Case Against Journalists and Politician 
On 24.12.2002, Diyarbakir’s state security court found the following not guilty of supporting the Socialist Party of Kurdistan (PSK): Bayram Bozyel, deputy head of the Party for Rights and Freedom (HAK-PAR) in the province of Diyarbakir; execu-tive member Mehmet Eren, who also represents the journal “Dema Nu” in Diyarbakir; HAK-PAR members M. Selim Akgök and Mahkum Yigitel. At the same time, the court brought charges against Mehmet Eren for possessing publications such as “Deng”, “Roja Teze”, “Dema Nu” and a book by Kemal Burkay. The HAK-PAR members had been arrested on June 12th 2002 in Diyarbakir and had been questioned, under torture, for 4 days. All ex-cept Mehmet Eren had been released on June 17th. Mehmet Eren was then released on 24th June fol-lowing intervention by his lawyers. He and the other defendants had been charged under article 7/2 of anti-terror law no. No. 3713, concerning support of a (non-violent) terrorist organization. (Source: BIA vom 25.12.02)

Court Case Against Lawyers 
The court of appeal has over ruled the not guilty verdicts against 23 lawyers from Diyarbakir’s law-yers’ association. Between June and September of 1999 they had refused to carry out duties required under regulations on judicial procedures. They had been found not guilty on December 14th 2000 of breaching their professional duty (Article 230 TPC). (Source: Özgür Gündem, 24.12.02)

Legal Action Against Writer 
The public prosecutor from Istanbul’s state security courts has brought charges against the writer Gül-cicek Günel Tekin for his book “Our Language is Our Identity”. Tekin made a statement before the court relating to this on December 23rd. (Source: Özgür Gündem, 24.12.02) 

Torture in Istanbul
On 24.12.2002, Burak Baskaya, Behlül Ocak, Özlem Oral and Serkan Yilmaz held a press confer-ence at the Istanbul branch of the IHD. They said that they had been arrested on 19.12.2002, the an-niversary of the prison operations, during a press conference at the Istiklal Chaussee. They claimed that they had been tortured in the police vehicle as well as at Istanbul’s police headquarters and in the court house. Burak Baskaya added that those ar-rested had obtained medical attestation concerning the allegations . (Source: Evrensel, 25.12.02) 

Publisher Found Guilty 
On 24.12.2002, Istanbul’s state security court heard a case against Abdullah Keskin, the owner of the publishing house “Avesta”, and Songül Keskin concerning  the book “Kurdish Uprisings” and “History of Kurdistan”. Defense lawyer Hasip Kap-lan pointed out that the books had been written at a time when the anti-terror law, which made “separa-tist propaganda” an offense, didn’t even exist. The court fined Abdullah Keskin 3.9 billion TL and found Songül Keskin not guilty. (Source: Ö. Gündem, 25.12.02) 

Attack Against Journalists 
On 21.12.2002, Mansur Obut, proprietor of the newspaper “GAP” in Batman, was attacked at his place of work. Two men assaulted him with iron bars and he had to be taken to hospital. Obut believes that the attack could be connected to a thermal power station. On 11.12.2002 a similar attack had been made on the chief editor of the newspaper “Batman Ekspres”.(Source: BIA, 25.12.02) 

Court Case on Kurdish Lessons 
On 25.12.2002, Istanbul’s state security court passed a verdict against 11 parents who had submit-ted a petition for Kurdish lessons to the administrative head in the district of Güngören (Istanbul). The court passed a not guilty verdict on Yildiz Sevimtekin, Menice Günes, Melike Demir, Sahibe Sümer, Aysel Baydos, Aysel Kazanci and Fadime Tas. However, it sentenced Makbule Kocaman, Fatma Duman and HADEP officials Süleyman Bakis and Naif Çiçek to 45 months imprisonment for supporting an illegal organization. (Source: Ö. Gündem, 26.12.02) 

Case of Unlawful Execution 
On 25.12.2002, a case began in Siyas’s criminal court no. 1 against 6 gendarmes for the killing of the 15 year old Nerman Karabulut on 29.07.1998 in the village of Göydün in the district of Hafik (Sivas). Gendarme Mehmet Elagöz said: “We thought the stick in her hand was a weapon”. She had not obeyed the order to stop and was wounded as a result. She died before arriving in hospital. The case was adjourned to hear statements from the other defendants. The lawyer Ismail Hakki Konar said that at the time of the incident Nermin Karabu-lut and her sister Serap Karabulut (16), who suffers from a neurological illness, were about to walk the 11km to Sivas for an injection because they had no other means of transport. They were shot at from a military vehicle near the road between Erzurum and Sivas. (Source: Evrensel / TIHV, 26.12.02)

