Turkey Again 
Found Guilty of Human
Rights Violations Against Kurds

The European Court for Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg has again found Turkey in breach of Article 2 (Right to life) and Article 13 (Right to an effective remedy) of the European Convention on Human Rights. The court required Turkey to pay €175,000 in compensation to the children of the victims. The complainants, 10 children from the family Önen, were witnesses to the murders of their parents and a brother in an attack against their house in Turkish Kurdistan in 1993.
In its judgment from 14.05.2002 the court found the Turkish government guilty of breaching the right to life of the married couple Ibrahim and Mome Önen and their son Orhan Önen. In particular, the court accused Turkish authorities of willfully committing gross and criminal errors while investigating the case. There had not been any exact recording of the case, including photographs, sketches, the type of ammunition used, witness statements at the scene of the crime etc. The court specifically criticized the public prosecutor for accepting the official version of the events as being ascribed to “armed men of the PKK” without having carried out a thorough investigation. Article 13 of the Convention states “Everyone whose rights and freedoms as set forth in this Convention are violated shall have an effective remedy before a national authority not-withstanding that the violation has been committed by persons acting in an official capacity”. 
The Önen family’s 10 children claim that their relatives were murdered by state security forces. The ECHR itself carried at a "Fact-Finding-Mission", holding interviews in Ankara, and finding major inconsistencies and contradictions. in the state’s investigation. The court decided that the victims were murdered by 2 masked men claiming to be soldiers. (Sources: KHRP and IMK)

Accusation of Deliberate Killing 

Turan Çaliskan has alleged that his brother, Ayhan Çaliskan, was the victim of a deliberate killing in Konya on May 5th. Special police units were called in when Ayhan Çaliskan had shot at Ayhan Torman because he had wanted to force him out of his house. They did not want to allow Turan Çaliskan to speak with his brother. He was eventually allo-wed to speak to him through a door after his brother indicated that he was prepared to give himself up following a phone call from a doctor who was treating him psychologically. Ayhan Caliskan refu-sed to come out because the police would not withdraw. After 3 hours police used tear gas. They used so much that security personnel, who intended entering the house, began vomiting. Three officers eventually managed to enter the house. They fired 3 shots of which the first was fired into his leg and the other 2 to the head. Turan Çaliskan claims that his brother was already unconscious following the first shot, that he had in any case not been a threat and that his home-made weapon was not life-threa-tening. (TIHV, from 18.05.2002)

Torture in Torbali

Gendarmes in civilian clothing, arrested Ahmet Yildiz, Zeki Kilavuz and Izzet Ensen in Buca (Izmir) on 18.04.2002 and took them to the station at Torbali-Kapikaya under the suspicion of theft. The lawyer Aykut Dikencik was able to speak with them in the evening and discovered that they had been tortured. He informed lawyers from the Anti-Torture Committee of Izmir’s Lawyers’ Associa-tion. On the following day the lawyers Özlem Yilmaz, Nergiz Tuba Aslan, Bahattin Özdemir and Ata Türkgülü went to Torbali and discovered that they had again been tortured. They took detailed statements. Zeki Kilavuz: ”We were arrested in Ahmet Yildiz’s appartment. At the gendarme station my mouth was taped and I had to go about 1km into the woods. A pistol was held to my temple. They pushed me so that I fell to the ground. Then they kicked me and hit me in the testicles”. Ahmet Yildiz: ”We were firstly taken to a small room, like a bathroom, and were stripped naked. After 10 minutes we had to get dressed again. The other 2 were taken away. I had to strip again and was forced to stand for 5-6 hours with my hands against the wall. I had nothing to eat and was not allowed to go to the toilet”. Izzet Ensen said that he had been threatened with the abduction of his son if he didn’t make a confession. At 2100 hours the lawyers went to the state prosecutor in Torbali. He ordered the examination of Zeki Kilavuz at the Atatürk Hospital (Izmir-Yesilyurt). The clients were held in custody while their lawyers issued a complaint against the head of the station, Serif Bek. They said that this was the first case in which the Istanbul Protocol (prevention of torture) had suc-cessfully been applied. Each stage of the protocol had been adhered to. The hospital examination had not been satisfactory even though there had been a psychological consultation. The victims could, how-ever, identify one of the offenders at the station and had been possible for them to prevent further torture. (TIHV from 20.05.2002)

