IHD on the Situation in Bayrampasa Prison
Eren Keskin, head of the IHD in Istanbul, said at a press conference that there was a group of guards calling themselves the “A-Team” who beat the prisoners in Bayrampasa prison. An Iranian was recently whipped with a hose and the political pris-oner Hasan Karabas was beaten for so long on the way to court that he became unconscious. The IHD could confirm that there was  bruising to his head and body. There are also allegations that 4 transves-tites were recently raped during registration into prison. (Source: Yedinci Gündem from 02.08.2002)

Judgment in Shooting Case 
A Turkish court of appeal has upheld the judgment concerning the shootings of Murat Bektas and Er-dinç Aslan in the city district of Akincilar in Adana on 5th October 1999. On 09.05.2002, the 1st Cham-ber of Adana’s Criminal Court sentenced the police officers Nurettin Bülbül, Eyüp Yalçinkaya, Ali Erdurucan and Haydar Erol to 8 years imprison-ment under § 448 and 450/2 of the Turkish Penal Code (death by use of unreasonable force) for shooting dead Murat Bektas. The sentences were reduced to 6 months and 20 days and then were suspended. The police officers Fevzi Mustan and Muammer Topaç were found not guilty of shooting dead Erdinç Aslan because under § 49 of the TPC, they had only been carrying out orders. He had allegedly been a militant from the DHKP/C, while Murat Bektas (from a neighboring apartment) did not belong to the organization. (Source: Milliyet from 03.08.2002)

Campaign for Tuition in Kurdish 
On 05.08.2002 Van’s state security judged as not guilty 6 leading members of the IHD in Van includ-ing its head Abdulvahap Ertan, on charges of sepa-ratist propaganda. The case had begun following the start of the association’s congress in February because a banner had been seen there claiming that a right to a native language was a human right. The state security courts in Istanbul ordered the release of those 6 still being held in custody. Mehmet Salih Anly, Alican Babahan, Mehmet Orhan, Abdullah Akyncy, Ali Dinçer and Mehmet Meriç are among the 92 people charged who had handed over a petition to the director for national education in Istanbul. (Source: Yedinci Gündem from 06.08.2002)

Death in Police Custody 
A suspected thief, Ilkay Tasdemir allegedly killed himself by jumping from the fifth floor of the po-lice headquarters in Istanbul. He had been arrested in Kadiköy on 05.07.2002 and was apparently wearing handcuffs when he jumped through an open window  (Source: Cumhuriyet from 07.08.2002)

Hunger Striker Pardoned 
President of state Ahmet Necdet Sezer has pardoned Ayla Özcan under Article 104 of the constitution. She had been taking part in a hunger strike since November 2000 in protest against the F-type prisons. She was pardoned on grounds of ill health. (Source: Cumhuriyet 08.08.2002)

President Sezer Puts Reform Package into Force 
The Turkish president of state Ahmet Necdet Sezer
has signed a reform package recently passed by parliament. With its official publication, the legisla-tive changes now come into force. They include the lifting of the death penalty in times of peace, con-sent to the restricted use of the Kurdish language in education and the mass media, extended freedoms of opinion, and stricter constitutional rules for po-lice operations. Following its signing Sezer said that the European Union must now demonstrate its sincerity concerning EU entry negotiations. 
Parliament had also passed a reform on employ-ment legislation. Random dismissals should now be more difficult. Because of the serious economic crisis over the past year nearly 2 million Turks have lost their jobs. (Source: Frankfurter Rundschau, 10.08.2002)

New Chief of General Staff Named 
The Turkish military recently named the new Chief of the General Staff. The 62 year old General Hilmi Ozkok, till now chief of the military, is to be the successor to General Hüseyin Kivrikoglu who is to retire on 30.08.2002.  (Source: ap)

