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Arbitrary detention

BORN AND RAISED IN PRISON: TURKEY’S CAPTIVE CHILDREN

International human rights standards are increasingly understood to require special and improved care for women prisoners with children. Pregnant women, women in the post-partum phase of childbirth, and crucially, newborns, require access to intensive and routine medical services and highest attainable prison standards. Imprisoned women with children face distinct challenges that other prisoners may not experience while they serve their sentences. In international human rights terms, rights of women with children fall under three categories and are protected by instruments of international law which enumerate the rights of prisoners, women, and mothers. In the Turkish Republic, governed by President Recep T. Erdogan and Justice and Development Party (AKP), the treatment of women prisoners and their children has deteriorated since 2016, the year during which Turkey experienced a general shift towards authoritarianism. At the time of this publication, the first quarter of 2020, the Turkish government’s treatment of women prisoners and their children falls radically short of standards detailed by landmark instruments put forth by the United Nations and adopted by the international community. Developments pertaining to the rights of women and children signal the continued deterioration of these rights under the current government without legitimate efforts to improve conditions by Turkish authorities.

This report is based on desk research and interviews with former prisoners conducted mainly via telephone and skype in January to March 2020. It was not possible to interview prisoners who remain behind bars and others who continue to live in Turkey as they fear government retribution for sharing their stories. The report proceeds by analyzing the current condition of prisons in Turkey as they pertain to pregnant women and women with dependent children. The analysis provides a succinct overview of the ongoing violations in Turkish prisons by comparing and contrasting current practices of the Turkish government with the universally recognized and widely ratified United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-Custodial Measures for Women Offenders (Bangkok Rules). The analysis is composed of part commentary and part interview data. The details of each violation are interwoven directly into the comments to provide a vivid and relatable description of victims’ experiences. Volunteer interviewers for Advocates of Silenced Turkey conducted telephonic interviews with victims whose identities have been anonymized for this report. While some of these women have agreed for AST to publicize their identity, we have currently chosen to keep all data anonymous in order to protect the families of victims who continue to live in Turkey and may face persecution as a direct result of this publication. All interviews have been audio recorded with permission, transcribed, and translated with special attention paid to preserving the authenticity of the information shared by interviewees. Volunteers who conducted interviews utilized an organic conversational tone throughout each meeting, however, they were appropriately trained to effectively extract certain data from each woman. All questions used by interviewers were distilled from relevant international human rights instruments. The Tokyo Rules and Bangkok Rules in particular have played a critical role in shaping and directing the language and content of the questionnaire.

In the second and final part of the report, AST has created a catalog of all victims whose information has been made available through open-source research platforms. The desk research conducted by our associates has mainly relied on social media platforms, especially Twitter, which remain as final standing sources of real news in the Republic of Turkey. In a strictly controlled media environment, news regarding victims of the presiding government receives little to no attention. Thus, our cataloging efforts rely on publicly available information often volunteered by victims or close friends and relatives of victims on social media platforms. The information contained in the catalog section of this report will continue to be updated with increasingly more reliable data and sources as they become available over time.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Advocates of Silenced Turkey urges conscientious objectors, relevant human rights organizations, and UN special rapporteurs to encourage the government of Turkey to implement four major recommendations related to improving the living conditions of captive mothers and babies, by:

 Urging the Turkish government to effective immediately revise its policy of imprisonment towards pregnant women and women with dependent children. Non-custodial sentences shall be preferred where possible and appropriate, especially when prison conditions pose a threat to the lives of mothers and children.

 Urging the Turkish Ministry of Justice to eliminate excessive overcrowding in prison dormitories, dedicate increased resources to the physical and mental wellbeing of women and children, provide maternity support before and after birth, and ensure access to adequately nutritional food.

 Encouraging independent organizations to organize and promote transparent research on the number of children affected by their mothers’ confrontation with the criminal justice system in order to contribute to policy formulation and program development, taking into account the best interests of the children.

 Urging Turkish authorities to liaise with international criminal justice experts to develop better institutional safeguards & provide training to prison administrators and staff in order to prepare them to respond correctly to the day-to-day needs of imprisoned mothers and children.

 

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KEY HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN TURKEY SINCE THE SO-CALLED COUP ATTEMPT

Following the so-called coup attempt on the 15th of July 2016, the Turkish government under the authoritarian leadership of Recep Tayyip Erdogan has taken a wave of oppressive actions against not only the alleged coup plotters but also those that are perceived as critics of the regime. Currently, as part of Turkey’s post-coup crackdown, more than 130,000 people including judges, academics, teachers, journalists, police and military officers, and other public servants have been dismissed from their jobs. In correlation, more than 217,000 have been detained and 160,000 have been arrested. Amnesty International reports that detainees were “being held arbitrarily” with “no evidence establishing reasonable suspicion of criminal behavior” and that “only a tiny minority of them were accused of taking part in the actual events of the attempted coup”.

Amid the massive crackdown of hundreds of thousands of dissidents, human rights organizations and the U.N. Human Rights Council have noted that human rights are violated on a large scale by the Turkish government. Arbitrary killings, suspicious deaths of people in custody, forced disappearances, tortures, ill-treatments, injustice, and threats – mostly against the followers of the Gulen Movement, Kurds, and the Leftists – have been reported widespread during this large-scale witch-hunt.

As people continue to be arrested and many more tortured and abducted, the present brief of Advocates of Silenced Turkey (AST) highlights some of the key human rights concerns that have taken place in Turkey during this on-going period.

