1-646-504-2088
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RELEASE AHMET ÖZKAN IMMEDIATELY

RE: AST URGES TURKISH AUTHORITIES TO RELEASE AHMET ÖZKAN and ALL THE ELDERLY and SEVERELY SICK INMATES IN TURKEY’S PRISONS.

Ahmet Zeki Özkan, a 65-year-old stage 4 cancer patient, has been arbitrarily imprisoned despite the medical reports stressing the severity of his condition.

Ahmet Zeki Özkan was sentenced to 6 years and 3 months in prison for his alleged ties with the Gülen Movement and taken to Antalya L-Type Prison, after the Supreme Court upheld the verdict. Özkan had to stay in the quarantine cell for a week and because there was no bed he had to lie down on the floor. He caught the flu there.

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NUSRET MUGLA’S TRAGIC DEATH

ON THE OCCASION OF NUSRET MUGLA’S TRAGIC DEATH AST BRINGS THE URGENT SITUATION OF ELDERLY AND SERIOUSLY ILL PRISONERS TO ATTENTION AND URGES THE GOVERNMENT OF TURKEY TO RELEASE THEM EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY

84-year-old Nusret Sağlam died on February 14 due to COVID-19 he contracted in prison where he was held captive on the grounds of having an account at Bank Asya – one of the hundreds of companies shut down following the July coup attempt in 2016. States are obliged to protect the right to life of those deprived of their liberty and to ensure that they can benefit from health services at least as much as free individuals. The death of Sağlam, who struggled in the severely adverse conditions of prison despite his old age, is no different from a murder due to the reckless neglect of a most basic human right.

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Call on the Government of Greece to investigate and end the push-backs of Turkish refugees

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

RE: PUSHBACK INCIDENTS AT THE GREEK BORDER

“We have a legal and moral obligation to protect people fleeing bombs, bullets and tyrants, and throughout history those people have enriched our society.” —Juliet Stevenson

Thousands of refugees fleeing their homeland due to violence, terror, or political prosecution use Greece as an entry gate to Europe. Since the beginning of 2014, over 1.1 million refugees have crossed the borders of Greece. (1) Growing numbers of refugees have begun to use Evros as a passage from Turkey to Greece.

In the last couple of years, a significant number of Turkish citizens have also begun to cross the border between Turkey and Greece and sought asylum due to the Turkish government’s targeting of dissidents belonging to different ideologies, particularly the Gulen Movement. Advocates of Silenced Turkey appreciates all the Greek government did to welcome genuine Turkish refugees, who have escaped in fear of their life and freedom. It is important to understand that those who are not able to leave are subjected to social death and are not accepted as fully human by the wider society.

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Send A Letter to Stop Abductions of Erdogan Regime

Sample letter to send international organizations to stop abductions carried out by authoritarian Erdogan regime in Turkey and abroad is below.

Dear ………………….,
I would like to share my deep concern about the prevalent abduction cases conducted globally by Turkish authorities under the Erdogan regime. Below please find detailed information about the issue and a link to a report on the abduction cases released by
Advocates of Silenced Turkey (AST). I’d appreciate your concern and support regarding this dire human rights violation.

Since July 2016, the Turkish government went on to imprison hundreds of thousands of homemakers, mothers, children, babies, teachers, NGO workers, academics, judges, prosecutors, journalists and countless other victims. Erdoğan declared a “witch-hunt” against Gülen’s followers, attempting to convince countries through carrot and stick policies or more diplomatic means to join his personal fight and do the same to the Hizmet members within their borders.

Unfortunately, in some countries, the local intelligence agencies cooperated to seize Gülen followers, while in some others, Turkey’s National Intelligence Agency (MİT) didn’t even need to ask for permission to stage an operation. Albania, Angola, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Bosnia, Cyprus, Gabon, Georgia, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kenia, Kosovo, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Myanmar, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine are some of these countries.

Although ascertaining the exact number is not easy, AST has put together a List of Abduction Report, which includes: names, professions, date of disappearances, place of the incidents, the current status of the persons and the details regarding the incidents. Victims were abducted inside and outside Turkey through nefarious methods, brushing away even the most basic rights to fair trial and defense.