Court Case to Close IHD’s Ankara Branch 
On 26.12.2003, Ankara’s state security court began a case against the IHD branch in Ankara with the aim of closing it down for “supporting an illegal organization”. The case was adjourned because medical attestation was not available for the defen-dant Ali Reza Bektas relating to his responsibility for the offenses. Because of protests against the F-type prisons, former head Lütfi Demirkapi, a mem-ber of the prisons’ commission, has been charged under Article 169 of the TPC. The public prosecu-tor has called for the closure of the branch under Article 7/4 of the anti-terror law. (Source: TIHV, 26.12.02) 

Guilty Verdict in Torture Case
On 26.12.2002, Kartal’s criminal court no. 1 passed a guilty verdict on Kamil Kitay, head of the Pendik Central Gendarmerie Station, for the torture of Mustafa Nayhu, Nihat Aykin, Kemal Karateke and Ramazan Demir, who had been arrested in Pendik on October 29th on suspicion of theft. The defen-dant was sentenced to 1 year imprisonment and was suspended from duty for a further year. (Source: TIHV, 26.12.02)

Court Case Against Torturers
On 25.12.2003 Istanbul’s criminal court no. 6 be-gan a case against the police officers Mustafa Sara, Mustafa Taner Paylasan, Ahmet Bereket, Fatih Berkup, M. Atilla Çavdar and Yakup Dogan. They have been accused, that in March 1996 in Istanbul’s police headquarters, they tortured 23 youths amongst them Bülent Gedik, Zülcihan Sahin, Ali Kiliç, Sinan Kaya, Sevgi Kaya, Arzu Kemanoglu, Levent Badadi, Okan Kaplan, Izzet Tokur and Ulas Bati. The youths were questioned for more than 15 days on suspicion that they belonged to the Turkish Communist Workers’ Party/Leninist (TKIP/L). The public prosecutor said in his summary that in the cases of the defendants Mustafa Taner Paylasan, Ahmet Bereket, Fatih Berkup, Atilla Çavdar and Yakup Dogan, the offenses had exceeded the period of limitation and that their cases would have to be dismissed. He called for the conviction of Mustafa Sara under article 243, because it was certain that he “only” tortured Bülent Gedik. The case was adjourned until February 5th. The lawyer Gülizar Tuncer said that the period of limitation for Mustafa Sara, who had only later been included in this case, expired on April 14th. She also recalled the fact that the public prosecutor had previously considered Mustafa Taner Paylasan to have been responsible for 12 incidents of torture. He called for Article 243 of the TPC to be applied in 4 cases against Ahmet Bereket, Fatih Berkup and Atilla Çavdar, and in 2 cases against Yakup Dogan. In connection with this he referred to the court’s medical reports. The charges also included torture against Devrim Ökten who had been pregnant at the time of her arrest and suffrered a miscarriage. (Source: Evrensel/HRFT, 26.12.02) 

Doctors Not Guilty for Documenting Torture 
On 25.12.2002 Istanbul’s criminal court no. 1 passed a not guilty verdict on Dr. Ayhan Sandal and Dr. Orhan Fevzi Gümrükçüoglu. They were ac-cused of fraud when they attested to evidence of torture on Mustafa Albayrak and Tufan Mengi who had been arrested in connection with an investiga-tion into Istanbul’s city council. (Source: Yeni Safak, 26.12.02) 

Attack by Village Guards 
On 26.12.2002 a case began in Diyarbakir’s crimi-nal court no. 3 against 10 village guards concerning an attack on the village of Ugrak in the district of Bismil (Diyarbakir) on September 26th. Agit Tekin, Nezir Tekin and Ikram Tekin were killed and 6 villagers were wounded. The defendants Abdülva-hap Güçlü and Ibrahim Güçlü have admitted taking part in the attack, but the others are claiming their innocence. Veysi Tekin, Erhan Tekin, Mazlum Tekin and Güzel Tekin, who were wounded in the attack, identified the defendants. The court ordered the release of Hanifi Güçlü, Süleymen Güçlü, Ibra-him Güçlü, Ahmet Emin Güçlü and Mehmet Gök. The charges call for a guilty verdict against Zeydin Güçlü (16), Abdülvahap Güçlü, Hasan Güçlü, Mehmet Hanifi Güçlü, Süleyman Güçlü Ibrahim Güçlü, Ahmet Güçlü, Emin Güçlü, Zeki Güçlü and Mehmet Gök under Article 448 (murder) and Arti-cle 463 (harsher penaltlies when more than 1 person has participated in the offense). (Source: TIHV, 27.12.02) 