●  UNPRECEDENTED SCALE OF DISMISSALS: 

More than 130,000 public servants, with their names attached in lists to emergency orders, were dismissed by emergency decrees. These public servants included over 4,463 judges and prosecutors, 6,021 academics, 6,000 health-care professionals, 33,500 teachers, and 44,500 police and military officers. Not only were people dismissed arbitrarily but also banned permanently from working in the public sector – many were even banned to practice their profession.

  • COLLAPSE OF JUDICIARY SYSTEM:

With approximately 4,463 judges and prosecutors (including two judges from the Turkey’s highest court) dismissed permanently, over one-fifth of Turkey’s judiciary has been removed. Of those dismissed, at least 2,200 were jailed with their assets frozen due to their alleged links to the Gulen movement. Consequently, the climate of fear paralyzed the judges and prosecutors who still have their positions. The fear combined with the heavy government influence in the court system led to the collapse of the judiciary system and the deterioration of human rights in the country. As a result, Turkey ranked 109 out of 126 countries in 2019 on the rule of law index of the World Justice Project.

  • VICTIMIZATION OF LAWYERS:

Lawyers are among the many groups affected by the post-coup crackdown in Turkey. They were unlawfully associated with their clients’ alleged crimes. Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported that many lawyers were targeted with criminal investigations with little or no evidence. According to the Arrested Lawyers Initiative, over 1,500 lawyers were persecuted over the past three years including 14 lawyers who were presidents of provincial bar associations – of those persecuted lawyers, one third remained imprisoned before and during their trials, and 274 were convicted of membership of armed terrorist organizations and sentenced to long prison sentences. Furthermore, approximately 34 bar associations were shut down by presidential decree with alleged affiliations to terrorist organizations.

  • PERSECUTION OF ACADEMICS:

Following the coup attempt, 3,003 private schools and 15 universities linked to the Gülen movement were closed by a presidential decree. Eventually resulting in the displacement of over 60,000 students across the country. Over 8,500 academics reportedly lost their jobs either due to direct dismissals or university closures since September 2016 – and many of them were imprisoned. Large-scale dismissals of academics and teachers significantly damaged the education sector thus diminished the right to education.

  • BOOKS DESTROYED:

Turkey’s education minister Ziya Selçuk announced last week that 301,878 books had been destroyed as the government cracks down on anything linked to Fethullah Gülen. Turkish newspaper BirGün reported that 1.8m textbooks had been destroyed and reprinted for containing the “objectionable” word Pennsylvania, which is where Gülen lives.

  • THE MEDIA PURGE FOLLOWING THE ATTEMPTED COUP: 

In the aftermath of the failed coup, the government closed down 200 media outlets – including 53 newspapers, 37 radio stations, 34 TV channels, 29 publishing houses, 20 magazines, and six news agencies – with accused links to the Gulen movement, Kurdish opposition, or Leftists groups. Consequently, a total of 2,308 media workers and journalists have lost their jobs. The government canceled hundreds of press accreditations and revoked passports of an unknown number of journalists and their family members to ban them from traveling abroad. In addition, the government imprisoned a record-breaking number of journalists in the wake of the coup attempt – with that, Turkey became the world’s largest prison for journalists. The Platform for Independent Journalism (P24) reported that at least 126 journalists and media workers were in prison in Turkey as of October 2019 – among them, many were put in long solitary confinement. 

The absence of freedom of expression is not only a recurring problem for journalists but for citizens as well. In 2018, the Ministry of Interior reported that more than 7,000 individuals were detained for their social media posts after investigating 631,233 digital materials. In relation to the censorships and content restrictions in the country, Wikipedia has been blocked in Turkey since April of 2017. Currently, out of the 180 countries, Turkey ranks 157th on the Press Freedom Index of Reporters Without Borders and is listed among ‘not free’ countries by the Freedom House.

  • CRACKDOWN ON HEALTH CARE SECTOR:

Turkish government has shut down 14 hospitals and 36 medical centers after the coup attempt on the pretext of alleged ties to the Gülen movement. Therefore, an estimated 21,000 health care professionals were laid off – including doctors, academics, nurses, midwives, and other hospital staff. Of those, 5,261 are medical doctors and academics who specialize in the medical sciences. The figures of how many health care professionals have been detained, arrested or currently in prison are estimated in the thousands. Given the longstanding issue of hospital and staff shortages in the country, the dismissals of health care professionals and the closure of hospitals left many patients in despair of medical care.

  • PRISON CONDITIONS:

With the persecution of tens of thousands of critics, the current population in Turkish prisons is 4-5 times higher than the normal capacity – it has increased from 171,267 inmates in 2015 to 260,144 in 2018. Given the capacity of 211,766, inmates are forced to remain in overcrowded cells. In order to free up space for more political prisoners, the government released nearly 34,000 convicts from prisons. The inadequate provision of health care to prisoners also remains a serious problem. Officially reported by the Ministry of Justice Prison and Correctional Facilities, there were 271 doctors serving nearly a quarter-million of the prison population – of whom, only eight were full-time. Insufficient access to freshwater, proper heating, ventilation, and lighting are other concerns for prison conditions. There are 62,669 political prisoners, 4,000 of them being women and 780 of them being children.