Here are some examples of the cases from the report: Isa Ozdemir, a businessman, was abducted from Azerbaijan in July 2018. He is currently jailed and pending trial in Turkey. İsa Özdemir was delivered to the Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MİT) by the Azeri authorities unlawfully. The European Court of Human Rights demanded Azerbaijan authorities to explain the reason for the rendition of Özdemir despite concerns that he may be subjected to torture in Turkey. Başoğlu was questioned by the MİT before submitting him to the prosecution.

Arif Komis, an educator, was detained in Malaysia in August 2019. The police from the Malaysian Immigration Bureau detained Arif Komis, his wife and four children. Komis, the director and a teacher at Hibiscus International School, had applied for asylum and was under UN protection. Malaysia surrendered the teacher to Turkey, ignoring reactions against this decision in the international and domestic circles. He is currently jailed and pending trial in Turkey.

Very recently, Orhan Inandi went missing in Kyrgyzstan in June 2021. Educator İnandı, founder and director of the Sapat school network in Kyrgyzstan, went missing after leaving his house in Bishkek on Monday evening, the TR7/24 news website reported. He was last contacted by a friend at around 9 p.m. Attempts by his family to contact him all failed. He is feared to have been abducted by Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MİT) due to his alleged links to the Gülen movement, according to his family. Taalaygul Toktakunova, Inandi’s lawyer, shared with the press a footage recorded by a camera in Orhan Inandi’s car. Inandi’s lawyer claimed that Akbarov Ulan, a former employee of Kyrgyzstan Ministry of Internal Affairs, met Orhan Inandi at the night of his abduction. The family has been seeking more information to find Orhan Inandi regarding these claims.

The veil of secrecy over the enforced disappearances has still not been lifted, and it will probably take many years for a full-fledged illumination of them. Those who were found were mostly traumatized after long sessions of tortures. Their physical and psychological conditions were devastated beyond description.

I urge all relevant institutions of the International Human Rights community to urgently provide information to resolve questions and suspicions about the incidents. I also urge the Turkish authorities to carry out a thorough, prompt, independent and impartial investigation on enforced disappearances and abductions. I also call on Kyrgyzstan government to investigate the abduction case of Orhan Inandi, who is still believed to be in Bishkek, take urgent action to find his whereabouts and prevent him from any possible deportation.

Please find the whole report at
https://silencedturkey.org/global-purge-1-144-abductions-conducted-by-the-turkish-government-in-turkey-and-abroad

also another report on abductions at
https://silencedturkey.org/erdogans-long-arms-abductions-in-turkey-and-abroad

Freedom House’s report on Turkey’s Transnational Repression at
https://freedomhouse.org/report/transnational-repression/turkey

more information about the most recent abduction case (Orhan Inandi case) at
https://silencedturkey.org/for-immediate-release-calling-on-kyrgyzstan-government-to-investigate-the-abduction-case-of-orhan-inandi-and-take-urgent-action-to-find-his-whereabouts

more information about Orhan Inandi’s lawyer’s statements at
https://www.facebook.com/100002458866130/posts/4105583339533588/?d=n

You can find the whole copy of the letter from the LINK to send the addresses below.

Relevant Contacts

The Honorable Dunja Mijatovic

Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights Council of Europe
Avenue de I’Europe F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex, France
Tel: +33 (0)3 88 41 34 21
Fax: +33 (0)3 90 21 50 53
Email: commissioner@coe.int

Committee Against Torture – Petitions and Inquiries Section

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights United Nations Office at Geneva
1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
E-mail: petitions@ohchr.org,  TB-petitions@ohchr.org,  cat@ohchr.org,  registry@ohchr.org

United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances

OHCHR-UNOG CH
1211 Geneva 10 Switzerland
Téléphone: (41-22) 917 90 00
Fax: (+41-22) 917 90 06
E-mail: wgeid@ohchr.org

Petitions and Inquiries Section/Committee on En- forced Disappearances

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights United Nations Office at Geneva
Email: petitions@ohchr.org

Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission

House Committee on Foreign Affairs 5100
O’Neill House Office Building 200 C Street SW Washington, D.C. 20515 United States of America
Phone: +1 (202) 225-3599
Fax: +1 (202) 226-6584
Email: TLHRC@mail.house.gov