Court Case
Against German Foundations 
On 26.12.2002 the case began before Ankara’s state security court against Germnan NGOs for finan-cially supporting protest actions against the firm Normandy who run a gold mine in the district of Bergama (Izmir) and who use cyanide. Wulf Schönbohm, head of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation/Turkey, his assistant,. Dirk Tröndle, Fügen Fatma Ugur, head of the Heinrich Böll Foundation/Turkey, Hans Schumacher, head of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation/Turkey, Wolfgang Sachsenröder, head of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation/Turkey, Claus Schönig, head of the Orient Institute, his assistants Astrid Menz and Börte Sagaster, former head of Istanbul’s lawyers’ association Yücel Sayman, head of FIAN (Food First Information and Action Network)  Petra Sauerland, and FIAN representative Birsel Lemke, head of the environmental movement in Bergama, Oktay Konyar, the former mayor of Bergama Sefa Taskin, lawyers who are registered with Izmir’s lawyers’ association Anwälte Semih Özay and Özcan Durmaz, have all been charged under Article 171 of the TPC, which concerns conspiracy against the Turkish state. The main evidence being used is the book “German Foundations – The Case of Bergama” by Necip Hablemitoglu who was murdered on December 18th. More than 100 lawyers are working for the defense and have called for the case to be dismissed before any statements are made because of lack of evidence. The defendant Yücel Sayman said that permission from the justice ministry was required if he was to be charged. The court rejected this. Following the midday break, the defendants pleaded not guilty. The case was adjourned until January 30th. (Source: Cumhuriyet, 27.12.02)

Journalists Found Guilty 
On 24.12.2002, Istanbul’s state security court   passed guilty verdicts against the journalists Meh-met Sevket Eygi and Selami Çaliskan, chief editor of the daily newspaper “Milli Gazete” because of an article from May 12th entitled “Enemies of the Head Scarf”. Both defendants were sentenced to 20 months imprisonment for violating Article 312 of the TPC. The sentence against Selami Çaliskan was converted to a fine of TL 4.4 billion. On 26.12.2002 the court also fined Sakine Yalçin, chief editor of the journal “Alinteri”, TL 7 billion because of an article entitled “Don’t Forget December 19th”.
(Source: Özgür Gündem, 25/28.12.02)

Court Case on Prison Massacre 
On 25.12.2002 a case began against 161 soldiers, including 3 officers, concerning a massacre in an Ankara prison on 26.12.1999 whereby 10 prisoners were killed. An attempt to identify the perpetrators through photographs was dismissed because the defendants had sent in photographs from the time they were in the military academy. The defendants have been accused of killing 5 prisoners (the others were allegedly killed by fellow prisoners) as well as wounding 69 others. It has been requested that Article 49/1 of the TPC be applied under which public employees can not be penalized if they of-fend while carrying out orders. (Source: Milliyet, 28.12.02) 

Court Case Against Eren Keskin
On 26.12.2002, a case began at Istanbul’s state security court against Eren Keskin concerning sepa-ratist propaganda during a conference on violence to women. On 27.12.2002, Kartal’s criminal court no. 2 passed a not guilty verdict against Eren Ke-skin, former head of Istabul’s IHD, concerning an interview given to 2 French newspapers in Mar-seille which were then published on 19th and 22nd April 2001. She was found not guilty on the charge of slandering the Turkish Republic abroad. (Source: Evrensel, 27.-28.12.02)

Death of Süleyman Yeter
On 27.12.2002, a case began in Istanbul’s criminal court no. 6 against the police officers Ahmet Okuducu (not yet apprehended), Mehmet Yutar und Erol Ersan. They are accused of killing, by torture, the trade unionist Süleyman Yeter on March 7th 1999. The court requested files from Istanbul’s police headquarters on the disciplinary inquiry against the police officers. (Source: Cumhuriyet, 28.12.02) 

Court Case Against Journalists 
On 27.12.2002, the journalist and writer Ahmet Altan and the chief editor of the magazine “Aktuel“ have been found not guilty by Istanbul’s criminal court no. 2 on allegations of slandering the security forces in an article entitled “The Generals Should Return to Barracks” and “Bring the Generals Before the Courts and Name the Journalists”. (Source: BIA ,  28.12.02)

Court Case Against TIHV Employees 
On 30.12.2002 a case began in Izmir’s criminal court no. 1 against Dr. Alp Ayan, who works at Izmir’s branch of the TIHV, Ecevit Piroglu (board member of Izmir’s IHD branch), Mert Zengin and Gonca Coban, a relative of a prisoner. The case concerns a press conference from February 10th 2001 which was held as a protest against the new F-type prisons and the operations which took place on 19.12.200 in various prisons and led to the deaths of 32 people. Charges have been brought under Article 159 concerning slandering of the security forces and justice department. The defendents are liable to prison sentences of up to 6 years. The case is being followed by many observers from home and abroad: (Dr. Inge Genefke, Honorary Secretary General of the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT), Dr. Marianne Kastrup, representative of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA), MEP Torben Lund, Dr. Astrid Sochting and Freihart Regner, Medical Group of Amnesty International (AI), Dr. Gisela Penteker and Dr. Waltraud Wirtgen, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), Britta Jenkins, Berlin Treatment Center for Victims of Torture and Berlin Medical Association, Per Stadig, International Red Cross, Elsa Le Penec and Cath-erine Teule, Federation Internationale des Droits de L'homme (FIDH)). The case was adjourned until April 24th to find out the address of Gonca Coban and to refer to the records of Izmir’s criminal court no. 8 (when there was a judgment from June 12th on the same matter). (Source: TIHV, 30.12.02) 