  • TORTURE AND ILL-TREATMENT:

Despite the government’s zero-tolerance claim for torture policy, human rights groups have reported widespread and systematic use of torture and ill-treatment in police custody following the coup-attempt – including severe beatings, threats of sexual assault and actual sexual assault, electric shocks, waterboarding, sleep deprivation, stress positions, long solitary confinement, and depriving of food and water. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) stated acts of torture and ill-treatment aimed “at extracting confessions or forcing detainees to denounce other Individuals” in its report on Turkey in 2017. The Human Rights Association (HRA) reported that the number of incidents where prisoners were subjected to torture and ill-treatment in detention centers and prisons was 2,178 in 2016, 2,415 in 2017, and 1,505 in 2018. The Stockholm Center for Freedom (SCF) reported a total of 126 suspicious deaths and suicides since the coup attempt – most of those occurred in detention centers and prisons, seemingly a direct result of torture and ill-treatment.

  • ABDUCTIONS AND ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES:

In the aftermath of the coup attempt, forced disappearances made a comeback in Turkey. Opposing politicians and respected human rights groups claimed at least 128 abductions or possible enforced disappearances of individuals. Most of the victims were identified as dismissed public servants with alleged ties to the Gulen movement or critics of the government. Allegedly, victims were abducted outside detention facilities and illegally questioned and tortured by Turkey’s intelligence agency. Moreover, Turkey’s intelligence agency reportedly abducted over more than 100 alleged Gulen affiliates from 18 countries – individuals often deported illegally – against the universal conventions – by cooperative governments without due process.

  • WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN PRISON:

The prison conditions for women and children are exceedingly alarming. According to the Justice Ministry, as of 2017, nearly 10,000 women and 3,000 children under 18 are in Turkey’s prisons. The inhumane prison conditions also hold weight in women prisons. They face additional issues of the male security staff frequently obstructing their privacy during hospital visits, oftentimes leading to an incomplete examination.  Among the prisoners, there are more than 30 pregnant women or women who just gave birth and 780 children under 6 years old imprisoned along with their mothers – including 149 infants under 1-year-old. Pregnant women are forced to stay with other inmates in overcrowded cells, also denied access to proper prenatal care – posing serious risks to their well-being. Likewise, mothers with children are also forced to share a cell with inmates.

Even when prison authorities are willing to let the child see a doctor, they do not allow mothers to accompany them. Children have to sleep in the same bed with their mothers and are not assigned a cradle or a separate bed.

The state pays $2 a day per prisoner for food. Since children are not technically incarcerated, they are not allotted any daily food rations and share their mother’s meals.

More than %80 of children in jail with their mothers do not receive any education.

Only %18 receive kindergarten or nursery services, but even then, there is a shortage of educational materials.

  • RESTRICTIONS ON RIGHT TO TRAVEL:

Another unlawful activity being pursued during this period is revoking the passports of government critics with perceived affiliations to the Gulen movement, Kurdish opposition, Leftists groups and their family members. On this ground, the Turkish government put restrictions on approximately 155,000 passports, reported by the SCF. Since their passports are restricted, many people, with the fear of persecution, use smuggler routes to flee from the country. Unfortunately, many died in the Evros River and the Aegean Sea. Turkey revoking its citizens’ passports also causes travel struggles for those across the world.

  • SEIZURE OF DISSIDENTS’ ASSETS:

The Turkish government abuses laws to seize assets of its critics. As of March 2018, the government had seized the assets of approximately 1,124 businesses and 127 individuals. According to the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund of Turkey, the net worth of the seized assets is an estimated $32.24 billion since the 2016 coup attempt. Moreover, in most cases, the government freezes the assets of those on trial, financially crippling them and their families.

SOURCES

  1. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/07/turkey-independent-monitors-must-be-allowed-to-access-detainees-amid-torture-allegations/ https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/europe-and-central-asia/turkey/report-turkey/
  2. https://www.state.gov/reports/2018-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/turkey/

          https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/TR/2018-03-19_Second_OHCHR_Turkey_Report.pdf

  1. https://turkeypurge.com/turkey-jails-2431-judges-prosecutors-dismisses-4424-to-date-top-court
  2. https://worldjusticeproject.org/sites/default/files/documents/ROLI-2019-Reduced.pdf
  3. https://silencedturkey.org/lawyers-on-trial-abusive-prosecutions-and-erosion-of-fair-trial-rights-in-turkey-2

         https://arrestedlawyers.org/2019/09/01/new-report-mass-prosecution-of-lawyers-in-turkey/

  1. https://silencedturkey.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/AcademicsAtRisk.pdf
  2. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/aug/06/turkish-government-destroys-more-than-300000-books
  3. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/11/brothers-critical-turkish-regime-arrested-after-tv-programme

         https://tr.euronews.com/2019/07/12/verilerle-15-temmuz-sonras-ve-ohal-sureci

  1. https://expressioninterrupted.com/freedom-of-expression-and-the-press-in-turkey-211/
  2. https://www.state.gov/reports/2018-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/turkey/
  3. http://www.tuik.gov.tr/PreHaberBultenleri.do?id=27610

          https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/turkey-coup-attempt-latest-releases-almost-34000-prisoners-in-amnesty-amid-international-alarm-over-a7221451.html

  1. https://www.state.gov/reports/2018-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/turkey/
  2. https://www.ihd.org.tr/sample-page-2/
  1. https://stockholmcf.org/suspicious-deaths-and-suicides-in-turkey-updated-list/
  2. https://correctiv.org/en/top-stories-en/2018/12/06/black-sites/
  3. http://www.tuik.gov.tr/PreHaberBultenleri.do?id=27610

         https://7dnews.com/news/inmates-facing-poor-living-conditions-and-death-in-turkish-prisons

  1. https://stockholmcf.org/turkeys-dismissed-academics-want-their-passports-back-after-state-of-emergency-lifted/
  2. https://twitter.com/platformpj/status/1234421262052732928/photo/1

         http://www.platformpj.org/report-the-erosion-of-property-rights-in-turkey/

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Disappearance of Saudi Journalist in Istanbul Consulate Stuns Whole World

The disappearance or alleged murder of a critical Saudi journalist in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul has created shockwaves across the world and sent a chilling echo for other Saudi dissidents across the region.