US Helsinki Commission

234 Ford House Office Building 3rd and D Streets SW Washington, DC 20515
Email: info@csce.gov

United National Human Rights Committee Petitions Team

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights United Nations Office at Geneva
1211 Geneva 10 (Switzerland)
Fax: + 41 22 917 9022 (particularly for urgent matters)
E-mail: petitions@ohchr.org

 

Recent Posts

 

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE THE CRITICAL HEALTH SITUATION OF AYŞE ÖZDOĞAN AND URGENT ACTION TO TAKE APPROPRIATE STEPS REGARDING HER SENTENCE

Under the state of emergency, imposed after the July 2016 attempted coup and lifted on July 2018, President Erdogan presided over the cabinet, which could pass decrees without parliamentary scrutiny or the possibility of appeal to the constitutional court. Public officials continued to be dismissed or suspended by decree without due process, with more than 170,000 dismissed since July 2016. Those dismissed from their jobs lost their income, social benefits, medical insurance and even their homes.

According Stockholm Center for Freedom, Ayşe Özdoğan, a former teacher who was removed from her job in the aftermath of a failed coup in Turkey in July 2016, suffers from a rare form of cancer. Özdoğan and her husband were detained on April 8, 2019 for alleged links to the Gülen movement. She was released on appeal on December 27, 2019 due to her son’s heart condition after an online campaign started by Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, a human rights activist and former deputy from the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), but her husband was sent to prison. (1)

Stockholm Center for Freedom reports that Özdoğan’s tooth, palate, zygomatic bone and lymph nodes were removed in an emergency operation. Özdoğan lost her ability to see and hear after the operation due to the trauma her facial bones suffered. An appeals court approved a nine year, six month prison sentence for Ayşe Özdoğan. (2)

The United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules) states in article 109 that “persons who are found to be not criminally responsible, or who are later diagnosed with severe mental disabilities and/or health conditions, for whom staying in prison would mean an exacerbation of their condition, shall not be detained in prisons, and arrangements shall be made to transfer them to mental health facilities as soon as possible”. We strongly urge the Turkish government to take the case of Ayşe Özdoğan into consideration immediate effectively and take action according to aforesaid international rules.

Hafza Y. GIRDAP

Executive Director and Spokesperson

directorhg@silencedturkey.org

 

PDF LINK

 

Sources;

[1]https://m.akipress.com/news:658894:Orhan_Inandi_was_kidnapped_and_being_held_somewhere_in_Bishkek,_according_to_unconfirmed_data__Lawyer/

[2]https://www.turkishminute.com/2021/06/01/presidentofturkish-kyrgyz-schools-feared-to-have-been-abducted-in-bishkek/

[3]https://stockholmcf.org/educator-orhan-inandi-feared-to-have-been-kidnapped-in-kyrgyzstan/

[4]https://www.turkishminute.com/2021/06/01/presidentofturkish-kyrgyz-schools-feared-to-have-been-abducted-in-bishkek/

[5]https://freedomhouse.org/report/transnational-repression/turkey

[6]https://silencedturkey.org/erdogans-long-arms-abductions-in-turkey-and-abroad

 

Relevant Contacts

The Honorable Dunja Mijatovic

Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights
Council of Europe
Avenue de I’Europe F-67075
Strasbourg Cedex, France
Tel: +33 (0)3 88 41 34 21
Fax: +33 (0)3 90 21 50 53
Email: commissioner@coe.int

 

United National Human Rights Committee

Petitions Team
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations Office at Geneva
1211 Geneva 10 (Switzerland)
Fax: + 41 22 917 9022 (particularly for urgent matters)
E-mail: petitions@ohchr.org

 

Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities

Petitions and Inquiries Section Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations Office at Geneva
1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
E-mail:  petitions@ohchr.org
urgent-action@ohchr.org
registry@ohchr.org

 

Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission 

House Committee on Foreign Affairs
5100 O’Neill House Office Building
200 C Street SW
Washington, D.C. 20515
United States of America
Phone: +1 (202) 225-3599
Fax: +1 (202) 226-6584
Email: TLHRC@mail.house.gov

 

US Helsinki Commission

234 Ford House Office Building
3rd and D Streets SW
Washington, DC 20515
Email: info@csce.gov

 