Lawyer Before Court 

A case began on 21.05.2002 against the lawyer Kazim Bayraktar who must answer to an allegation of supporting an illegal organization before An-kara’s state security court. He said that the book about the events in Ulucanla’s prison only repeated the results of the post-mortem examination. This case has been brought because he can not be char-ged with any offence under the press laws. Kazim Bayraktar indicted himself for possessing banned literature in his office. He needed these to act as a defense lawyer in political cases. Police had, how-ever, only confiscated the files for a case against the TIKB. The case was adjourned until 25.06.2002. (Evrensel/TIHV from 22.05.2002 )

Case Concerning Kurdish Names

On 21.05.2002 the case before the civil court in Dicle ended against 7 families from the district of Dicle (Diyarbakir) who had given their children Kurdish names. The Turkish Language Institute had determined that 3 from 23 names conformed with the registration law because they were of Persian origin (”Baver”, ”Serhat” and ”Baran”). Parents are to be compelled to give their children other names under Article 16 of the Registration Law. (TIHV, 21.05.02)

Turkish President of State to have 
Media Law Scrutinized 

The Turkish president of state has objected to several passages within the new Turkish radio and TV law and has referred it to the constitutional court. Some of the bans in the law were too vaguely formulated.
The law, which was passed against the President’s veto, bans amongst other things, programmes which “spread fear” of “create pessimism and hopeless-ness”. EU member candidate Turkey has also had criticism from Brussels.
Critics in Turkey had pointed out that the law particularly facilitated the creation of monopolies and restricted freedom of opinion through its high penalties. According to the law, media concerns may in the future have 50% control of a radio or TV station. Till now only 20% at the most was allowed. (Source: Die Welt, 22.05.2002 dpa)

Protest
By the Journalists’ Association (CGD)

Istanbul. The Journalists’ Association has protested in Istanbul against the passing of the new media legislation. They wore black T-shirts and had their eyes and mouths taped with black tape. Baris Yar-kadas fears that press freedom will be entirely re-stricted. 
Amongst other things he said, “…journalists will no longer be able to report the truth. The high financial penalties provided by the law would completely stifle and suppress regional media outlets in Anato-lia as well as opposition media sources. That’s why we’ve covered our eyes and mouths today to show that if parliament passes the legislation journalists will no longer be able to verbally report the reality. The public will also then not be able to read the truth”. (Source: Ozgür Radyo 14.5.2002)

New Amnesty for Offenders 
in Turkey
Except for Political Prisoners 

The Turkish parliament has passed new amnesty legislation against the veto of its president. Up to 5,000 criminals will be released early, including far-right murderers such as the pope assassin Agca. Political prisoners will, however, be excluded from the amnesty.
The Turkish parliament has now passed the contro-versial amnesty legislation for the second time and has therefore overruled the veto from president of state Sezer. Between 3000-5000 offenders will profit from the amnesty. According to the new law, most of the prisoners could be released 10 years early. Amongst these would be petty criminals but also drugs and arms smugglers, murderers and bank managers guilty of embezzlement of huge sums of money.
President Sezer vetoed the legislation in April be-cause a “general amnesty” required a two thirds approval by parliament. However, Justice Minister Türk brought the law in under the title of “initial sentence reduction”. In the view of the government, such a law required only a simple majority. This was achieved through the governing coalition. 

Two Laws, Two Vetoes 
Ecevit’s government made an initial attempt to free many prisoners in December 2000. The government leader’s own wife, Rahsan Ecevit, had personally drawn up the law proposal. Along with relieving the overfull prisons, she mainly hoped to gain poli-tical points. The president at the time, Süleyman Demirel, vetoed the proposal but was overruled by parliament. Around 20,000 prisoners then profited from family Ecevit’s amnesty.
Victims’ families complained to the constitutional court. The court judged that the amnesty breached equal rights. It gave parliament 6 months to pass an amended amnesty law. At the end of April the government introduced minor amendments and pas-sed the law for the first time, and now for the second time.