According to the Turkish authorities, Jamal Khashoggi has been killed by Saudi agents and his body was dismembered. Riyadh has categorically denied those allegations and pledged to work with the Turkish officials for a robust and thorough investigation to enlighten the incident.

The international community, already dismayed and alarmed by acts of the increasing violence against members of the media world, is, quite understandably, rattled by the startling case of Khashoggi. And it came after INTERPOL’s Chinese president’s arrest in China, adding a new layer of anxiety over the international fallout of domestic political score-settling.

If the Turkish claims about murder are true, it represents completely a new phase in the crackdown on critical journalists. The venue of the incident, a consulate, serves as a stark reminder for dissidents living abroad about the stakes of any form of engagement or contact with an official body of their home country. No critic would feel safe to enter a consulate or a diplomatic compound of a given country, without having second thoughts after the Khashoggi incident.

The Turkish government appeared appalled and therefore reacted in indignation against the Saudi act breaching diplomatic norms in blatant disregard of the friendly relationship that mostly defined the nature of bilateral ties between the two powers of the Middle East.

Still, the case remains to be a matter of puzzling mystery, with both Turkish and Saudi sides lacking credibility to bolster their narratives. While pro-government media and some anonymous Turkish security sources were quick to squarely pin the blame on the Kingdom, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has struck a measured and cautious tone, refraining from finger-pointing at Riyadh.

Khashoggi was last seen on Saturday. His fiancee Hatice Cengiz told media that he went to the Consulate but never showed up again. The Turkish media released video footage of a group of people believed to be Saudi agents were specifically assigned by Riyadh to kill and remove the journalist’s body. But the Turkish authorities did never offer evidence to back up their claims, while the Saudi side also stumbled in its account of the story by failing to prove Khashoggi’s departure from the Consulate via camera footage.

The issue has expectedly unsettled Turkey’s political landscape and created an uproar. But,
considering Turkey’s own dismal record in mind, Ankara’s concerns for morality and norms ring hollow and seem self-contradictory. Steven Cook, writing for Foreign Policy, addressed such moral contradictions in a recent op-ed.

Not long ago, Turkey’s intelligence operatives, in cooperation with local security agency, conducted a bold operation in Moldova to snatch a group of teachers linked with a civil society movement critical of President Erdogan’s rule.

Here a question emerges. Where did the Saudi regime get such confidence to push the boundaries of handling with critics with that extreme path? The question appears more pertinent after bearing Turkey’s similar operations in mind. It is no exaggeration, after all, to meditate that it was Ankara’s brutal clampdown on opponents at home and abroad with all means available that would have encouraged Riyadh to execute the murder or steered the disappearance act in its consulate in Turkey, but not somewhere else.

In this respect, Turkey’s own practices might plausibly have emboldened Saudi Arabia. Turkey used its own embassy in Kosovo to spirit Gulen-affiliated teachers away from the country. Similar methods also took place in Ukraine, Pakistan, Malaysia and Gabon where Turkey’s diplomatic compounds served as launchpads for conducting operations. Both Ankara’s use of its diplomatic facilities as a cover to disguise its intelligence operations and the disappearance of a journalist in Saudi Consulate in Istanbul mark a new step in countries’ zealous haunt for critics living abroad.

For dissidents, as Cook and all other commentators opined, the message is disheartening and worrisome. Nowhere is safe for free-minded and critical people. The whole world, especially the Western countries with strong democratic traditions, must lend additional voice to condemn, denounce and criticize the disappearance of the Saudi journalist at a diplomatic compound.

Unless the whole world unites in their strong condemnation, the Istanbul incident would set a terrible precedent for future behaviors of autocratic governments in dealing with dissident citizens abroad.

In conclusion, an act of crackdown, overseas operations to target dissidents abroad and the use of diplomatic compounds for such operations would no doubt set an example or a source of inspiration for other authoritarian regimes to follow through. In Istanbul, all contours of such a possibility were abundantly present and pointed. To stop this learning process through copy-past practices from one another’s authoritarian playbook, a collective international response and cooperation is a must, and a long overdue effort that is urgently needed to be employed.

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Academics at Risk in Turkey

The coup attempt on July 15, 2016 stands as the most ruinous mark to the legal and political grounds of the Turkish Republic and continues to do so. Due to the coup attempt many people have been stripped from their ebullience, charged with allegations in abetting the coup and serving as members of a terrorist group, been unlawfully released from their jobs or incarcerated under the articles specified by the state of emergency period. Hence after the declaration of the state of emergency laws, a “legal” basis for unlawful prosecution and illegitimate actions was formed.

Academics in Turkey after the July 15, 2016 coup attempt stands as certainly one of the most severely affected branches of civil structure if not the most. On July 23, 2016 2 days after the emergency decree-laws were established the state ordered the closure of 15 universities displacing over 60,000 students and rendering 2,808 academicians jobless according to the State of Turkish Higher Education’s report. The data published by the same report displayed an immense 8,535 academicians released from duty by December 2017 virtually quadrupling the July 2016 figure. As stated by another report compiled by BBC Turkey at least 23,427 academicians lost their jobs either due to direct dismissals or reasons pertaining to university closures.