Case Continues on Film “Big Man, Little Love”
The file “Big Man, Little Love” has received the highest film prize awarded in Turkey. However, Ankara’s justice department is calling for legal action to be taken against its producer, Handan Ipekci, and her imprisonment of up to 6 years.
The film came out in 2000 but despite its release it has been banned on several occasions because of demands from Ankara’s justice department. The justice minister has called for court proceedings to be taken against Ipek and that she should be tried under 159/1 of the TPC. The producer is accused of “slandering the state judiciary and security forces”. The case will open on April 17th 2003 in Bakirköy/Istanbul. (Source: DEMA NU,  31.12.02-15.01.03)

67th Issue of DENG Confiscated 
As with all previous issues of the Kurdish-Turkish publication Deng (The Voice), issue no. 67 has also been confiscated. One reason for its confiscation were the headlines ”The 4th PSK Conference Abroad“, “The Kurdish Problem is a National Conflict”, “The governing powers in Turkey must end denial of the Kurds through their policies”.
The magazine was confiscated with the allegation of ”Dividing the Turkish Nation by written propa-ganda”, as according to Paragraph 86, 5680, Abs.2/1 of the Turkish Penal Code. (Source:  Dema Nu, 31.12.02-15.01.03 S.14)

Another Raid on Home of Rape Victim 
Kaze Özlü, who was tortured and raped on 19.11.1999 in a police raid on her home, has re-ported that another raid was made on her home on 28.12.2002 and that she was threatened because of her complaint to the European Court of Human Rights. There have been continued raids on her home. Kaze Özlü has made a complaint to Adana’s public prosecutor about this latest incident. (Source: Evrensel, 01.01.03)

Journalist Arrested 
On 27.12.2002 Kadriye Kanat, chief editor of the publication “Özgür Kadinin Sesi”, was detained in custody. The warrant for her arrest was issued at a hearing in October concerning 3 articles from the magazine. Her lawyer said that she had not been invited to the hearing. Rahmen Sümer, distributor of the magazine “Özgür Gündem”, was arrested in Ankara on 30.12.2002. On 03.01.2003 a representa-tives of “Özgür Gündem”, Yusuf Abaya, was arrested in Agri. On 04.01.2003 Sükran Aykut, “Özgür Gündem”’s distributor in Adana, was ar-rested. (Source: Bianet, 05.01.03) 

Court Case Against HADEP
The public prosecutor from the state security court in Ankara has charged 18 leading HADEP mem-bers on allegations of supporting an illegal organization. The background to the charges was a congress held by HADEP’s youth section on 15.10.2002, where slogans had been shouted and a message from Abdullah Öcalan had been read out. Those charged are: A. Turan Demir, Ha-mit Gey-lani, Mahmut Sakar, Alican Önlü, Ahmet Seker, Elif Tokay, Inan Perisan, Serif Türk, Fatma Var-gün, Sait Köse, Zehra Ipek, Mehmet Gündüz, Hümeyra Tusun, Dalokay Sanli, Fethi Zaman, Kahraman Elaltunkara, Mehmet Çetin and Gazi Degirmenci. (Source: Radikal, 07.02.03) 

Penalty Revised Against Journalist 
The court of appeal has lifted the 40 month prison sentence against Coskun Ak. The 4th chamber of the criminal court in Istanbul had passed this sentence on him because he was the moderator of an internet forum with the provider superonline and messages which allegedly slandered the military were not immediately deleted. (Source: Cumhuriyet, 08.01.03)

Medical Treatment Interrupted
in Germany 
The lawyer Nermin Selçuk has reported on her client, Mehmet Ara (65), who is currently being held in prison in Amasya. He was arrested in 1993 along with other 15 people in Idil (Sirnak) and spent 28 days in police custody. He became blind due to beatings to his head. After 6 months of being held in custody he was released to receive medical treatment. He went to Germany. In 1997 he was sentenced to 12.5 years prison for being a member of the PKK. He returned on 26th June 2002, before his treatment in Germany had come to an end. From Bayrampsa prison, he was then transferred to hospi-tal in Sagmalcilar because he was suffering from depression, high blood pressure, bronchitis and hearing difficulties. His prison sentence should have been suspended but he was then taken to prison in Amasya. The lawyer Hasip Kaplan has taken his case to the European Court of Human Rights. (Source: Özgür Gündem,  09.01.03)