Leniency for Far Right Murderers 
The law is very controversial within the general public but also, incredibly, within the government itself. Government head Ecevit declared himself to be no fan of the amnesty, and his deputy, Yilmaz, described the situation arising from the amnesty as a “tragic comedy”. For example, under the new law, pope assassin Mehmet Ali Agca’s sentence would be reduced from 15 to 5 years. Agca, who has ties to right wing nationalist groups and who shot at Pope John Paul II in 1981, is serving a prison term in Turkey for murdering the liberal journalist, Abdi Ipekci, in Istanbul in 1979. Under the amnesty Haluk Kirca would also probably be released. This militant nationalist murdered 7 left-wing students in a flat in Ankara in 1978.
Explicitly excluded from the amnesty are prisoners who have been convicted of terrorism or high trea-son. This means that political prisoners must remain behind bars. The majority of students, writers and journalists serving long term jail sentences in Turkey have been convicted of “moral support” of terrorists. (Source: Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 23.05.2002)

Yasar Kemal Receives Honorary Doc-torate in Ankara 

The Turkish writer Yasar Kemal, who has been awarded many prizes abroad, has received an hono-rary doctorate from the Bilkent University in Ankara. The nearly 80-year-old novelist called the honor a “glimmer of hope”. At the same time he denounced the “suppression” of writers and artists in his country, who received no respect in Turkey. He doubted whether the country was “at the thres-hold” of a new stage. However, he hoped “that the people of Anatolia could return to their histo-rical peace-loving way of life and their diverse culture”. (Berliner Zeitung, 21.05.2002)

State of Emergency Judge Before 
Court

The Justice Ministry has initiated an investigation against Ali Haydar Yücesoy, a judge from Diyar-bakir’s state security court, because he had reques-ted judicial proof for an extension to the incommu-nicado period in police custody. 
Judge Yücesoy, who strictly abides by existing legislation, conscientiously scrutinizes applications from the public prosecutor for extensions to incommunicado periods, and rejects them if there is no sufficient evidence or justification.
His predecessors had always approved the applications without any serious scrutiny. Then this judge arrived who was not prepared to infringe existing laws.
The incommunicado period in police custody is 10 days in states of emergency. During this time, nei-ther lawyers nor families may visit the detainee.
It is generally well known that police or security forces use torture during this period to obtain con-fessions.
As a rule, the incommunicado period is always approved in the Kurdish state of emergency regions on  formal requests from the public prosecutor.
When Judge Yücesoy ignored a warning from the governor of the state of emergency region and upheld his judicial right to decide, the governor made a complaint to the Justice Ministry in Ankara requesting him to be disciplined and transferred.
Because of this complaint the ministry has initiated an investigation against Judge Yücesoy. The Ministry’s  Investigatory Commission have called for disciplinary action to be taken against the judge because he  had “disregarded the special circumstances in state of emergency regions”. 
Judge Yücesoy sees the commission’s request as “an attack against his professional integrity and as imposing pressure on judicial independence”. He has made a complaint against the Justice Ministry and has called for 10 billion Lira in compensation. 
Judge Yücesoy said, “there can be no arbitrary rule in a constitutional state. All offences, including terrorism, must be punished and condemned within the rule of the law. Both the governor and the Justice Ministry have violated the rule of the law and judicial independence, and have encroached upon my professional integrity. My family life has also suffered severely because of this dispute. I am therefore making this compensation claim “. (Source: Radikal, 27.05.02)

Lawyers: Turkish Police Charge Torture Victims

According to a legal study, many torture victims fear bringing charges against the police because they are anxious that the police will, in turn, bring charges against them. Torture victims are often ac-cused of opposing the state prosecutor, reported the English language Turkish Daily News, referring to a study by the Lawyers Association from the west Turkish city of Izmir. According to this study 848 cases of torture were registered within a five year period in the region of Izmir, but in only 94 cases were charges brought against suspected police offi-cers. Human rights violations in police custody are one of the obstacles to Turkey’s EU member-ship. (AFP, 28 May 02)