In reality January 2016, 6 months Prior to the coup attempt, marks the inception of the witch-hunt against academicians following the “Academics for Peace” petition. The respective petition, signed by 1,128 education personnel, left the signatories with very severe and exasperating upshots ranging from criminal prosecutions, dismissals and detentions to travel restrictions. The most up-to-date consolidated numbers exhibit more than 9,200 higher education personnel subject to direct targeting alongside over 60,000 scholars, administrators, and students affected materially or incurring tangible losses ascribed to government and institutional actions.

Perhaps the pinnacle of the maltreatment of academicians did not take place during the process of prosecutions but after imprisonment. Dr. Ahmet Turan Ozcelik no doubt is an exemplar of this persecution. Dr Ozcelik was confined in Balikesir Bandirma prison for 14 months after a 21 day psychological torture inflicted prior to his transfer. During his imprisonment he developed colon cancer, notwithstanding his health issued he was denied preventive treatment. After rigorous efforts he was released, yet soon after following his release he passed away from colon cancer.


Download as a PDF File: https://silencedturkey.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/AST_6-22-18_Academics-at-Risk_P14.pdf

 


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UN Working Group urges AKP govt to release Kaçmaz Family immediately and unconditionally

The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention of the UN Human Rights Council has called on the Turkish government to immediately release Mesut Kaçmaz and Meral Kaçmaz, a couple that was abducted from their home after midnight in Lahore on September 27, 2017 and deported illegally by the Pakistani government to Turkey just two days before their scheduled appearance before a Pakistani court.

The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has released its 16-page opinion concerning Mesut Kaçmaz and Meral Kaçmaz and their two daughters.

The UN body called on Turkey to take the steps necessary to remedy the situation of Mesut Kaçmaz, Meral Kaçmaz and the two minors without delay and bring them into conformity with the relevant international norms, including those set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The UN body also called on the government of Pakistan and the government of Turkey to accord Mr. and Mrs. Kaçmaz and the two minors an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, including for the impact on their psychological integrity from having been arrested, secretly detained and deported.

For more detailed information about the risks supporters of the Gulen Movement experience, please look at the report prepared by the Advocates of Silenced Turkey on the current and possible threats supporters of the Gulen Movement face abroad titled “I Cannot Say We Are Absolutely Safe Even Abroad.”

Download the report as pdf: https://silencedturkey.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/AST_Report_Threats_Gulen-Movement.pdf

We strongly request Turkish authorities to take all necessary steps to immediately and unconditionally release Kacmaz family.

We urge everyone to take action. Express your views or send attached statement below to following relevant Turkish authorities.

Download sample statement: AST_letter_Kacmaz family

1. Republic of Turkey, Ministry of Justice
Website: http://www.justice.gov.tr
Email Address: info@adalet.gov.tr
Phone: +90 (0312) 417 77 70
Fax: +90 (0312) 419 33 70

2. Republic of Turkey, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Website: http://www.mfa.gov.tr/
Contact form: http://www.mfa.gov.tr/contact-us.en.mfa
Phone: +90 (312) 292 10 00

3. Union of Turkish Bar Associations
Website: https://www.barobirlik.org.tr
Email Address: barobirlik@barobirlik.org.tr
Phone: +90 (312) 292 59 00
Fax: +90 (312) 286 31 00

4. Presidency of the Constitutional Court
Website: http://www.anayasa.gov.tr
Email Address: bilgi@anayasa.gov.tr
Phone: +90 (312) 463 73 00
Fax: +90 (312) 463 74 00

5. Court of Cassation
Website: https://www.yargitay.gov.tr
Email Address: iletisim@yargitay.gov.tr
Phone: +90 (312) 416 10 00

6. Turkish Embassy in Washington D.C.
Website: http://vasington.be.mfa.gov.tr/Mission
Email Address: embassy.washingtondc@mfa.gov.tr
Phone: +1 202 612 67 00
Fax: +1 202 612 67 44

NEWS ARTICLES ON THIS SUBJECT:

UN Human Rights Council calls on Turkish gov’t to release Kaçmaz couple immediately
https://stockholmcf.org/un-human-rights-council-calls-on-turkish-govt-to-release-kacmaz-couple-immediately/

UN High Commissioner on Refugees takes notice of Turkish family deportation
https://tribune.com.pk/story/1729982/1-un-high-commissioner-refugees-takes-notice-turkish-family-deportation/

Pro-gov’t media ‘over the moon’ after UN-protected Turkish family forcefully deported to Turkey
https://turkeypurge.com/turkeys-pro-govt-media-over-the-moon-over-un-protected-kacmaz-familys-forced-return

Protests held for safe recovery of Turkish teacher, his family
https://tribune.com.pk/story/1525371/protests-held-safe-recovery-turkish-teacher-family/

Turkish family of PakTurk Schools director abducted in Pakistan: rights group
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pakistan-turkey/turkish-family-of-pakturk-schools-director-abducted-in-pakistan-rights-group-idUSKCN1C31CX

Missing Turkish teacher ‘deported from Pakistan’
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/10/missing-turkish-teacher-deported-pakistan-171016103226988.html

A Turkish family has disappeared in Pakistan, and suspicion turns to intelligence agencies
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/a-turkish-family-has-disappeared-in-pakistan-and-suspicion-turns-to-intelligence-agencies/2017/10/11/aa8c0d80-a480-11e7-b573-8ec86cdfe1ed_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.1041c41bf150

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Groom detained for ‘insulting’ Erdoğan, bride performs ceremony alone

A groom named Rahat Akbaba was detained for “insulting” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on henna night, a customary celebration before a wedding, in Turkey’s Diyarbakır province, causing the wedding ceremony to be held with just the bride, the Mezopotamya news agency reported.

