coup attempt

WOMEN’S RIGHTS VIOLATIONS BY THE TURKISH LEGAL SYSTEM

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The intent of this report is to declare the victims of the ‘New Turkey,’ especially women with children who have been under persecution since the July 15, 2016 coup attempt. Although the Turkish government does not promote transparent data on the number of children imprisoned with their mothers, there are 864 children in the prison according to the Justice Department Prison and Penitentiaries Management. The ages of these children vary between newborns to 6 years, as of May 24, 2019.

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PRESS RELEASE: The so-called coup attempt july 15 serves as a justification for the complete conversion of a country’s administrative system and persecution of hundreds of thousands in Turkey.

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The so-called coup attempt July 15 serves as a justification for the complete conversion of a country’s administrative system and persecution of hundreds of thousands in Turkey.

On July 15, 2016 Turkey witnessed an attempted but failed military coup against Erdoğan government. During this horrific uprising, hundreds of people were killed and thousands of others were injured. Right after the coup attempt, the Turkish government 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. With that, the country’s political spectrum has been completely changed. Amid massive crackdown on media outlets and hundreds of thousands of the dissidents, President Erdoğan further consolidated his power with a controversial referendum in 2017 that changed the country from a parliamentary democracy into one-man rule. Being seen a setback from the rule of law, the new presidential system deepened concerns on human rights.

Marking a monumental turning point in Turkey’s history, the uprising has not been thoroughly investigated. Questioning the government’s narrative has caused many to imprisonment. The leaked details fueled the suspicions on the government’s narrative thus diminished its credibility. The narrative along with the massive crackdown on the dissident groups and Erdoğan’s consolidation of power faced heavy criticism from almost all quarters of the democratic world. In fact, a former representative of the European Parliament and well-known politician Andrew Duff defined it as “quick and relentless so-called coup”. The present report of Advocates of Silenced Turkey (AST) provides an overview of controversies and dark points on the “so-called coup” along with the human right concerns during the ongoing post-coup crackdown on the Turkey’s dissident groups.

Some of the highlights from the report are:

  • A coup with no plan of action: Every coup has a certain plan of action, yet no official document has been presented so far for the July 15 coup attempt or the list of individuals involved with the Yurtta Sulh Council that has allegedly masterminded the coup.
  • A “blessing from God”: Right after the coup attempt, Erdoğan described the incident as a “blessing from God”, implying that he had finally found the opportunity to carry out the purge on his dissidents.
  • Step by step towards a presidential regime: Within less than a year, a referendum for constitutional change was held and the new Turkish-style presidential system was put into effect. Following this, Erdogan became the first president of the new regime through early elections.
  • A coup notice from TSK to MIT: Osman Karacan, a major in TSK (Turkish Armed Forces) went to the MIT (National Intelligence Organization) headquarters on July 15 at 2:20pm to give notice about the planned coup. Yet, no real precautions were taken to prevent or suppress the coup until 10.00pm.
  • Chief of MIT and Chief of Defense are still in office: Chief of the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) Hakan Fidan, Chief of Defense Hulusi Akar and 2nd Chief of Defense Yaşar Güler reportedly held a series of meetings following the notice at 2:20pm on the planned coup but did not notify President Erdoğan until 7:00pm, yet they kept their office.
  • The conflicting explanations from Erdogan regarding time of coup: When speaking to national and international media, Erdoğan stated contradicting times with regards to the time when he was informed of the planned coup.
  • The “controlled coup”: Turkey’s main opposition party (CHP) described what happened on the July 15 as “controlled coup”.
  • Planes on standby for escape: It is discovered that 4 different airplanes at 4 different locations were arranged for Erdoğan to be on standby that night, implying Erdoğan’s possible knowledge of the planned coup attempt.
  • Secret meetings a day before the coup: It is revealed that Akar, Chief of Defense, and Fidan, Chief of MIT (National Intelligence Organization), held a one-on-one confidential meeting that lasted four hours, a day before the coup.
  • “I received the orders to reinforce the Chief of Defense Forces from Zekai Aksakallı”: Colonel Fırat Akkuş stated this during the court hearing, bringing into question the role of Special Forces Commander Zekai Aksakallı in the coup.
  • Erdoğan did not allow an investigation: The Turkish Grand National Assembly’s July 15 Investigation Commission wanted to listen to the testimonies of Chief of Defense Hulusi Akar and MIT Chief Hakan Fidan. However, President Erdoğan did not allow either of the names to appear in front of the commission.
  • “Let an international commission investigate the coup and we will accept its findings”: The proposal of Fetullah Gülen who was blamed for masterminding the coup attempt is not accepted by the Turkish government.
  • Events not yet taken place written into the July 15 Official Report, how did that happen? It was revealed that the official report for July 15 prepared by Serdar Coşkun, the Constitutional Order Attorney General of the time, contained written reports of events that would take place at a later date written as though they had taken place at the time of the written record.
  • Purge lists prepared early on: Attorney General Serdar Coşkun admitted that the first cases of individuals being taken into custody and being arrested on July 16 were carried out based on the official report of the events. However, 3,000 judges and prosecutors were arrested on July 16 based on coup involvement although there is no evidence to support the allegations.
  • A project I disliked is July 15: When Binali Yıldırım, the PM of the time, was asked by a group of journalists if there were any projects that he felt a bit too demanding, his reply, in a sarcastic tone, was “Well, July 15 was a project I did not like at all.”