🔺🔺🔺 TAKE ACTION AND SHARE YOUR FEELINGS W/ ACTIVISTS, POLITICIANS, HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS AND CELEBRITIES 
#AyseOzdoganTutuklanamaz
#Aysecannotbeimprisoned
Please share your thoughts about Ayse Ozdogan by mentioning the politicians, celebrities, activists especially in Turkey. 
🔺 Message from Ayse Ozdogan
Advocates of Silenced Turkey
 *SCF* 
🔺You can mention the politicians, human rights defenders, etc below.  
@AtillaSertell
@barisyarkadas
@HuseyinAygun62
@CHPMuratB
@eacarer
@SKorurFincanci
@gergerliogluof
@gulecyuzk
@HurAyse
@haykobagdat
@Akif_Hamzacebi
@ALAKYILDIZ
@AliYigitCHP
@atillakart
@AtillaSertell
@auslupehlivan01
@ayhanbilgen
@aykuterdogdu
@aytunciray
@birol_ertem
@bulenttezcanchp
@Bullentoz
@chpakifekici
@chpaliozcan
@chpdevrimkok
@Chphalukkoc
@CHPMuratBakan
@drmehmet_goker
@erenerdemnet
@erkanecz
@fatmakose44
@gamzeilgezdi
@gokdagantep
@goklevent
@gurselerol62
@gurseltekin34
@halukpeksen
@hayatitekin55
@hilmiyarayici
@HuseyinAygun62
@MBekaroglu
@TurabiKayan
@UmutOranCHP
@utkucakirozer
@vekilince
@veliagbaba
@MSTanrikulu
@MTanal
@amberinzaman
@ArmanAyse
@asliaydintasbas
@bulentmumay
@can_atakli_
@ecolasan
@emrkongar
@FarukKose52
@ismailsaymaz
@KucukkayaIsmail
@Nesrinnas
@nevsinmengu
@sazak_derya
@SedefKabas
@YaseminCongar_
@arzuyldzz
@lemandergisi

 

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Calling on Kyrgyzstan Government to Investigate the Abduction Case of Orhan Inandi and Take Urgent Action to Find His Whereabouts

Following the coup attempt of July 15, 2016, the Turkish government declared a state of emergency paving the way for a crackdown on political opponents which has ultimately led to gross violations of civil rights and liberties of Turkish citizens.

The Turkish government has revoked passports and aggressively petitioned for the arrest and deportation of dissenters overseas including individuals under UN protection. Abductions, forced disappearances, and renditions of dissenters are among the long list of atrocious crimes committed by the Turkish government. The Turkish state has even conducted cross-border operations by brazenly abducting its citizens from other countries. This is not only an offense against the national sovereignty of countries where these covert operations are conducted but also an egregious insult to international human rights laws. There is also ample evidence to suggest that once dissenters are abducted, they undergo extensive torture and suffer physical and emotional trauma at the hands of their unidentified abductors. They are not informed of the charges brought against them as they are apprehended and are deprived of their due process rights. Some of these abducted individuals face trial after being subjected to months of torture if they are lucky enough to survive the horrifying ordeal. The Turkish government has rarely repudiated claims of such horrific acts and illegalities committed against dissenters. On the contrary, these inhumane practices are lauded amongst national intelligence agencies and government officials. Stories of dissenters being viciously abducted in front of their families are boasted of by sycophant media outlets who cheer for and commend the brutal acts of the government.

On June 1, 2021, a new allegation of abduction in Kyrgyzstan about Orhan Inandi, President of Sapat schools in Bishkek, was reported. According to akipress.com, Orhan Inandi left his home at around 6 pm on May 31 driving his Lexus GX470, and at around 4:20 am on June 1 [1], his car was found parked in an area around 1 eight kilometers from his house at around 3 a.m. on Tuesday [2]. Stockholm for Freedom (SCF) reports that he 2 was last contacted by a friend at around 9 p.m. and later attempts by his family to contact him all failed. Inandi is feared to have been abducted by Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MİT) due to his alleged links to the Gülen movement, according to his family.[3]

Inandı had been working in Kyrgyzstan since 1995 and had been the president of the schools since 2001. The statement from the Sapat schools said İnandı received the title of “Excellence in Education of the Kyrgyz Republic” in 2002 and was awarded the Honorary Diploma of the Kyrgyz Republic in 2003 and the Dank medal of the Kyrgyz Republic for his contribution to the improvement of the education system in the country. Dozens of Kyrgyz students and their parents gathered in front of the Turkish Embassy in Bishkek on Tuesday, carrying placards that read in Kyrgyz and Russian: “Where is Mr Inandı?” There were reports suggesting that Inandı was being held at the embassy building. Inandı is also a citizen of the Kyrgyz Republic.[4]