Ecevit Considers EU Criteria to have been Fulfilled 
According to Prime Minister Ecevit, Turkey, with its recent reform package, has fulfilled the criteria for the commencement of entry negotiations to the EU. Ecevit said, “From now on Turkey will be freer, more democratic and more European”. He added that he was not concerned about legal action to be taken before the constitutional court against the reforms which were announced by nationalists.
Ecevit said further the reform package meant Tur-key had complied with EU requirements on the issues of human rights and democracy. Following their passing by parliament the reforms would then be implemented, “From now on, the wall between us and the European Union will crumble”. (source: Reuters  4th Aug. 2002)
 
Turks Expect Extradition of Islam Leader Kaplan - Ankara Hopes for Swifter Extradition of Extremists follow-ing Lifting of Death Penalty 
Turkish authorities have been used to negative responses from Europe over the past years concerning extradition requests for political extremists and “heavies”. Because of the death penalty in Turkey, the message from European capitals had been that there was no question of extradition to Ankara.
Now that parliament have lifted the death penalty in times of peace, not only has a stumbling block for Turkey’s entry to the EU been removed but also a significant hurdle to extradition. Metin Kaplan, the head of the "Kalifats State" who is imprisoned in Germany, could soon now be handed over to Tur-key.
There is no automatic extradition even after the abolition of the death penalty. According to Euro-pean diplomats, there could be other grounds for refusing extradition to Turkey such as a “real risk of torture”. However, Turkey’s chances have clearly increased. That’s why the justice ministry has had a completely new request drawn up for Kaplan’s extradition, after all Ankara’s previous requests failed because of the death penalty. Kaplan has been accused in Turkey of planning an attack on the Atatürk-Mausoleum where state leaders had assem-bled at the 75th anniversary of the Turkish Republic in 1998. This charge carried the sentence of death by hanging. Now Kaplan has only to fear life long imprisonment if found guilty. The German North Rhine Westphalia interior ministry has already hinted that Kaplan, being held in Düsseldorf, could be handed over. In March next year the sentence of the Muslim-extremist, who wants Turkey to be-come a religious state, will have been served.
Kaplan’s extradition would be a political triumph for Ankara. In the past, the Turkish government always felt humiliated by Europe’s refusal on ex-tradition. Turkish fury on this was never greater than at the end of 1998. PKK head Abdullah Öcalan had turned up in Italy but the government in Rome refused extradition to Turkey. 
Following the lifting of the death penalty PKK activists detained in Germany or other European states could more easily be deported to Ankara.
Even if there had been no politics involved, Turkish authorities could still hope for the extradition of a wanted person through a variety of legal and judi-cial means. For example, a number of years ago Turkey managed to have mafia boss Alaattin Cakici extradited from France by promising not to put him on trial for murder. The era could now soon be over where suspected criminals and members of anti-Turkish groupings could avoid the judiciary in Turkey by fleeing to Europe. (Source: Stuttgarter Nachrichten, 07.08.2002)