Death Fasts 
The prisoner Özlem Türk died on 11th January in Numune hospital in Ankara. He had been arrested in Samsun in 1995 as a correspondent for the publi-cation “Mücadele” and was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment in 1996 by Ankara’s state security courts. (Source: Evrensel, 12./13.01.03)

Torture in Ankara
Allegations of torture have been made by E.Ü. (16), E.Ü. (18) and B.Ü. (22), who had been arrested on 31.01.2002 in Ankara on suspicion of theft. They had been held in the police station in Yenimahalle and allegedly said at a medical examination that the redness on their backs came from rubbing against the radiator and tables. However, they then made allegations of torture but the public prosecutor dismissed the case. When Ankara’s lawyers’ asso-ciation protested the case was re-investigated but again ended with the decision that there was no case to answer because the youths had injured them-selves and had denigrated the police.
An appeal to Kirikkale’s criminal court on 21.06.2002 was also unsuccessful. The lawyers’ association then made a written request to the jus-tice department on 15.11.2002 to have the case re-opened. (Source: Milliyet, 14.01.03)

HADEP Case in Siirt
A criminal court in Siirt has sentenced Ahmet Konuk, former HADEP head in the Province, and the functionaries Bedrettin Polat, Emin Dayan, Muhyettin Timurlenk, Emin Batur and Abdurrah-man Tasçi, to 73 days imprisonment and fined them a total of 7 million TL, because they had hung up an unauthorized banner on 8.3.2002 with the slogan “Women Unite For a Democratic Society and to Live Together in Freedom”. (Source: Özgür Gündem, 15.01.03)

Another Guilty Verdict Against
Freedom of Opinion 
The former head of the Human Rights Organization (IHD), Kiraz Bicici, conveyed by telephone her views on the prison massacres from 19.12.2000 on Medya-TV. Because of her comments she has been jailed for 3 years and 9 months under §169 of the Turkish Penal Code.
This is another example of the freedom to express an opinion being penalized in Turkey. Isolation detention is continuing in Turkish prisons. Those who campaign for their rights and express their opinions continue to be found guilty.(…) (Source: Radikal, 15.01.03)

A New Death Each Day 
The 23 year old student Birtan Altinbas was ar-rested on Istanbul’s university campus 11 years ago on 9.1.1992. After 6 days in detention he died in hospital from the severe torture he suffered. Despite legal action being taken by his family and various human rights organizations, it took 7 years before charges could be brought against the 10 perpetrators of the torture. These 10 people are still currently  working for the state. (Source: Radikal, 15.01.03)

Turkey Renounces Death Penalty 
Turkey has recently confirmed, before the European Council in Strasbourg, the abolition of the death penalty. Representatives from Ankara signed the supplementary protocol number 6 of the Human Rights Convention which excludes the use of the death penalty. 44 members of the European Council have now signed the convention with Russia and Armenia’s parliaments not yet having done so. Turkey had been persistently criticized by the European Council and the EU for maintaining the death penalty. The Turkish parliament had already abolished the death penalty in August of last year as part of the reform package for convergence with EU legislation, and had it restricted to times of war. This did not contradict the convention. The many prisoners who had been condemned to death have had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment. This has also been the case for PKK head Abdullah Öcalan. Following the abolishment of the death penalty Turkey has now demanded the extradition from Europe of many offenders. (Radikal, 15.01.03 and SZ, 16.01.03)

Another 2 Newspapers Closed Down in Iran 
Iranian courts recently closed down another 2 re-formist newspapers. The publisher of “Hajat-i-Nu”, the brother of Iran’s spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been prosecuted for publishing a caricature. In the view of a judge it portrayed Aya-tollah Khomeiny being crushed by a thumb while the scales of justice fell to the ground. The newspaper “Bahar” was also banned for allegedly slandering the authorities. Details of the charges against Khamenei were not revealed. He was granted bail. “Hajat-i-Nu” said that the caricature had nothing to do with Khomeiny. It was a copy of a drawing from the year 1937; the bearded figure represented the American president of the time, Roosevelt. The official news agency Irna quoted the conservative journalist Ali Yusefpur as saying that the drawing offended the leader of the revolution. The fundamentalist controlled judiciary has closed down many liberal publications over the past few years as well as having dozens of journalists and activists arrested. (Source: Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 13th January 2003, No.9)

