights mechanisms were ineffective.
•The trial continued of people accused of
involvement with the 2007 murder of Hrant Dink. In a
separate prosecution, eight members of the
gendarmerie were charged with negligence based on
their alleged failure to act on information that
could have prevented the murder. A report published
in July by the Parliamentary Human Rights Commission
found that other state officials had been negligent
in failing to prevent the murder.
•In November, the Supreme Court of Appeals
overturned the conviction of eight police officers
for the death in custody of Alpaslan Yelden in 1999
in Izmir. The court found there was insufficient
evidence that the officers participated in the
torture.
•In December prosecutors dismissed a case against
police officers lodged by Mustafa Kükçe's family
after his death in custody in June 2007. The
prosecutor concluded that the death from cerebral
bleeding could have been caused by a fall before he
was taken into custody despite the last medical
report while he was in detention finding injuries
consistent with those inflicted by ill-treatment.
The investigation also found that no record was made
of Mustafa Kükçe's detention and that camera footage
from the police station was not available due to the
cameras being out of order.
Abuses by armed groups
Bomb attacks targeting civilians by unknown groups
or individuals continued.
•In July, for example, 17 people died after a bomb
exploded in the Güngören district of Istanbul.
•In January, nine civilians died as a result of an
apparent PKK attack targeting military personnel in
Diyarbakir.
Prisoners of conscience - conscientious objectors
No civilian alternative to compulsory military
service exists and promised legal reforms to prevent
the repeated prosecution of conscientious objectors
for evading military service were not introduced.
Conscientious objectors were prosecuted and their
supporters were also prosecuted under Article 318 of
the Penal Code for "alienating the public from
military service".
•Halil Savda was re-imprisoned in March for his
conscientious objection to military service. In
June, he was additionally sentenced to five months
in prison under Article 318 of the Penal Code after
participating in a press conference held in support
of Israeli conscientious objectors in 2006.
•In June, conscientious objector Mehmet Bal was
detained for evading military service. He said that
he was repeatedly beaten in military custody.
Rights of lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender people
Laws continued to be interpreted in ways that
discriminated against people based on their sexual
orientation and gender identity. Allegations
persisted of violence by law enforcement officials
against transgender people.
•In May a local court in Istanbul ordered the
closure of Lambda Istanbul, an organization that
supports lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
people, after the Istanbul Governor's Office
complained that the organization's objectives were
"against moral values and family structure".
•A transgender person told Amnesty International
that in February she was picked up on the street,
taken to the Ankara Security Directorate and then
insulted and beaten by police. She was released six
hours later after paying a fine.
•In July, Ahmet Yıldız was shot dead outside his
apartment in Istanbul in what was suspected to be a
gay "honour" crime. He had previously made a
criminal complaint to prosecutors about threats made
against him by relatives.
Refugees and asylum-seekers
There was an increase in forcible returns of
refugees and asylum-seekers to countries where they
were at risk of serious human rights violations.
There were also reports of irregular deportations
resulting in the death or injury of asylum-seekers.
•A group of Uzbekistani refugees was twice forcibly
returned to Iran, first in September and then in
October. During the first forcible return, members
of the group were said to have been beaten and
threatened with rape unless they crossed back into
Iran.
•Four people drowned in April, according to UNHCR,
when Turkish police forced a group of 18 refugees
and asylum-seekers to cross a fast-flowing river on
the Turkey-Iraq border.
Violence against women and
girls
Laws and regulations designed to protect women and
girls from violence were inadequately implemented.
Insufficient funds and inaction by government
departments undermined a 2006 circular from the
Prime Minister aimed at combating domestic violence
and preventing "honour" crimes. Limited progress was
made in providing shelters for women survivors of
violence to the extent stipulated by the 2004 Law on
Municipalities - at least one shelter per settlement
with a population of over 50,000. (AI/AG)
This report was taken from Amnesty International's
website.
Copyright, respective author or news agency,
amnesty.org
**
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 25 million live in
Turkey. A large
Turkey's Kurdish community 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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