Setback in Ankara
The Turkish government tightens up media laws and now wants stricter control over the Internet. 
Fikret Baskaya knowingly took the risk. In an arti-cle from 01.06.1999 in the daily newspaper "Özgür Bakis", the founder of the “Turkey and Middle East Forum” publicly queried Turkish policies towards the Kurds. Unsurprisingly the outcome was 16 months imprisonment in June 2001 for “spreading separatist propaganda”. It was not his first prison sentence.
Restrictions on press freedom and freedom of opin-ion on the Bosphorous are being critically observed by the European Union. The parliament in Ankara has now tightened up the media law. The law failed to be passed in June of last year because of a protest by president of state Ahmet Necdet Sezer. In his opinion around half the law’s paragraphs did not comply with democratic traditions or constitutional principles. Furthermore, the law contradicted an agreement the government had given Brussels when democratic reforms had been announced. Despite Sezer’s criticism, the majority of the National As-sembly passed the law, without amendment, on May 15th following a 10-hour contentious and turbulent debate. Sezer could not veto it a second time. The only way open to the president is the constitutional court. According to the president, who was himself once a judge of Turkey’s highest court, several prohibitions in the law are so vaguely formulated that the media would be prevented from “accurate and objective” reporting.
This political quarrel will then continue over the coming weeks and months. However, there is also criticism coming from abroad – and not only from Brussels. According to the organization "Reporter ohne Grenzen" (ROG), the law will lead to even more repression. In particular, new penalties will put press freedom at risk because fines of around 200,000 Euros will endanger the survival of smaller publishers or broadcasting stations. The penalties are up to a thousand times higher than in the old law from 1994. 
Amongst other things, articles can now be penal-ized which spread “false and offensive content”, "incite pessimism and hopelessness", "damage Turkey’s image abroad”, offends Turkey’s founder Atatürk or spreads "separatist propaganda". Under the latter, articles on the Kurdish problem or texts just in the Kurdish language could be penalized if wanted. Along with financial penalties, censorship measures, with broadcasting bans, can also be im-posed.
Members of the government or their representatives will in future make up the majority of the current board of control, RTÜK, which deals with media issues. Not only "Reporter ohne Grenzen" are there-fore concerned at increasing state control by RTÜK. ROG general secretary Robert Ménard said that this could not even be offset by the future inclusion in RTÜK of the 2 largest journalist associations. He had been refused entry into Turkey on the day following the passing of the law where he had wanted to hold a press conference. 
Even without the tightening up of the law, the situa-tion for journalists is not easy. It is true that over the past decade a diverse media landscape has de-veloped on the Bosphorous, where many committed and critical editors work. Corruption and political scandals are scrupulously researched and ruthlessly uncovered. However, Amnesty International see in particular 3 issues which remain a problem: articles on Kurdish problems, criticism on the high security prisons and demands for the strengthening of Islam quickly come under the scrutiny of the authorities. In the past year charges have been brought against 50 Turkish journalists and publishers, mostly re-garding these taboos. At least 6 media workers are currently imprisoned according to ROG. This figure could increase because the same benchmarks for newspapers, magazines, radio and TV are also to soon be valid for the Internet. Control of the Inter-net would, according to a parliamentary decision, then come under the new media law. News sites and Kurdish sites are viewing this development with concern. If the constitutional court does not stop the legislation, Internet providers must then in future obtain authorization for all their sites. They would even be made responsible for their chat rooms. Harald Gesterkamp (Source: ai-Journal July/August 2002 Turkey)

Deutsche Welle Include Kurdish Texts on their Turkish Pages for the First Time 
Following the authorization of Kurdish language radio in Turkey, the Deutsche Welle now has Kurd-ish articles available on its Web site. Turkish writer Muhsin Kizilkaya welcomed the decision by the Turkish parliament as an “historical turning point”. On the stations internet pages, he wrote that instead of dividing Turkey it would make it stronger. From a Kurdish point of view there now begins “the big test”. Because they can not expect much from the Turkish state in respect of the deficiency in num-bers of Kurdish teachers, they must “roll up their sleeves and reconcile newcomers to their own lan-guage”. If they do not take this chance, they risk losing their 1000 year-old language. (Internet: Deutsche Welle: http//www.dw-world/turkish) 
(Source: NewsBote 7.8.2002)

Iran Wants to Set Up Refugee Camps in Iraq 
In the event of an American military strike against Iraq, Iran wants to set up a refugee camps on Iraqi territory. Teheran newspapers quoted the Iranian government spokesperson, Abdullah Ramesan-sadeh, as saying that the flight of Iraqi civilians into Iraq should then be prevented. The camps would be established in so-called buffer zones on the borders to the two countries. During the US-bombing of Afghanistan, Iran already helped hundreds of thou-sands of civilians within Afghan territory. The spokesman emphasized that Teheran was strictly against a US attack on Iraq. He said the Iraqi people should decide themselves about the political future of their country. (Source: dpa 8.8.2002)

Communist Released in Syria After Decades in prison 
A Syrian, imprisoned for political activities, has been released after nearly 30 years following pres-sure from human rights activists. Aktham Naisse from "The Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Syria” revealed the news of  Haitham Naal (51)’s release. Naal had been found guilty 28 years ago, along with 2 other communists, of mem-bership to a banned Arab-Communist organization. All 3 were sentenced to life long prison sentences by a state security court, said Naisse. The group had been formed with the aim of undermining US inter-ests in the Arab world. Five members were exe-cuted in 1974. Others such as Naal, received prison sentences, with 2 still being held in prison. Naal is suffering from cancer of the bladder and is in poor health. Naisse welcomed his release as progress in the country’s human rights record, but also called for an amnesty for all political prisoners in Syria. (Source: dpa 8.8.2002)