39 Executions in 20 Days in Iran 
In order to remain in power the Mullahs in Iran have intensified their polices of persecution. Within a 20 day period 39 people were executed in various towns in Iran. The victims had been held for years as political prisoners. They had no legal representa-tion and did not appear before a court.
The names of those executed and the dates of their executions were published in the newspaper “Bey-dach”:
Ferza Wekilyan and Abbas Lotfi on 23.11.02 in the towns of Kermaschan and Endimeschk. Mohammad Saleh Moradiyan and Mustefa Chor-wand in the Kurdish town of Mariwan, as well as Ali - and Gholamreza - in Teheran om 05.12.02. Haschem Anwarniya and Ferhad Rahman on 26.11.02.  Esmail Dana, Ali Kamyab, Majid Mo-stanad, Nasser Esmailzadeh, Beytulla Meleki in Teheran and Mohammad Jewad Perwizi a student in Amol on 01.12.02. Gholamreza in Maschahd on 07.12.02. Ali Askandari, 21 years old, in Teheran on 11.12.02. Mohammad Ali Nabrawan in Tschahbehar in the itelligence service’s prison, was executed by air injections on 02.12.02. Nadir Sepahwand and Beni Assad Sepahwand, 2 brothers, were publicly hanged on 03.12.02 in Lorestan. On 22.11.02 in Maschhad, 7 people were executed and on 04.12.02 12 prisoners were executed in Teheran. On 05.12.02 a man was hanged in Tabriz. 
(Source: Beydach, Nr. 3, 20.12.02) 

Kurdish Youths Sentenced to Death by Iranian Court 
According to reliable sources the Kurdish youth Sassan Ale Kenaan from the Kurdish town of San-andadj has been sentenced to death by the public prosecutor of the Islamic Republic of Iran for be-longing to “KOMALA”. The sentence has not yet been carried out. Sassan, along with others, had been detained in September last year in random raids against dissenters in Sanandadj. Till now many of them had been given long term prison sentences for opposing the Islamic Republic of Iran. Other detainees are at risk of being executed or given long term prison sentences. If this one oppo-nent to the Mullah regime is so harshly punished then millions of Kurds will be liable to similar punishments.
We therefore call on the public and all human rights organizations to demand that the death penalty against Sassan Ale Kenaan be revoked and to com-pel the Iranian regime to end the persecution of its Kurdish people. (Source: Press statement from KOMALA, 14.01.03)

Iraqi Leaders Soon to be Before
International Court as War Criminals?
According to the American press, the US authori-ties have drawn up a list of 14 people, alleged to be war criminals, and intend to have it officially pub-lished soon. The 14 are thought to be high-ranking Iraqi officials. This report has been confirmed by the USA friendly Iraqi opposition. Along side Saddam Hussein, the list supposedly contains the following: 
1.Oday Hussein 2. Qussay Hussein, 2 of Saddam’s sons, 3. Taha Yassin Ramazan, first deputy to the Iraqi president 4. Izat Ibrahim Duri deputy head of the Iraqi “Revolutionary Council”. 5. Taha Mahi-yadin Maaruf, second deputy to the Iraqi president. 6. Ali Hassan Majid, member of the Iraqi Revolu-tionary Council and leader of the poison gas attack on the Kurdish town of Halabja in 1988. 7. Mohammad Hamza Alzobaydi, head of the Baath- Party in southern Iraq. 8.Tahir Jalil Habush, head of the Iraqi press and information service. 9. Abdull-tawab Mallahwesh, deputy prime minister and minister for the military industry. 10. Amir Mohammad Al- Obaydi, former minister for the oil industry. 11. Abd  Hammud, personal advisor to Saddam Hussein 12. Ayad Fetayh Al- Rawi, head of the special military unit “Al- Qods” 13. Hani Abdullatif Al- Fatah, a relative and advisor to Sad-dam Hussein. (Source: Brayati, Nr. 3887, 09.01.03)

German Found Guilty in Iraq of Murder -
Possible Extradition
Sulejmanieh/Berlin  - A court in Iraq has recently sentenced a German woman to life imprisonment for the murder of her Kurdish boyfriend. The woman admitted the crime, according to the news-paper "New Kurdistan" in Sulejmanieh in northern Iraq. An appeal can be made within 30 days of the judgment.
According to the foreign ministry in Berlin the woman originates from Barvaria. A representative of the German embassy in Baghdad was present at the trial. According to information from local sources the woman could be deported to Germany because the victim also had German citizenship. The body of the Iraqi Kurd was discovered last July in the small town of Darbandichan, 60 kms south-east of Sulejmanieh in the Kurdish autonomous region. Police investigations led to his German girlfriend. The first trial against the woman began last December. The woman apparently became acquainted with the man in Germany. Three years ago they decided to move to the man’s homeland. Further details and the motive for the murder are unclear. According to sources in Sulejmanieh the German embassy in Baghdad – Germany does not have any representation in northern Iraq – could persuade the Kurdish authorities to transfer the case to Germany. In the event of a war against Baghdad, the woman could firstly be taken to Iran and then on to Germany via Teheran. (Source: dpa, 21.01. 03)
  