Freedom House states in a related report that Turkey’s regime has conducted 58 renditions in at least 31 different host countries spread across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia since 2014.[5] Forced disappearances and abductions are an assault on human rights as established by the Convention on the Forced Disappearance of Persons. According to Advocates for Silenced Turkey (AST)’s report [6], there have been 6 135 abductions and forced disappearances to date; this report consists of an alarming number of accounts of abductions and torture provided by abductees. AST calls on international human rights organizations to urge Turkish authorities to abide by domestic and international laws of human rights and cease their illegal and inhumane practices of abductions, forced disappearance, and renditions immediately. We, as AST, also call on the Kyrgyzstan government to investigate the abduction case of Orhan Inandi, who is still believed to be in Bishkek, to take urgent action to find his whereabouts and prevent him from any possible deportation.

 

Hafza Y. GIRDAP

Executive Director and Spokesperson

directorhg@silencedturkey.org

 

PDF LINK

 

Sources;

[1]https://m.akipress.com/news:658894:Orhan_Inandi_was_kidnapped_and_being_held_somewhere_in_Bishkek,_according_to_unconfirmed_data__Lawyer/

[2]https://www.turkishminute.com/2021/06/01/presidentofturkish-kyrgyz-schools-feared-to-have-been-abducted-in-bishkek/

[3]https://stockholmcf.org/educator-orhan-inandi-feared-to-have-been-kidnapped-in-kyrgyzstan/

[4]https://www.turkishminute.com/2021/06/01/presidentofturkish-kyrgyz-schools-feared-to-have-been-abducted-in-bishkek/

[5]https://freedomhouse.org/report/transnational-repression/turkey

[6]https://silencedturkey.org/erdogans-long-arms-abductions-in-turkey-and-abroad

 

Relevant Contacts

The Honorable Dunja Mijatovic

Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights
Council of Europe
Avenue de I’Europe F-67075
Strasbourg Cedex, France
Tel: +33 (0)3 88 41 34 21
Fax: +33 (0)3 90 21 50 53
Email: commissioner@coe.int

 

United National Human Rights Committee

Petitions Team
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations Office at Geneva
1211 Geneva 10 (Switzerland)
Fax: + 41 22 917 9022 (particularly for urgent matters)
E-mail: petitions@ohchr.org

 

Committee Against Torture

Petitions and Inquiries Section
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations Office at Geneva 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland

E-mail: petitions@ohchr.org,
TB-petitions@ohchr.org,
cat@ohchr.org,
registry@ohchr.org

 

United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances

OHCHR-UNOG CH
1211 Geneva 10 Switzerland
Téléphone: (41-22) 917 90 00
Fax: (+41-22) 917 90 06
E-mail: wgeid@ohchr.org

 

Petitions and Inquiries Section/Committee on Enforced Disappearances

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations Office at Geneva
Email: petitions@ohchr.org

 

Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission

House Committee on Foreign Affairs
5100 O’Neill House Office Building
200 C Street SW
Washington, D.C. 20515
United States of America
Phone: +1 (202) 225-3599
Fax: +1 (202) 226-6584
Email: TLHRC@mail.house.gov

 

US Helsinki Commission

234 Ford House Office Building
3rd and D Streets SW
Washington, DC 20515
Email: info@csce.gov

 

 

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HOW ABOUT MAKING THE VOICES OF MOTHERS HEARD BY 5,000 FEMALE LEADERS ON MOTEHERS DAY, MAY 9TH

In the past, women of Turkey have always been discriminated, subjugated, and oppressed. Especially mothers have had to pay the price of conflicts and oppression more harshly. Kurdish mothers had to leave their kids’ dead bodies in freezers for days because of the curfews. Dead bodies of Kur­dish mothers were left on the streets because of the curfews. Mothers were beaten on the streets just be­cause they gather to call the government to find their forcibly disappeared children. Devastating experi­ences of mothers in Turkey, regardless of their ethnicity, ideological beliefs, or religion are in­describable. To top it all off, the failed coup attempt in July 2016 happened to be a water­shed moment in Turkey’s modern history, which was followed by the persecution of thousands of people; among whom are thousands of women and mothers. Extraordinary measures taken by the government following the coup attempt, the political conflicts, and consequential persecution have doubled the burden on mothers. Due to the government’s propaganda, mothers are stigmatized and excluded from society. They are exposed to arbitrary detentions, their children/husbands become the victims of enforced disap­pearances, and they are forced to flee to survive. Mothers have either lost their own lives in these desperate circum­stances, or their children in these hazardous journeys. We are extending our solidarity with:

