Turkey Regional Action Network
December 2010
Turkey’s Human Rights At Present
1) Conscientious Objectors:
Prisoner of Conscience İnan S.
Update (November/December 2010)
In November, TURKRAN newsletter featured
İnan S. (identified in Turkish press reports
as Inan Süver), a prisoner of conscience
objector to military service, who was being
held in solitary confinement, while waiting
for the completion of his trial on charges of
"infringement of leave." The Turkish
military has recently declared Süver “unfit
for duty,” and he has been exempt from
mandatory service. Nevertheless, Süver
remains in prison to serve the 25 remaining
months in a civilian prison in Buca, İzmir for
previous desertions.
Amnesty International has called on the
authorities to release him immediately and
unconditionally and recognize the right to
conscientious objection to military service,
in line with European and international
human standards and recommendations.
Amnesty International has also voiced that
the prosecution, which violates international
standards on the right to freedom of
expression, is part of a continuing pattern of
judicial harassment of conscientious
objectors.
On August 24th, 2010, Süver appeared in
front of the Aegean Armed Forces
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Command Court. The Court confirmed the
charges of “infringement of leave” for his six
consecutive desertions and ordered that he
remain in pre-trial detention. Süver restated
his conscientious objection during the court
hearing. Following the court hearing, Süver
was held in military prison and subsequently
transferred to a civilian facility, Buca Prison,
in Izmir on October 8th.
Süver recently received a military report
declaring him unfit for military duty for
reasons of mental disability, completely
unrelated to the fact that he is a conscience
objector to military service. What the report
also does not address is his documented
physical health problems. A recent news
report indicates that Süver needs an
operation for three blocked veins in his
head. Nevertheless, he has not been
allowed to see the surgeon. Furthermore,
despite the transferring of this conscientious
objector to a civilian prison known to be
dangerous due to hostility from other
inmates, the court ruled that he would be
spending his remaining sentence in civilian
facilities.
In addition to Süver’s serious physical and
safety conditions, his mental condition is of
high concern as well. In an open letter to
his supporters dated October 21st, he
described his detention conditions as being
dirty and rat infested. İnan Suver began a
hunger strike on October 22nd. He has also
complained of being left without water or
clean bedding. He alleges that the prison
director called him into his office and
accused him of being a traitor.
Related documents:
Amnesty International: Turkey: Conscientious
Objector Detained: İNAN S., Index: EUR
44/018/2010
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/EUR44/
018/2010/en
Amnesty International: Turkey: Conscientious
objection is a human right not a personality
disorder, Index: EUR 44/013/2010
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/EUR44/
013/2010/en
Hürriyet Daily News: Conscientious objector
declared unfit for duty in Turkey but remains
imprisoned (December 2, 2010)
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=con
scientious-objector-gets-ridden-of-with-
disability-report-2010-12-01
Hürriyet Daily News: Turkish objectors, Spanish
judge receive Dink awards (September 16,
2010)
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=hra
nt-dink-awards-for-turkish-conscientious-
objectors-and-spanish-judge-2010-09-16
  