Ministry for Human Rights in Kurdistan Demand Improvements in Prison Conditions in Kurdistan
Dr. Mohammad Ehssan, minister for human rights , has issued a new declaration on upholding the hu-man rights of prisoners in Kurdistan. This declaration was to supplement and improve existing legislation. The declaration has been officially submitted to the regional Kurdish government which sits in Hewler (Arbil) as a new ministerial project. The project covers the following points:
1. The security of the citizens must be guar-anteed through legislation. Nobody may be randomly detained. Detentions can only be ordered by a legitimate regional court.
2. Prisoners may not be ill treated and their human rights must be upheld.
3. No prisoner may be tortured, sworn at or in any way abused.
4. Punishment or sentencing for any offense must be individual. No other person can be penalized for the acts or offenses of an-other.
5. Prisoners must know in advance why and under which law or paragraph they are be-ing detained and under whose orders. 
6. While being detained prisoners must be entirely free to exercise their religious du-ties, traditions and cultural practices.
7. All prisoners must have the possibility of being defended by a lawyer. Those who are not financially able to employ a lawyer must receive financial support from the au-thorities to do so.
8. Material and non-material compensation must be available for injustices and false imprisonment. 
9. Prisoners have the right to be informed about the outside world. Therefore, media such as TV, radio and newspapers must exist in all prisons.
10. Further education and distance learning must be made available to the prisoners according to their wishes.
11. Imprisonment of youths must be seen as the last resort. They must be detained in special units under supervision from psy-chologists and therapists with the aim of re-integrating them into society. (Source: Bi-rayeti, No. 3893, 16.01.03)      

Lebanese Authorities Deports Kurd to Syria 
According to a press statement from the “United Party of Kurdish Syrians” a Kurd from Syria called Farhat Ali Abdullrahman, who was resident in the Lebanon, was summoned with his son, by the Lebanese intelligence services on 29.12.02. He was immediately imprisoned and his son was sent home alone. When the son and his mother went to the authorities a day later to inquire of the father’s whereabouts, they were told that he had been deported to Syria at the request of the Syrian intelligence services. Till now there has been no indication of his fate. 
In the press statement from the Kurdish party it says that Ali Abdullrahman was a patriotic and politically active Kurd from the village of Mascha-lani, in the region of Afrin in Syrian Kurdistan. He is the father of 5 children and emigrated to the Lebanon 3 years ago to find employment so as to be able to feed his children. (Source: Medya, No. 140, 15.01.03)

Former Soviet Republic of “Azerbaijan“ Against Any Acknowledgement of the Kurds 
Heidaar Alijew, a long serving member of the So-viet Unions politbüro and the current president of Azerbaijan, has spoken out against any interna-tional acknowledgement of the Kurds and against the setting up of a Kurdish state. 
According to a report from the weekly newspaper “Congress”, the president is very concerned about the new developments in Kurdistan including the close cooperation between Kurdish political parties (KDP und PUK) and the imminent war against Iraq. He repeated that his country has the right not to acknowledge the Kurds and that he would not toler-ate the establishment of any Kurdish state.
Hundreds of thousands of Kurds live in Azerbaijan and they are not permitted any rights. This part of Kurdistan is known as “Red Kurdistan” amongst the Kurdish people. Kurds live under catastrophic conditions in Red Kurdistan. They are expelled, their property is confiscated, they are treated as second class citizens and they are abused. (Source: Medya, No. 140, 15.01.03)

Eight Illegal Immigrants Drowned 
At least 8 illegal immigrants drowned over the Christmas period in Greece when 2 boats capsized.
Five people died on Christmas Day when their dinghy sank between the Turkish coast and the Greek island of Chios. There is little hope for a further 4 missing. Coastguards rescued 12 of the mainly Kurdish refugees. A Greek was arrested for people smuggling. On Christmas Eve 3 illegal im-migrants died not far from the island of Corfu when their boat capsized. A further 160 Kurds saved themselves by swimming ashore. They had sailed from Greece and were heading for Italy. Two peo-ple smugglers, apparently Albanians, escaped. (Source: (dpa) Westdeutsche Allgemeine, 27.12.2002)

Illegal Immigrants Die in Greek
Minefield 
When attempting to illegally cross from Turkey into Greece, 2 immigrants entered a Greek mine-field and were killed as a result. A further person was seriously injured. According to the semi-official Greek news agency ANA, the incident happened at the Turkish-Greek river border of Ev-ros (the Turkish: Meric). The immigrants originated from the East African state of Burundi.
There have until now only been declarations of intent from Athens and Ankara to clear the mine-field near the river. Official figures indicate that 8 people have been killed in these minefields in the past 12 months. (Source: DPA, 05.01.03)

German Suspected of People
Smuggling Arrested in Greece 
Coastguards in the western Greek port of Ig-oumenitsa have arrested a German truck driver on suspicion of people smuggling. Police officers discovered a total of 23 illegal immigrants in his vehicle the majority of them being Kurds. The truck was to board a ferry to Italy. According to the Greek news agency ANA the authorities believe that the driver belongs to an international gang of people smugglers. (Source: (dpa) Westfälische Rundschau, 15.01.03)