We urge;

  • international organizations to establish an independent commission to investigate and clarify the infamous July 15 coup attempt in Turkey,
  • international bodies to examine politically motivated coup charges in order to end the purge and grave human rights violations that are affecting millions of innocent lives justified through this controversial coup attempt,
  • the Turkish government to end arbitrary detentions, to find the perpetrators of enforced disappearances and bring them to justice, to reinstate the unlawfully dismissed public sector workers and to ensure the rule of law in Turkey.

 

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Re: Urge Turkish Authorities to stop torture and bring perpetrators to justice on INTERNATIONAL DAY IN SUPPORT OF VICTIMS OF TORTURE JUNE 26 th

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INTERNATIONAL DAY IN SUPPORT OF VICTIMS OF TORTURE, JUNE 26TH

     Gokhan Acikkollu, the 42-year-old history teacher with diabetes, was dismissed from his job, subsequently detained and tortured for 13 days under police custody in Turkey. He ultimately died from a heart attack. Two years later, after his death, authorities found him not guilty and reinstated him to his teaching post; however, no real justice has been given.

Since the failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016, democratic and fundamental human rights have been suspended in Turkey. The Turkish government has disregarded basic human rights, equality, and respect for human dignity. It has completely broken its ties with the western world, the European Union in particular. It is stated in Human Rights Watch October 2017 report that people accused of terrorism or of being linked to the July 2016 attempted coup are at risk of torture in police custody. There has been a spate of reported cases of men being abducted, some of whom were held in secret detention places, with evidence pointing to the
involvement of state authorities. 

Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, High Commissioner for UN Human Rights, declared that during the state of emergency period about 160,000 people were detained in Turkey; 152,000 state officials, including teachers, judges, and lawyers were arbitrarily expelled or investigated; over 200 journalists were arrested, 201 media outlets and hundreds of websites were shut down. There were many cases of torture, rape, and kidnapping, which were only partially reflected in the reports.

According to a report released by the United States Department of State on human rights practices in Turkey in 2018 between July 2016 and July 2018, Turkish Ministry of Justice reported that “investigations” were opened into 612,347 persons, the majority of whom were affiliated with the Gulen movement. Authorities prosecuted 1,519 lawyers and dismissed 7,257 academics and more than 4,000 judges and prosecutors. After the coup, the government operated prisons became filled with people who were detained and awaiting trial and began to work over capacity. 28 individuals disappeared, some kidnapped in broad daylight in front of their families.

Reports of torture, mistreatment, and abuse skyrocketed from tens in 2017 to more than 2,500 in 2018. 51 people lost their lives under suspicious circumstances in official custody.

The most recent torture incidents took place at Police Headquarters in Ankara against detained six ex-diplomats of Turkish Foreign Ministry on May 26th which were documented by the Ankara Bar Association. HDP MP Omer F. Gergerlioglu; Erinc Sagkan, President of Ankara Bar Association, and CHP MP Sezgin Tanrikulu spoke out about the allegations immediately.

We urge all the international bodies and human rights organizations along with Turkish judiciary to take all necessary steps to STOP TORTURE in TURKEY and bring all the perpetrators to justice.