Iran: Well Known Lawyer Jailed 
The lawyer Nasser Zarafshan has recently been arrested in Teheran, say taz according to informa-tion from his family. Zarafshan became well known during the 1999 “chain murders” which concerned the murders of a politician and 2 writers from the Information Ministry. Zarafshan acted for the vic-tims. He has been jailed for 5 years for “Revealing secrets”. He is the 6th lawyer who has acted for the opposition to have received a long prison term. (Source:  taz from 12.8.2002)

Another Newspaper Ban in Iran
According to reports from an official news agency, another 2 reform orientated newspapers have been banned. “Ayineh e Jonub”, which has only recently begun publishing, may no longer appear because its publisher, Mohammad Dadfar, is in prison. Dadfar, a reformist member of parliament, was sentenced to 7 months imprisonment last year for allegedly spreading lies about the Islamic Republic. The publication of “Rus e Now” was also banned be-cause of the similarity in names. It may not appear until the ban on the paper “Nowrus” is lifted in 6 months. “Rus e Now” had only just received per-mission to print. (Source: Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Ressort Ausland, 10th August 2002)
Boat Containing Iraqi Refugees Appre-hended in the Aegean 

According to the news agency Anadolu, the Turkish coastguard have apprehended a ship with 94 dehy-drated men, women and children on the Aegean coast near Kusadasi. 
Those aboard, the majority originating from Iraq, were on the verge of unconsciousness because of hunger, thirst and heat. Three were taken to hospital. They said they were aiming for Athens. According to the 94 people, with 8 woman and 13 children amongst them, they had started out on their journey from northern Iraq 20 days previously. They had paid smugglers between 3500 and 4000 dollars (3600 to 4125 Euro) per head. There were also 12 Afghans and 1 Palestinian amongst the refugees. (Source dpa 8. August 2002)

Study Submitted on Economic Sanc-tions Against Iraq 
New York, 6. August 2002: On the 12th anniversary of economic sanctions being imposed against Iraq (6th August 1990), WEED, along with NGOs from the USA, Great Britain and France, have submitted a study which addresses the humanitarian effects of the sanctions. Entitled "Iraq Sanctions: Humanitarian Implications and Options for the Future", the study concluded that the current system of economic sanctions has intensified the suffering of the Iraqi people and has not achieved the political aim of solving the conflict with the Iraqi regime. According to the study, child mortality has clearly increased during the period of sanctions, with 400,000 children under 5 having died in the last 12 years in Iraq. The study lays co-responsibility for the catastrophic situation of the civilian population with the UN Security Council. According to the study, the Council has not taken sufficient consideration of the humanitarian effects of the economic sanctions. 
In view of the US war preparations, the study is also being seen as an appeal for a peaceful resolu-tion to the Iraq conflict. The study puts forward a comprehensive catalogue of measures to overcome the crisis. Amongst other things they call for the lifting of economic sanctions and the use of “tar-geted sanctions” against the Iraqi leadership.
They also support the re-establishment of economic relations with Iraq. The catalogue also refers to detailed requirements on the Iraqi leadership including opening the country to UN weapons inspectors, upholding human rights and autonomy for the Kurdish regions. The study was produced under the leadership of the New Yorker Global Policy Forum. Co-authors were the British charity Save the Children UK, the US Institute for Policy Studies and various religious organizations. The study was presented to the United Nations in New York.
It is also available from the Internet under www.weedbonn.org/unreform/index.htm

Further enquires can be made to James A. Paul, Director of the Global Policy Forum (james.paul@globalpolicy.org), Global Policy Fo-rum, 777 UN Plaza, suite 7G, New York, NY 10017; Tel.: +212-557-3161; Fax: +212-557-3165; Internet: www.globalpolicy.org 
(Source: weed, 6.8.2002)
 

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