Criticism of Foreign Office Progress Report on Turkey 

Enclosure to the Progress Report on Turkey from 20.3.2002

Medical Treatment in Turkey of Mentally Ill People
It is to be welcomed that the Progress Report from July 2001 again has an enclosure instead of the abrupt statement, “Treatment of mentally ill people is possible in all hospitals with a psychiatric department. The treatment of post-traumatic stress disorders is carried out using medicines and psy-chological therapy”.
- In comparison to the enclosure to the Progress Report from June 2000, the current enclosure is 3 pages shorter, partly because of an appreciated conciser use of language. However, some essential aspects and some important explanations have been victims of the cuts.
- Firstly, a basic remark on the figures quoted. For a judge to be able to make any decision on the level of care in Turkey it would, in my opinion, be necessary not to just compare figures for the total population of 66 million, but to compare the situation with that in Germany. According to the progress report, 600 psychiatrists work in Turkey and only 8000 beds are available for mentally ill people. There are only a total of 30 rehabilitation centers and family advisory centers in Turkey – mainly in the western cities – for physically and mentally handicapped children. There are, however, no comparisons with Germany.
- At the end of the summary it is pointed out that German representatives could be helpful in individual cases for giving medical opinions on care and treatment alternatives in each region. There are previous examples of how such opinions from the Germany Embassy’s medical officer may look. For example, Prof. Dr. Farabi Dora, specialist in neurology, medical officer to the German Embassy in Ankara, in his expert opinion to the Administrative Court in Stuttgart from 12.03.01, states that “The treatment of post traumatic stress disorder is possible in all hospitals in Turkey with a psychiatric department. The treatment includes medicines and psychotherapeutic remedies”. When the court asked how could this opinion be consistent with descriptions within the progress report, the foreign office wrote on 05.07.01 "The opinion of the German Embassy’s medical officer from 12.03.01 does not contradict descriptions in the progress report on Turkey from 22.06.00. It is, however, too generally formulated and therefore not so meaningful”. The court was not happy with this response and again made a request in a letter from 16.7.01: "To resolve some remaining uncertainties, I request a clear statement on whether the conclusion in the progress report from 22.6.00 that the situation in Turkey for adequate treatment methods/processes for traumatized people was completely hopeless, is still valid”. The Foreign Office’s response from 21.08.01: “The Progress Report on Turkey from 22.06.00 has been superceded by a new issue from 24.7.01. An up to date statement on the treatment of mentally ill people is available on page 40. Referral should be made to this”. 
What is on page 40 of the Progress Report on Turkey from 24.7.01? The too generally formulated and therefore not so meaningful statement from the medical officer, Prof. Dr. Farabi Dora. I have the entire exchange of letters as well as other examples. 
- The reason for the “too generally formulated and therefore not so meaningful” statement on Turkish doctors is ,amongst other things, because any statement claiming poor or deficient care is a risk to the doctor making the statement since, irrespective of its truthfulness, it could be seen as politically slanderous statement. 
- Explanations in the enclosure to the report from 22.06.2000 were more detailed and comprehensive concerning the desolate situation for ill people and their families. But even in the current enclosure, with its concise and sober use of language, the extent of the lack of care is obvious. The omissions and amendments should, however, not be ignored.:

Example:
· 3d (Progress Report Enclosure 2000) corresponds to 2.4 in the enclosure from 2002, and states: "Nationwide there are 137 hospitals in 68 cities which are authorized to issue health certificates on handicapped or mentally ill people (to apply for state financial aid or other support such as rehab for children and adolescents).” The following sentence had been omitted without any replacement: “This also means that it is not possible in every province within the country to obtain expert treatment”. In my opinion it would have been better to complete it by stating how many of the 137 hospitals were located in the west of Turkey.
· 3f (2000) corresponds to 2.6 (2002) and deals with the (inadequate) opportunities for therapy for men-tally ill people:
The new formulation of this paragraph can not be explained objectively. It simply represents a shortening and a gloss over of the actual situation. The continued treatment of patients with post traumatic stress disorder is not just “in this country often difficult or not at all available” because of differing ideas for treatment. As long as the cause of the trauma exists in the country of origin, treatment must be received in Germany. Forced repatriation would mean re-traumatisation. Perse-cution and war-based experiences can only be successfully treated in exile, with the security of a residency permit and in a stable social environment. Such conditions are even in Germany only inade-quately available. In Turkey, there is currently nothing available. There are no therapists, no perso-nal security, no social network, and in most cases, no longer any stable family structures.
· 4 (2000) corresponds to 3 (2002) and concerns the social care and advice for the mentally ill:
The following key sentence here was also shortened and represented a gloss over. “The state’s efforts to adequately provide the aforementioned facilities do not meet requirements mainly because of deficient resources”. It was clear from the enclosure from 2000 that, for example, orphanages were simply places to hold children, with no real support being provided. In the current enclosure there is also an omission of the descriptions on the immense burdens on parents, the lack of foster parents, and the desolate situation for single old people. This has certainly nothing to do with any improvements in the situation. (Sources: Refugee Advisory NdS,, Comments from Dr. Gisela Penteker)