Advocates of Silenced Turkey
[email protected]
www.silencedturkey.org
Twitter: @silencedturkey
Facebook: @silencedturkey

 


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PRESS RELEASE ON THE OCCASION OF THE WORLD REFUGEE DAY 2019

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WORLD REFUGEE DAY 2019

It is acknowledged in UNHCR’s Global Trends 2018 Report that the number of forcibly displaced people increased by 2.3 million people in 2018. By the end of the year, almost 70.8 million individuals were forcibly displaced worldwide as a result of persecution, conflict, violence, or human rights violations. Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, states:

“What we are seeing in these figures is further confirmation of a longer-term rising trend in the number of people needing safety from war, conflict, and persecution.”

Since the coup attempt on July 15, 2016, the Turkish government has targeted individuals and groups opposing the government. Through a mass witch-hunt, hundreds of thousands of people have been faced with arrest, imprisonment, torture, inhumane and degrading treatment, denial of fair treatment, labeling, confiscation, and passport seizure. Turkish prisons became filled with people who were detained and awaiting trial and began to operate over capacity. 28 individuals disappeared, some kidnapped in broad daylight in front of their families. Reports of torture, mistreatment, and abuse skyrocketed from tens in 2017 to more than 2,500 in 2018. 51 people lost their lives under suspicious circumstances in official custody. Consequently, thousands of people were forced to leave the country for freedom and to live in humane conditions.

Migration is not easy for those who migrate as well as those countries who receive them. The activist poet Warshan Shire’s words about forced displacement summarize the refugee issue very concisely: “No one puts their children in a boat unless the boat is safer than the land.”

We, as AST (Advocates of Silenced Turkey), are dedicated to support refugees as well as to defend their rights and be a voice for them.

Hafza Y. GIRDAP
Spokesperson
[email protected]

 


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SEND A LETTER: STOP TORTURING DIPLOMATS

SEND A LETTER: STOP TORTURING DIPLOMATS

Send a letter to Congressman Hastings, the chair of Helsinki Commission or Hon. CHRIS SMITH- NJ from Lantos Commission to urge them to take action against Turkish authorities involved in torturing 6 Ex-MFA Diplomats in Turkey.

Sample letter to send Congressman Alcee L. HASTINGS.  & Congressman Chris SMITH

Dear Hon. Rep. Alcee L. HASTINGS
Washington, D.C.
2353 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-1313
Fax: (202) 225-1171
https://alceehastings.house.gov/contact/

Urge Turkish Government to investigate the serious torture allegations to ex-diplomats in the capital Ankara, Turkey

Dear Honorable Congressman,

I deeply concerned about the torture allegations documented by the Ankara Bar Association. 6 ex-diplomats of Turkish Foreign Ministry have been detained at Police Headquarters in Ankara.  HDP MP Omer F. Gergerlioglu; Erinc Sagkan, President of Ankara Bar Association, and CHP MP Sezgin Tanrikulu spoke out about the allegations immediately..

According to the Ankara Bar Association’s report, 5 detainees were harshly beaten, knocked unconscious and sexually abused (anally raped with batons). The detained diplomats were forced to sign a statement of confession. A tortured diplomat lost his consciousness due to severe beatings and was hospitalized. However,  he was refused to be given a medical report. According to the UN report on March 2018, 263 incidents of torture in detention occurred in Turkey. Grave human rights violations like torture cannot be tolerated.

I will greatly appreciate if you urge the Turkish government to investigate these serious allegations and to bring the perpetrators of the horrible torture incidents to justice and If you share your thoughts about torture on your social media.

Thank you for your support to persecuted and oppressed innocent people in Turkey.

Yours Sincerely.

Or

Dear Hon. Rep. Chris SMITH

Washington, DC Office
2373 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
phone (202) 225-3765
fax   (202) 225-7768
https://chrissmith.house.gov/contact/

Full Report Link and more information :

https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2019/05/29/world/europe/ap-eu-turkey-torture.html

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/op-eds/a-new-phase-in-turkeys-crackdown-as-recep-tayyip-erdogan-tortures-diplomats

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/diplomats-tortured-in-turkish-jail-tz3r0lb7t

https://twitter.com/ankarabarosu/status/1133375623727058944?s=19

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-security-torture-idUSKCN1SY26O

https://www.euronews.com/2019/05/28/turkish-lawyers-group-says-foreign-ministry-staff-tortured-in-custody

https://twitter.com/silencedturkey/status/1133407264742760448?s=19


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Longing Episode-2

“LONGING-2”

One feeling is connecting the two stories LONGING. Stories of the persecuted fled from Erdogan Regime.
Yasin was not aware that the journey he was attending with his spouse and kids for freedom would separate them. A high school girl faces the difficulties of life at an early age. The young girl has to flee from her country as her father is jailed. One feeling is connecting these two stories: Longing.