-Saturday Mothers

⁃ Taybe Ana

⁃ Mother of Cemile Cagirga

⁃ Mother of Nurefsan

⁃ Mother of Berkin Elvan

⁃ Mothers incarcerated with their babies

⁃ Incarcerated mothers separated from their kids

⁃ Mother of Gulistan Doku

⁃ Mother of Sule Cet

⁃ Mothers whose professions taken from them

⁃ Mother of Ahmet Burhan

– Mother and grandmother of Hakan

⁃ Mothers of deceased Grup Yorum members

⁃ Esma Uludag

⁃ Unzile Araz

⁃ Hatice Akcabay

⁃ Emine Bulut

⁃ Sumeyya Avci

⁃ Nurhayat Yildiz

⁃ Fatma Gormez

We are also extending our sincere gratitude to Natali Avazyan, Eren Keskin, Huda Kaya, and many more courageous women who have cared for the persecuted children of Turkey, just like a mother would.

We want the voice of 5,000 innocent women and mothers to be heard by 5,000 female leaders in 1,000 cities around the world.

With each flower, the stories of 4-5 innocent mothers persecuted by the Erdogan regime will be told.

#FreeMothersInTurkey
#AnnelereÖzgürlük

 

 

Video Message in English

 

Video Message in Turkish

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March 21st Online Protest

FLYER LINK

Link; http://www.youtube.com/AdvocatesofSilencedTurkey


What is it?

♦The first online event of its kind to stand together with women in Turkey and in the World against violence, oppression, and femicide.
♦Accompanied by 30+ activists, human rights defenders, journalists, and lawyers.

♦More than 50,000+ expected attendees worldwide.

When and where?

March 21st, 2021 2:00 PM EST (New York)
http://www.youtube.com/AdvocatesofSilencedTurkey

How?

Several activists are going to join the protest with their 1-minute remarks on the violence, femicide, discrimination, and political oppression targeting women and children in Turkey and around the World.
An attendance of 50,000+ is anticipated.

Why?

♦These protests are aimed towards raising awareness about the harrowing conditions of women and children suffering the injustice and devastating witch hunt in Turkey and around the World.

♦Greater participation leads to pressure towards the betterment of conditions for all women, especially those inhumanely imprisoned as political captives.

♦It is often the trust that they are not forgotten that keeps people content rather than their optimism.

WHAT CAN WE DO?

♦The more the number of viewers, the higher the impact. So you can help first by joining the event and invite others to bea part of this worthwhile event.

♦The size of the impact is measured by the number of viewers during online events, and that is simply a number of viewers from different devices, i.e phones, computers, or tablets.

♦On the 21st of March 2021, please devote your time between 2:00-3:00 PM EST to the victims and be a part of this meaningful event. It starts at 6 PM in London, 9 PM in Athens, 7 PM in Berlin at 3 PM in Brasil, and 7 PM in Kenya.

♦You can share this information with your friends and social circles and encourage them to be on the channel at their respective time. Even though they may be busy at the time, you will contribute by sharing the atrocities committed and help raise awareness on the issue.

♦You can organize zoom meetings or Social Media events to create synergy and motivation. You can also share your enthusiasm with us so that we can get fired up as well!

♦You can ask human rights activists, community leaders, journalists, and lawmakers to join this online event with a 1-minute video recording to be broadcast during the protest. Send us an e-mail to help@silencedturkey.org about the details.

We hope you become a part of this event even with a nod or a tiny effort and help thousands of women and children get out of their misery

Help@silencedturkey.org

 

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STAND UP FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN TURKEY – JOIN TO PROTESTS ON MARCH 6TH.