According to the report, Akbaba’s car was stopped on April 5 by counterterrorism units on his way from the hairdresser to the henna night party with his bride, Sara Başak. Akbaba was taken to a courthouse and later to Diyarbakır Prison after he was informed that a sentence of three years, nine months in prison for insulting President Erdoğan had been approved by an appeals court.

But their families held the henna celebration and later the wedding ceremony on April 6 as previously planned. Başak performed all the rituals alone.

“They could not tolerate our happiest day. They made the arrest intentionally on henna night. During our talk at the courthouse, he [Akbaba] wanted us to hold the wedding ceremony. We did so out of spite,” said bride.

Twenty-seven social media messages that Akbaba has posted on social media since 2012 were judged to be insults to President Erdoğan by the court.

Source:
https://turkeypurge.com/gloom-detained-for-insulting-erdogan-bride-performs-ceremony-alone

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Turkish Teachers in Afghanistan

The National Directorate of Security (NDS), Afghan intelligence agency, abducted four teachers including one Afghan and three Turkish nationals from one of the schools run by the Afghan Turk CAG Educational NGO (ATCE) on 12 December 2017. While three Turkish nationals and one Afghan teacher were released, two Turkish nationals are still under house arrest and face possible deportation to Turkey.

The ATCE was founded by Gulen inspired Turkish businessmen and teachers and has been running several schools in different cities of Afghanistan since 1995. Despite all the difficulties in the region, the ATCE has continued to maintain its services believing that education is the only way to overcome those difficulties.

Former Deputy Minister of Education, Sediq Patman classified the situation as “politically motivated and unethical.” Former NDS chief has also defined the move as unprecedented in recent years, also as a shameful act for the government. According to former government officials, the raid by the NDS was illegal in the sense that the security forces have been used by the government leaders for political objectives. Despite these statements, there has not been an official comment on the incidence, neither by the government nor the intelligence agency.

Moreover, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani traveled to Istanbul a day before the incidence (12/11/17) to attend a summit organized by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Ministry of Education said, “it was satisfied with the functioning of these schools, but decision on their fate rested with President Ghani.” Reportedly few days before the operation, the Turkish government announced arrest warrant on teachers’ name for taking part in the so-called coup attempt. Documents indicate that the UN has provided asylum protection to one of the abducted teachers and asked authorities not to extradite him to Turkey.

The operation against the ATCE is part of a Turkish campaign against the followers of Fethullah Gulen who is a Turkish cleric which lives in self-imposed exile in the U.S. He promotes a moderate form of Islam, supports inter-faith communication and inspires to promote education in different parts of the world. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accuses him of orchestrating the failed coup-attempt. Mr. Gulen has strongly been denying all the allegations.

As the Advocates of Silenced Turkey, we strongly request your assistance to remind the Afghan authorities to ensure that the individuals at risk avoid expulsion in Turkey, where they would, with a great deal of certainty, be subject to torture and ill-treatment. We do believe that this is also an important moment to act in accordance with the Constitution of Afghanistan and relevant provisions of accepted international human rights treaties, in particular, CAT Article 3. We further believe that this is also an opportunity to demonstrate Afghanistan’s resolute commitment to upholding the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights, ahead of its upcoming UN Human Rights Council membership.

Read AST’s statement on the Turkish teachers in Afghanistan : https://silencedturkey.org/missing-teachers-in-afghanistan

Read more on the situation of Turkish teachers in Afghanistan : https://silencedturkey.org/fate-of-four-afghan-turk-teachers-remains-uncertain
http://www.sundayguardianlive.com/news/12278-erdogan-s-long-shadow-reaches-g-len-s-schools-afghanistan

Download sample statement as a word document: AST_Letter_Teachers_in_Afghanistan

Download UPDATED (4/5/18) statement as a word document: AST_Sample_Letter-Afghanistan_Updated_4/5/18

We urge everyone to take action. Express your views or send attached statement to the following addresses:

1. Ashraf Ghani, President of Afghanistan
Twitter: @ashrafghani
Phone: 0202104444, 0202104445
(Can be reached through the Acting Spokesperson for the President’s Office)

Shah Hussain Murtazawi, Acting Spokesperson for the President’s Office
Phone: +93 (0) 728 998 907
Email: murtazawi84@yahoo.com

2. Salahuddin Rabbani. Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Address: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan, Malek Asghar St. Kabul, Afghanistan
Phone: 0093 (0) 20 2100372, 0093 (0) 20 2100371
Email: info@mfa.af
Twitter: @mfa_afghanistan
http://mfa.gov.af/en/form/contactus

3. Hamdullah Mohib, Afghanistan’s Ambassador to the United States
Address: Embassy of Afghanistan, 2341 Wyoming Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20008
Phone: 202-483-6410
Fax: 202-483-6488
Twitter: @hmohib
info@afghanembassy.ushttps://www.afghanembassy.us/contact-us/

4. Mahmoud SAIKAL, Ambassador and Permanent Representative
Permanent Mission of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in New York
Address: 633 Third Avenue Floor 27A, New York, NY 10017
Phone: 212-972 1212
Fax: 212-972 1216
@AfghanMissionUN
info@afghanistan-un.org

5. U.S. Embassy Kabul
Phone: (00 93) (0)700-10-8000
Fax: (00 93) (0)700-108-564
@USEmbassyKabul
KabulACS@state.gov

 