2) The UN Report on Torture in Turkey
(November, 2010)
The UN Committee against Torture in the
early November 2010 submitted a report
that included recommendations very similar
to those Amnesty International has long
been making to the Turkish authorities,
concerning issues of torture and other ill
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treatment by law enforcement officials. As
Amnesty International has done, the
Committee called on the authorities to
provide victims of torture with fair and
adequate reparation and compensation,
while making concrete recommendations in
establishing independent and prompt
investigations into allegations of torture by
law enforcement officials. Furthermore, the
Committee also urged the authorities to
ensure effective access to the asylum
procedure for asylum-seekers and refugees
in detention.
The UN Committee, an independent body,
examined Turkey’s third periodic report on
its implementation of the UN Convention
against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman
or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. The
Committee expressed its particular concern
about reports of “numerous, ongoing and
consistent allegations concerning the use of
torture, particularly outside unofficial places
of detention in police vehicles, on the street
and outside police stations.” The Committee
further voiced its concern regarding an
increase in the excessive and arbitrary use
of force for crowd control and the police
and gendarmeries often resorting to counter
charges against individuals and family
members of alleged victims complaining of
police ill-treatment. The Committee’s
recommendations included increasing the
number, authority and training of
investigating prosecutors and judicial police
in order to make an independent police
complaints mechanism effective.
Similar to Amnesty International, the
Committee also voiced concern regarding
the lack of consideration of alternative
measures to detention and excessively long
pre-trial detention, as well as restrictions of
the association rights of prisoners and
access to medical treatment. Although
Turkish police interrogations can be
requested by a judge as evidence in
criminal cases, the Committee reported that
video surveillance cameras are only
available at 30% of police stations, and
there are allegations that such cameras fail
in many instances. The Committee called on
the authorities to encourage members of
the judiciary to implement alternative
means to deprivation of liberty as a penal
sanction, install video surveillance
throughout police stations, and ensure
access to health care of ill prisoners
including deferring sentences if necessary.
With regards to rights of asylum-seekers
and refugees in Turkey’s detention, the
Committee noted that foreign nationals
have limited access to the national
procedure for temporary asylum while they
often face deportation despite a risk of
torture. The Committee recommended that
the authorities introduce a suspensive effect
of deportation proceedings during asylum
requests by ensuring effective access to the
asylum procedure especially of UNHCR
personnel and lawyers to asylum-seekers
and refugees.
Related documents:
Concluding observations of the Committee
against Torture on Turkey (CAT/C/SR.975)
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cat/docs/
CAT.C.TUR.CO.3.pdf
(or)
http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:v
bNo8anNGsMJ:www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/c
at/docs/CAT.C.TUR.CO.3.pdf+CAT/C/SR.975&hl
=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESg0CzS3OfDd
GPnuhak_ny-
pSN6znBKrHxaNyrCgOOb8mYprn9BHabhEf5Dx8
1Q6CTbyjDNHlBC5VKx8XUB73UgSfNUq9ioS2tow
VCA-G3gV3iJsH414ZDL3MxfoLnINw2Cht79-
&sig=AHIEtbTGLvr1trnz2DgbYkhk8PGngTDjBQ
Amnesty International: Turkey: UN Committee
calls on government to act against torture and
impunity, Index: EUR 44/025/2010
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/EUR44/
025/2010/en
Amnesty International: Turkey: Briefing to the
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Committee against Torture, Index: EUR
44/023/2010, 17 October 2010
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/EUR44/
023/2010/en
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3) Arrests and KCK Trials of
Kurdish Activists
(October, 2010 through Present)
Since April 2009, about 1,500 Kurdish
human rights activities, Parliament Members
as well as elected mayors have been
arrested and detained with the allegation of
crimes including membership of an illegal
armed group, spreading its propaganda,
undermining Turkey's territorial integrity
and holding illegal public demonstrations. In
the early December 2009 the Constitutional
Court ruled in favor of closing the pro-
Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP)
while imposing a political ban on 37 party
members for the duration of 5 years. Co-
chairs of DTP, Ahmet Türk and Aysel
Tuğluk, were removed from office as MPs.
The court’s decision came only a few weeks
after the government of the Justice and
Development Party (AKP) formally
announced in parliament its
“democratization initiative” – a raft of
reforms designed to give Turkey’s Kurds
increased political and cultural rights.
Among the planned changes are the easing
of restrictions on private Kurdish-language
television stations and Kurdish language
faculties in universities, as well as allowing
towns and villages to once again use their
original Kurdish names.
Mass trial of Kurdish of 151activists finally
began in Diyarbakir in October 2010, 103 of
whom have already been in detention for
the past 18 months. Those on trial were
charged with "violating the unity of the
state" and "abetting terrorism." Some of the
defendants face possible life sentences.
One of the defendants is Muharrem Erbey,
Vice-President of the Human Rights
Association (İHD) and President of the
Diyarbakır Branch of İHD in south-eastern
Turkey, who has continually spoken out on
the need for diplomacy and dialogue to end
the conflict. On December 24, 2009, Erbey
was taken into custody by anti-terrorism
units of the Diyarbakir police. Erbey was
detained apparently on the basis of links to
the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) through
his alleged membership of the Kurdistan
Communities Union (KCK). Prosecutors
allege that KCK is an organization formed
by the PKK to bring together and mobilize
pro-PKK groups within urban areas across
Turkey. On the same day, his home, office,
and the Diyarbakir Branch of İHD were
searched by anti-terrorism police units.
Amnesty International was concerned that
he may have been targeted due to his work
as a human rights defender and considered
him to be a possible prisoner of conscience.
Official records showed that during his
interrogation by a public prosecutor,
Muharrem Erbey was questioned on his
activities for İHD. Information seized by
police during the raid of the Diyarbakır
Branch of the Human Rights Association
included confidential information provided
by individuals regarding alleged human
rights abuses by members of the security
forces, hampering their human rights work.
Erbey was not able to effectively challenge
the lawfulness of his continued pre-trial
detention because of a “secrecy decision”
which blocks the disclosure of the evidence
against him to him or his lawyers. The
measure, which is commonly enforced in
prosecutions, was enacted by the judge on
the grounds that release of the documents
would “jeopardize the aims of the
investigation”.
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The mass trial of Kurdish activists is
expected to last months because of the
number of defendants. The first round of
the trial in October 2010 has shown the
significance of the event. The courtroom
had to be specially built to accommodate
not only the 151 defendants, but also 250
lawyers, the press, the many relatives of
the accused, the members of foreign
observer delegations, and armed prison
police. Countless demonstrators also
gathered outside the court.
According to press reports, the 7,500-page
indictment and its “supporting evidence”
have no grounds for suspecting any actual
crimes have been committed, such as
references to weapons, acts of violence, or
conspiracy for terrorism. Rather, wiretapped
personal phone conversations between
family members and friends, for example,
referring to the purchasing of "tomatoes" or
"bread", are construed as codes for bombs
and grenades and have found their way into
the indictment.
Amnesty International is expected to report
the outcomes of the trials shortly.
Related documents:
Amnesty International: Turkey: Summary of
Amnesty International’s Concerns in Turkey, July
to December 2009. EUR, 44/004/2010
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/EUR44/
004/2010/en
Al Jazeera: Turkey tries Kurds for rebel links
(October 18, 2010)
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/1
0/20101018124939299529.html
BBC News: Mass trial of Kurdish activists starts
in Turkey (October 18, 2010)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-
11565813
The Christian Science Monitor: Closing largest
Kurdish party DTP, Turkey could stall reform
efforts (December 16, 2009)
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2009/
1216/Closing-largest-Kurdish-party-DTP-Turkey-
could-stall-reform-efforts

Euro News: Turkey begins trial of more than 150

Kurds (October 18, 2010)
http://www.euronews.net/2010/10/18/turkey-
begins-trial-of-more-than-150-kurds/

Guardian: Kurdish show trials shames Turkey

(November 2010)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/libert
ycentral/2010/nov/10/turkey-show-trial-of-kurds

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