FLYER LINK

2020 has been hard. We have been hit by a pandemic that halted life at multiple levels. This sudden and global event made us realize how valuable our little conveniences in life are. We now realize what it means to travel, have coffee outside our home, meet with friends, and shop for groceries. Now we miss the chores we despised.
There is another pandemic that has been here for years: Violence against women. Women in most places cannot live their ordinary lives without brutality, harassment, inequality, or aggression. Globally, 35 % of women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence by their partners. 137 women are killed by a member of their family every day. Calls to help lines have increased five-fold in some countries during the COVID-19 epidemic.

Some countries are especially darker. In 2009, 42% of Turkish women between the ages of 15 and 60 were subject to violence. Global Gender Gap Index 2020 ranks Turkey 130th among 153 countries.

Since the alleged coup attempt in 2016, women’s rights have been systematically ignored and violated by the Turkish authorities. Many women in custody were subject to strip searches. They were asked to undress and squat while naked, sometimes with cameras present. More than 5,000 women have been jailed as political prisoners, 600 women were held in detention with their children including 100 women who were pregnant or had just given birth. 780 babies are imprisoned alongside with their mothers who were not convicted of any crimes.

AST will organize protests in more than 25 locations including, New York, Washington, Toronto to raise the voice to end the violence against women in Turkey and in the World. Your participation will be extremely valuable to all the women suffering under the violence and motivate who are joining their efforts to make a difference.

Be a part of these protests, help the victims of violence, spread the word!
Advocates of Silenced Turkey

For more info

Help@silencedturkey.org

Support
https://silencedturkey.org/donatenow

Report on Women Rights violations

WOMEN’S RIGHTS VIOLATIONS BY THE TURKISH LEGAL SYSTEM

 

 

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Take Action: Enforced disappearances in Turkey – The Case of Hüseyin Galip Küçüközyiğit

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Following the coup attempt of July 15, 2016, the Turkish government declared a state of emergency paving the way for a crackdown on political opponents which has ultimately led to gross violations of civil rights and liberties of Turkish citizens.

The Turkish government has revoked passports and aggressively petitioned for the arrest and deportation of dissenters overseas including individuals under UN protection. Abductions, forced disappearances, and renditions of dissenters are among the long list of atrocious crimes committed by the Turkish government. The Turkish state has even conducted cross-border operations by brazenly abducting its citizens from other countries. This is not only an offense against the national sovereignty of countries where these covert operations are conducted but also an egregious insult to international human rights laws. There is also ample evidence to suggest that once dissenters are abducted, they undergo extensive torture and suffer physical and emotional trauma at the hands of their unidentified abductors. They are not informed of the charges brought against them as they are apprehended and are deprived of their due process rights. Some of these abducted individuals face trial after be- ing subjected to months of torture if they are lucky enough to survive the horrifying ordeal. The Turkish government has rarely repudiated claims of such horrific acts and illegalities committed against dissenters. On the contrary, these inhumane practices are lauded amongst national intelligence agencies and government officials. Stories of dissenters being viciously abducted in front of their families are boasted of by sycophant media out-lets who cheer for and commend the brutal acts of the government.

On December 29, 2020 a new allegation of enforced disappearance in Turkey about Hüseyin Galip Küçüközyiğit, a former civil servant dismissed from his job by an emergency decree, was reported. His daughter, Nursena Küçüközyiğit, has been trying to file a criminal complaint saying that her father was abducted, however, authorities in the northwestern city of Kocaeli, notably the public prosecutor’s office and the police department, refused to receive the complaint.

Last Contact With The Abductee

Küçüközyiğit last spoke with his daughter Nursena on the phone on December 29 at around 3:30 p.m. His coworkers were the last people to have seen him. About 4 p.m. he left his office to visit a friend in Ankara’s Gölbaşı district, by a Mazda 323 with license plate 34 FNF 28. His cell phone stopped receiving signals at 4:23 pm.

Nursena Küçüközyiğit says her father was unemployed for a long time after being expelled from public service and was held in detention for six months for his alleged links with Gülen Movement. After he was released, he set up a business to offer legal advice to other purged public sector workers, which, Nursena believes might have been the reason her father to be abducted.

Similarities with Other Abduction Incidents

Kucukozyigit was a civil servant like many other victims of the recent abduction cases. Almost all abductions occurred at public places while the abductee was about to leave from an acquainted location. After months of their disappearances, victims resurfaced under police detention and were arrested immediately. Also almost in all cases, police officers and public prosecutors have been hesitant to open a case in spite of the clear and concrete evidence of a crime.