 


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Longing Episode-1

“LONGING” THE STORY OF A MOTHER AWAY FROM HIS INNOCENT SPOUSE “A PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE” IN TURKEY. EPISODE-1

There is an ongoing suppression of dissidents following the so-called coup attempt of July 15, 2016. The State of Emergency and the decree laws pave the way for discrimination and segregation on the basis of ethnicity, political or other opinions. More than 50,000 people jailed as prisoners of conscience. The number of the people under investigation is 612,347 after July 15 according to the Ministry of Justice in Turkey equals the population of KENTUCKY is clear evidence of grave human rights violations in Turkey.

This real story of a mother separated from his innocent husband is just one of among many. It is the first episode and will continue with other stories may shed light to grave human rights violations in Erdogan’s Turkey.

 


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Binlerce sağlık çalışanının işlerinden tasfiyesi ve Doktor Umut’un hikayesi…

Türkiyedeki cadı avının başlamasından sonra Sağlık Bakanlığı, devlet çalışanlarının işlerinden toplu olarak tasfiyesi kapsamında, birçok hekimide içeren 7.500’den fazla sağlık çalışanının görevlerinden alındığını açıkladı.
Tasfiye, işten çıkarılan hekimlerin ve sağlık çalışanlarının, hükümet tarafından şeytanlaştırılmasından ve isimlerinin medyada yer almasından sonra yeni iş bulmada zorlandıkları için yıkıcı sonuçlar doğurdu.
Uluslararası Af Örgütü, Türk kamu sektörü çalışanlarının kitlesel işten çıkarılmalarına, yaşamları ve geçim kaynakları üzerinde yıkıcı bir etkisi olduğundan dolayı “profesyonel bir imha” adını verdi.

Bununla birlikte, Stockholm Center of Freedom (SCF) tarafından yapılan araştırmalar neticesinde, doktorların, tıp profesörlerinin, hemşirelerin, sağlık teknisyenlerinin ve hastane personellerinin de dahil olduğu 21.000’den fazla sağlık çalışanının şimdiye kadar devlet hastaneleri, Tıp fakülteleri ve sağlık kuruluşlarından işten çıkarıldığını göstermektedir .

Doktor Umut’un hikâyesi, Erdoğan rejiminin siyasi temizliğinin yıkıcı sonuçlarına ışık tutmaktadır.

 


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Purge of Thousands of Health Care Professionals and Doctor Umut

The Ministry of Health has announced that more than 7,500 health care professionals including many physicians have been dismissed within the scope of a mass purge of government employees from their jobs. The purge has resulted in devastating consequences for dismissed physicians as they face hardship in finding a new position after being demonized by the government and their names plastered all over the media. Amnesty International called the mass dismissal of Turkish public sector workers a “professional annihilation” that has a catastrophic impact on their lives and livelihoods.

However, research carried out by the Stockholm
Center for Freedom (SCF) shows that over 21,000 health care professionals
including doctors, medical professors, nurses, technicians and hospital staff have
thus far been dismissed from public and private hospitals as well as medical schools and associations.

Doctor Umut’s story shed light on the devastating consequences of those political purges by Erdogan’s regime.

 


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Academic Purge and Brain Drain of Turkey by SRW

Academic Purge and Brain Drain of Turkey. It started long before Turkey’s July 15, 2016 botched coup attempt. Slowly but steadily, young professionals, entrepreneurs, engineers, academics and new graduates started leaving their home country in search of a better future.
5,882 academics and 1,372 administrative personnel have been dismissed at universities as part of the Turkish government’s post-coup crackdown.

Over 2,300 have been fired for alleged links to the July 15 coup attempt, while 15 private universities linked to the Gulen movement have been closed down.

This video was prepared by Scholars Right Watch (SRW)

 


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