Refugees Drown 

12 Kurdish refugees have drowned in Croatia whilst fleeing from Turkey. According to the news agency Hina, the last 4 bodies were recovered from the river Sava near the town of Zupanja in the east of the country. (Source: taz, 21.05.2002)

Coast Guards Shoot Turkish Refugees 

Turkish coast guards used gun shots to stop a refugee boat 20 nautical miles from the coast of northern Cyprus. One man was killed and 5 were injured. The majority of the 250 refugees were Turkish citizens from the south east of the country where mainly Kurds live. The dead person was also Turkish. A representative of the Turkish Refugee Aid Organization ASAM said that up till now there had been no fatal shots fired at refugees.
The refugees had boarded the boat early in the morning on the Mediterranean coast. Turkish gendarmes discovered the boat and surrounded it. However, the refugees forced the captain to set sail. Nine people smugglers therefore missed the boat and were later detained by police. Coast guard vessels from Turkey and northern Cyprus eventually stopped the boat. The news paper Hürriyet referred only to warning shots being fired. Officials from northern Cyprus spoke, however, of the death and the injured. Italy had apparently been the refugees’ destination. Turkey is one of the main thoroughfares for illegal emigration. Because of the economic crisis there, the number of Turkish citi-zens seeking a way to the West has also increased.
Human smuggling receives only low penalties in Turkey. Interior Minister Yücelen said “We don’t have the appropriate legislation”.
Ankara is also under strong pressure from the EU. At the EU summit in Seville in June, governments from London and Madrid want to talk about economic sanctions against states who do not cooperate in the prevention of illegal emigration. According to report in the British newspaper The Guardian, the British government are even considering using their navy and air force in the Mediterranean to prevent emigration. According to the report, government head Blair wants talks with Turkey on deporting refugees in Iraq to Afghanistan. (Source: SZ, 24.05.2002)

Refugee Boat with Engine Trouble Adrift Before Turkish Coast 

Engine problems have thwarted an attempt by 71 illegal immigrants from Iraq to flee to Greece over the Aegean. Turkish coast guards noticed the boat drifting on the open see and took it in tow. The Iraqis and the 3 man crew of the Turkish boat were taken into police custody, according to the news agency Anadolu. (Source: dpa, 27 May 02)

Another Turkish Prisoner Dies in Hun-ger Strike 

The hunger strikes in Turkish prisons have claimed another life. The Turkish Human Rights Associa-tion said that a man, accused of being a member of a far left group (TIKB), had died in a hospital in Istanbul. This means that a total of 51 people have starved themselves to death since October 2000. The protests are against the new high security prisons in Turkey. The state refuses to negotiate with the hunger strikers. (Source: dpa, 23 May 02)

Turkish Police to Study Human Rights Convictions 

Turkish police officers are now to study judgments against Turkey from the European Court of Human Rights as part of their training. According to the newspaper Hürriyet, the Police Academy has translated the 29 judgments from the Strasbourg court from the past 1 and a half years and has is-sued them in book form.. 
The 320-page book was firstly used in the training of high-ranking officers. Furthermore, future judgments from the court are to be published every 3 months for training courses. Hürriyet claims that this represents the breaking of a taboo by the Turkish police. (Hürriyet, 27 May 02)

Syrian Journalist Disappears During Conference 
The Syrian journalist Nizar Nayyouf, who should have picked up an award at the 55th World Congress of the Daily Press in the Flemish town of Bruges, disappeared without trace from his hotel. Nayyouf had last been seen on the Sunday, said the state prosecutor Jean-Marie Berkvens on the following Monday. Nyyouf’s brother had reported him missing to the police. His passport and clothing were still in the hotel. Nayyouf had been awarded the UNESCO prize for press freedom in 2000. This was part of a campaign to free the Syrian from prison where he had been put for his activities in support of human rights. 
In December 1991, the journalist had, amongst other things, denounced the “daily terrorism by security forces” and the refusal of democratic rights in his country. 
Nizar Nayyouf was freed in May 2001 and has lived in Paris since then. 
One day following his disappearance from Bruges Nayyouf turned up in a hospital in Brussels. He claimed to have been kidnapped on the Sunday. 
The public prosecutor in Bruges is to investigate Nayyouf’s claim. He claims to have been dragged into a car on leaving his hotel and taken blindfolded into a forest. He was given an anesthetic and then abandoned. (dpa, 27 May02)

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The Editorial Team