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AST Turkey’s Human Rights Violations Weekly March 26

Download as pdf: AST_Turkey’s Human Rights Violations Weekly_March 26

Turkey’s Human Rights Violations | 3/19/2018-3/26/2018

1-” Police officer suspended in post-coup crackdown dies of heart attack”
https://turkeypurge.com/police-officer-suspended-post-coup-crackdown-dies-heart-attack

2-” Journalist’s lawyer brother detained, beaten by plainclothes police”
https://turkeypurge.com/journalists-lawyer-brother-detained-beaten-plainclothes-police

3-” 24 jailed pending trial over money deposits to Bank Asya”
https://turkeypurge.com/24-jailed-pending-trial-money-deposits-bank-asya

4-” 73-year-old German-Turkish dual citizen in solitary confinement in Silivri prison: family”
https://turkeypurge.com/73-year-old-german-turkish-dual-citizen-solitary-confinement-silivri-prison-family

5-” Orange is the New Black’s Turkish adaptation faces censorship over terror propaganda”
https://turkeypurge.com/orange-new-blacks-turkish-adaptation-faces-censorship-terror-propaganda

6-” 24 employees of Gülenist publishing house arrested on coup charges: report”
https://turkeypurge.com/24-employees-gulenist-publishing-house-arrested-coup-charges-report

7-” UN calls on Turkey to end state of emergency, torture, ban on purged civil servants”
https://turkeypurge.com/un-calls-turkey-end-state-emergency-torture-ban-purged-civil-servants

8-” Purge-victim engineer abducted in Rize — claim”
https://turkeypurge.com/purge-victim-engineer-abducted-rize-claim

9-” ECtHR: Turkey violates liberty, security, freedom of expression of Şahin Alpay, Mehmet Altan”
https://turkeypurge.com/ecthr-turkey-violates-liberty-security-freedom-expression-sahin-alpay-mehmet-altan

10-” Turkey’s largest media group sold to pro-gov’t businessman Demirören”
https://turkeypurge.com/turkeys-largest-media-group-sold-pro-govt-businessman-demiroren

11-” Pro-Kurdish politician arrested for ‘insulting’ Erdogan during Newroz speech”
https://turkeypurge.com/pro-kurdish-politician-arrested-insulting-erdogan-newroz-speech

12-” Turkish singer Zuhal Olcay gets 10 months in prison for ‘insulting’ Erdogan: report”
https://turkeypurge.com/turkish-singer-zuhal-olcay-gets-10-months-prison-insulting-erdogan-report

13-” Pro-Kurdish deputy Lezgin Botan gets 18 years in prison on terror charges”
https://turkeypurge.com/pro-kurdish-deputy-lezgin-botan-gets-18-years-prison-terror-charges

14-” Warrants issued for 55 employees of gov’t-closed publisher”
https://turkeypurge.com/warrants-issued-for-55-employees-of-govt-closed-publisher

15-” Prosecutors seek 54 months for AKP co-founder for ‘insulting’ Erdogan”
https://turkeypurge.com/prosecutors-seek-54-months-akp-co-founder-insulting-erdogan

16-” Turkish government now blocks use of VPN: report”
https://turkeypurge.com/turkish-government-now-blocks-use-vpn-report

17-” Hours after being released, man pictured sitting near graves of family members who died in traffic accident after visiting him in prison”
https://turkeypurge.com/hours-released-man-pictured-sitting-near-graves-family-members-died-traffic-accident-visiting-prison

18-” [VIDEO]Police detain 7 Bogaziçi students for participating in protest against Turkey’s Afrin operation”
https://turkeypurge.com/videopolice-detain-7-bogazici-students-participating-protest-turkeys-afrin-operation

19-” 16 members of Alevi association detained in Erzincan on terror charges: report”
https://turkeypurge.com/16-members-alevi-association-detained-erzincan-terror-charges-report

20-” Report: At least 2,113 people detained over Gülen links in March alone”
https://turkeypurge.com/report-least-2113-people-detained-gulen-links-march-alone

21-” Under pretrial detention for 20 months, academic Sedat Laciner says ‘miss my home, children, wife, friends, students and books’”
https://turkeypurge.com/pretrial-detention-20-months-professor-sedat-laciner-says-miss-home-children-wife-friends-students-books

22-” 2,500 schools, dormitories confiscated as 30,000 teachers dismissed during post-coup emergency rule: ministry”
https://turkeypurge.com/2500-schools-dormitories-confiscated-30000-teachers-dismissed-post-coup-emergency-rule-ministry

23-” Turkish couple, both teachers, under police custody in post-coup crackdown: report”
https://turkeypurge.com/turkish-couple-teachers-police-custody-post-coup-crackdown-report

24-” UN report details extensive human rights violations in Turkey during protracted state of emergency”
https://stockholmcf.org/un-report-details-extensive-human-rights-violations-in-turkey-during-protracted-state-of-emergency/

25-” CPT publishes report on İmralı Prison saying conditions satisfactory but…”
https://stockholmcf.org/cpt-publishes-report-on-imrali-prison-saying-conditions-satisfactory-but/

26-” CoE’s annual report shows record increase in Turkish prison population”
https://stockholmcf.org/coes-annual-report-shows-record-increase-in-turkish-prison-population/

27-” Turkish court sentences rector, deans, academics of closed university to long prison terms over alleged Gülen links”
https://stockholmcf.org/turkish-court-sentences-rector-deans-academics-of-closed-university-to-long-prison-terms-over-alleged-gulen-links/