Six Bodies Discovered on Boat Near Italy 
Russian seamen recently discovered a small refugee boat with 6 bodies on board near the southern Ital-ian coast. They took 6 survivors aboard their own vessel. A possible 20 more people were missing, according to reports from the Italian coastguard. Public television reported that the dead probably died from hunger and the cold. Details of the events in the 8m boat are not known. It was also unclear from where the boat came. The survivors were in poor health. The Russian freighter discovered the boat in the Ionian sea before the Apulian coast. It is said that the Greek Marine Authority had spotted a boat beforehand with around 30 people on board between Greece and Italy. That is why it is being presumed that 20 people are still missing. The Rus-sian freighter did not, however, find any survivors or bodies in the sea. The Italian authorities intended to search for the missing using aircraft.
There continue to be tragedies involving refugee boats before Italy’s coast. 100 people have drowned recently there. Smuggling gangs often force the illegal immigrants, who pay several thousands of dollars for the crossing, to jump into the sea before the Apulian or Sicilian coasts and to swim ashore. The smugglers are afraid of being apprehended by the Italian coastguard. Many of the refugees are Kurds coming from Iraq or Turkey. Others are from North Africa or Albania. Many want to travel on to Germany. (Source: dpa, 19.01.03)

23 Still Missing in Refugee Tragedy – Smuggler Apprehended 
Following the refugee tragedy before the southern Italian coast involving 6 dead, 23 people are still missing. There can be little hope for the Kurds from Iraq and Turkey, said the Italian media. Their boat was discovered by a Russian freighter around 20 nautical miles before the Apulian coast. Six ex-hausted refugees were taken into safety. Six others were already dead. According to the survivors there had been another 23 on board. 
Italian police have arrested a 28 year old Greek suspected of people smuggling. He was apparently amongst the survivors. According to Greek sources the boat had been reported missing by its owner. (Source: dpa, 20.01.03)
 

New Publication

Dear Friends,

The IMK e.V. would like to inform all those involved in refugee work about the dissertation by Mehmet Bayval on “Psychosocial Development of Child Refugees”. 

The dissertation studies the conditions under which child refugees live in Germany. It looks at aspects of psychology, sociology, ethnology, politics and law.  
· The first part of the dissertation deals with definitions, refugee causes, statistics and interna-tional and national law. The issues referred to are the right to stay, residency and procedures concerning entry.. 
· The second half focuses on actual living situations, psychosocial development of child refu-gees,– e.g. in the areas of accommodation, education and identity, and outlining measures which would influence the living conditions of young refugees. 

The dissertation is available (in German) for the sum of 6,-- Euro ( incl. post). 

As before, please let us know your e-mail address. E-mail is faster and cost effective.
We would also like to refer you to our Web page where the following interesting articles are available:
· IMK e.V press statement from 07.01.2002 (German and English)
· Comments of German Foreign Office’s State of Affairs Reports (German)
· Open Letter to German Government on possible Turkish EU entry (German)
· Thoughts on the subject of Iraq I and II, by Alexander Kauz (German)
· Campaign against impunity - “Justice Heals” (German)
· “Squaring the Circle”, by Ofra Bengio (German and English)
· A joint press statement from the GfbV, KOMKAR, Kurdish Communities in Germany and the IMK e,V, from October 24th (German)
· A report from the Turkish Daily News on the village guard system (German and English)
· IMK e.V press statement on the 40th anniversary of Syria’s racist census (German)
· An analysis of the behavior of the Turkish media during the German general elections (Ger-man) 
· An annual report from the PSK on developments in Turkey and north Kurdistan (German and English)
· IPPNW-Report on the actual situation in Turkey and Kurdistan (German)
· An article byAshiti Amiron on Syria and Syrian Kurdistan (German)
· PSK statement on Turkish Parliament’s “EU Compliance Package” (German and English)
· The Article “Kurds and Kurdistan” by Shahin Sorekli from Australia (English)

These do not necessarily reflect our opinions but do concern the current debates on the issues we deal with. Visit us at www.kurden.de

Best regards,

The Editorial Team

     ISSN 1438-2016   Publisher: IMK e.V.,  Postfach 20 07 38,  D - 53137 Bonn,  Germany   Telephone: + 49 – 228 – 36 28 02, Fax: + 49 – 228 – 36 32 97   e-mail: IMK-Bonn@t-online.de  and   imkkurds@aol.com     Visit our website at: http://www.kurden.de    Director: Abubekir Saydam    Subscriptions (annualy):   - Institutions, foundations, political parties, governments, and international  organizations: Eu 92,00   - Courts, lawyers, human-rights organizations, refugee counseling centers: Euro 48,00   - Solidarity subscriber:  Euro 31,00   Bank account: Volksbank Bonn (Bank code number: 380 60 186),  Account number: 201 246 9023