Growing Number of Cases of Abductions with Black Transporters

In many of the disappearances, a black transport vehicle is used, according to the eyewitnesses and CCTV footages. A group of masked men, believed to be the members of the Turkish intelligence agency, are grabbing the victims and pulling them into a black transporter van and disappear swiftly.

Almost all of the victims of these enforced disappearances resurfaced months after they went missing in bruises and traumatized. Some have spoken out in court, recounting the systematic and severe torture they were subjected to during their secret interrogation by the National Intelligence Organization (MİT), The victims also have reported that they were kept until their wounds got healed to be handed over to the police.

According to the testimonies of former MİT directors Erhan Pekçetin and Aydın Günel, who was captured by Syrian Kurdish militants in 2017 while they were in a covert operation in northern Syria, all abducted people that have affiliations with the Hizmet movement were tortured and interrogated in a building in the capital city of Turkey, Ankara(1)

Nursena thinks her father is yet another victim of the enforced disappearances and she is worried that he might be subject to torture. She says has reached CCTV footages displaying that Galip Kucukozyigit was followed by three suspicious men on the day he disappeared but she was not able to convince a prosecutor to open an investigation.

According to Kucukozyigit’s daughter Nursena, Turkish police are not willing to search for evidence against her father’s kidnapping. The only answer she could get from the police is: “We are unable to provide any information.” Families of other victims were also faced with the same attitude by the police, who were reluctant to investigate and collect evidence. The United Nations Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances in its reports emphasized that the Turkish authorities were not pursuing the necessary investigative tracks. Detailed information about and a full list of enforced disappearances of Turkish nationals can be found in AST’s report, Erdogan’s Long Arms: Abductions In Turkey And Abroad2.

Forced disappearances and abductions are an assault on human rights as established by the Convention on the Forced Disappearance of Persons. According to Advocates for Silenced Turkey (AST)’s report3, there have been 135 abductions and forced disappearances to date; this report consists of an alarming number of ac- counts of abductions and torture provided by abductees. AST calls on international human rights organizations to urge Turkish authorities to abide by domestic and international laws of human rights and cease their illegal and inhumane practices of abductions, forced disappearance, and renditions immediately.

Hafza Y. GIRDAP
Executive Director and Spokespersondirectorhg@silencedturkey.org

1 “MIT Officials Confess Turkey’s Relations with ISIS and Al Nusra.” ANF News, 23 Jan.2018, anfenglish.com/news/mit-officials-confess-turkey-s-relations-with-isis- and-al-nusra-24382.

2 https://silencedturkey.org/erdogans-long-arms-abductions-in-turkey-and-abroad

3 https://silencedturkey.org/erdogans-long-arms-abductions-in-turkey-and-abroad

Relevant Human Rights Institutions
The Honorable Dunja MijatovicOffice of the Commissioner for Human Rights Council of Europe
Avenue de I’Europe F-67075
Strasbourg Cedex, FrancePhone: +33 (0)3 88 41 34 21
Fax: +33 (0)3 90 21 50 53
Email: commissioner@coe.int
United National Human Rights Committee

Petitions Team
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights United Nations Office at Geneva
1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland

Fax: + 41 22 917 9022 (particularly for urgent matters)
E-mail: petitions@ohchr.org
Committee Against Torture

Petitions and Inquiries Section
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights United Nations Office at Geneva
1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland

E-mail:
petitions@ohchr.org
TB-petitions@ohchr.org
cat@ohchr.org
registry@ohchr.org

United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances

OHCHR-UNOG CH
1211 Geneva 10 Switzerland

Phone: (41-22) 917 90 00
Fax: (+41-22) 917 90 06
E-mail: wgeid@ohchr.org
Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission

Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission House Committee on Foreign Affairs 5100 O’Neill House Office Building 200 C Street SW
Washington, D.C. 20515

Phone: +1 (202) 225-3599
Fax: +1 (202) 226-6584
Email: TLHRC@mail.house.gov
US Helsinki Commission

234 Ford House Office Building 3rd and D Streets SW
Washington, DC 20515

Email: info@csce.gov
The Honorable Abdülhamit Gül

Minister of Justice
06659 Kizilay
Ankara, Republic of Turkey

Email: info@adalet.gov.tr

 

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