28-” Canada’s Green Party leader on human rights violations in Turkey: I am entirely horrified”
https://stockholmcf.org/canadas-green-party-leader-on-human-rights-violations-in-turkey-i-am-entirely-horrified/

29-” CPJ calls on EU officials to raise press freedom with Erdoğan”
https://stockholmcf.org/cpj-calls-on-eu-officials-to-raise-press-freedom-with-erdogan/

Türkiye tarafından işlenenen İnsan Hakları İhlalleri | 3/19/2018-3/26/2018

1-” AİHM’in diyet yemek kararına rağmen hasta tutuklulara verilmiyor”
http://aktifhaber.com/iskence/aihmin-diyet-yemek-kararina-ragmen-hasta-tutuklulara-verilmiyor-h114083.html

2-” Hakimi gözaltına alırken ağzına silah sokup darp etmişler!”
http://aktifhaber.com/iskence/hakimi-gozaltina-alirken-agzina-silah-sokup-darp-etmisler-h114200.html

3-” KHK ile ihraç edilen Nuray öğretmen işkence ile itirafçı edilmeye çalışılıyor”
http://aktifhaber.com/iskence/khk-ile-ihrac-edilen-nuray-ogretmen-iskence-ile-itirafci-edilmeye-calisiliyor-h114223.html

4-” KHK ile hayatı kararan öğretmen intihar etti”
http://aktifhaber.com/iskence/khk-ile-hayati-kararan-ogretmen-intihar-etti-h114280.html

5-” Hasta tutuklulara ‘çift kelepçe’”
http://aktifhaber.com/iskence/hasta-tutuklulara-cift-kelepce-h114381.html

6-” Grup Yorum üyesi Varan: Saçım yolundu dosya işlemden kaldırıldı”
http://aktifhaber.com/iskence/grup-yorum-uyesi-varan-sacim-yolundu-dosya-islemden-kaldirildi-h114391.html

7-” KHK ile işten atıldı, tutuklandı, ailesini kaybetti, tahliye edildi”
http://aktifhaber.com/iskence/khk-ile-isten-atildi-tutuklandi-ailesini-kaybetti-tahliye-edildi-h114399.html

8-” Erdoğan’ın hedef gösterdiği 7 öğrenci gözaltına alındı!”
http://aktifhaber.com/gundem/erdoganin-hedef-gosterdigi-7-ogrenci-gozaltina-alindi-h114404.html

9-” AKP, VPN’in ipini çekmek üzere”
http://aktifhaber.com/gundem/akp-vpnin-ipini-cekmek-uzere-h114374.html

10-” Mehmet Altan’ın avukatı açıkladı; Bugün tahliye edilmesini bekliyoruz”
http://aktifhaber.com/gundem/mehmet-altanin-avukati-acikladi-bugun-tahliye-edilmesini-bekliyoruz-h114293.html

11-” Işık Yayıncılık’a 2. operasyon: 55 kişi hakkında gözaltı kararı”
http://aktifhaber.com/gundem/isik-yayincilika-2-operasyon-55-kisi-hakkinda-gozalti-karari-h114271.html

12-” Gergerlioğlu: Hakkım olan emekli ikramiyemi vermediler, yani gasp ettiler, maksat zulüm olsun”
http://aktifhaber.com/gundem/gergerlioglu-hakkim-olan-emekli-ikramiyemi-vermediler-yani-gasp-ettiler-maksat-zulum-olsun-h114203.html

13-” Kaçırılan Ümit Horzum dosyası sil baştan!”
http://aktifhaber.com/gundem/kacirilan-umit-horzum-dosyasi-sil-bastan-h114199.html

14-” OHAL’in kaldırılması için hukukçular AİHM’e başvurdu”
http://aktifhaber.com/gundem/ohalin-kaldirilmasi-icin-hukukcular-aihme-basvurdu-h114153.html

15-” ‘2500 okul ve yurt kapattık, 30 bin öğretmeni ihraç ettik’”
http://kronoshaber.com/tr/gurur-tablosu-2500-okul-kapattik-30-bin-ogretmeni-ihrac-ettik/

16-” Gazeteci Resul Cengiz’e resmi yazıyla cezaevinde uyutmama işkencesi”
http://kronoshaber.com/tr/gazeteci-resul-cengize-resmi-yaziyla-cezaevinde-uyutmama-iskencesi/

17-” Sibel ve Harun öğretmen gözaltına alındı, çocukları kimsesiz kaldı”
http://kronoshaber.com/tr/sibel-ve-harun-ogretmen-gozaltina-alindi-cocuklari-kimsesiz-kaldi/

18-” Deniz Yücel’le telefonda konuşan 59 kişiye ‘örgüt bağlantısı’ suçlaması!”
http://kronoshaber.com/tr/deniz-yucelle-telefonda-konusan-59-kisiye-orgut-baglantisi-suclamasi/

19-” Basın meslek örgütleri: Tek bir aykırı ses çıksın istemiyorlar”
http://kronoshaber.com/tr/basin-meslek-orgutleri-tek-bir-aykiri-ses-ciksin-istemiyorlar/

20-” Zuhal Olcay’a ‘Cumhurbaşkanı’na hakaret’ten 10 ay hapis cezası”
http://kronoshaber.com/tr/zuhal-olcaya-cumhurbaskanina-hakaretten-10-ay-hapis-cezasi/

21-” Birleşmiş Milletler’den Türkiye’ye insan hakları eleştirisi”
https://www.cnnturk.com/son-dakika-birlesmis-milletlerden-turkiyeye-insan-haklari-elestirisi

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