Kocaeli

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

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 Spokesperson[email protected]

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: [email protected]
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: [email protected]
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:
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]

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: [email protected]
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: [email protected]
US Helsinki Commission

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

Email: [email protected]
The Honorable Abdülhamit Gül

Minister of Justice
06659 Kizilay
Ankara, Republic of Turkey

Email: [email protected]

 

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SRW TÜRKİYE’DE 2016-2020 YILLARI ARASI AKADEMİK BAŞARI DEĞİŞİM RAPORU

Bu çalışma, 2016 darbe teşebbüsü ile başlayan olağanüstü hâl yönetimi ve KHK’ların Türkiye’deki üniversitelerin başarı değişimini analiz etmeyi amaçlamaktadır.

Türkiye’de 15 Temmuz 2016’da meydana gelen sözde darbe teşebbüsünden sonra çıkan 11 KHK ile toplamda 6,070 akademisyenin 122 devlet kurumundaki işlerine son verildi [1]. Ayrıca 15 vakıf üniversitesinin de tamamen kapatılması ile 2,808 akademisyen daha bu sayıya eklendi [2] ve resmi rakamlara göre; toplamda 8,878 akademisyenin görevlerine son verildi. Türkiye’deki akademisyen sayısı 15 Temmuz öncesi 64,488 olarak görülmektedir ve eğitim sisteminde bir akademisyenin yetişmesi için lisans ve lisansüstü çalışmalar göz önüne alındığında ortalama 12 yıl gibi bir zaman ve emek harcanması gerekmektedir. OECD raporlarına göre ise bir insanın ilköğretimden başlayarak akademisyen olana kadarki harcama miktarı ise ortalama olarak 124,448 Amerikan doları seviyesindedir [3].

Universite Atilan Toplam Akademisyen Sayisi Toplam Akademisyen Sayisi Atilan Oran(%)
Abant Izzet Baysal 78 1333 5.9
Adiyaman 67 862 7.8
Adnan Menderes 54 1726 3.1
Afyon Kocatepe 93 1360 6.8
Akdeniz 115 2492 4.6
Anadolu 68 2188 3.1
Ankara 133 3732 3.6
Atatürk 152 2703 5.6
Balikesir 67 1032 6.5
Bülent Ecevit 71 1287 5.5
Çanakkale 18 Mart 205 1653 12.4
Celal Bayar 140 1651 8.5
Cumhuriyet 56 1858 3
Dicle 172 1935 8.9
Dokuz Eylül 46 3381 1.4
Dumlupınar 168 1239 13.6
Ege 45 3175 1.4
Erciyes 145 2398 6
Erzincan 54 916 5.9
Eskişehir Osmangazi 46 1542 3
Fırat 47 1741 2.7
Gazi 233 3982 5.9
Gaziantep 128 1644 7.8
Gaziosmanpaşa 59 1286 4.6
Gebze Teknik 19 154 12.3
Hacettepe 74 3720 2
Harran 68 1012 6.7
İnönü 58 1672 3.5
İstanbul 192 5445 3.5
İstanbul Teknik 32 2211 1.4
Kafkas 30 890 3.4
Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam 126 1305 9.7
Karabük 50 995 5
Karadeniz Teknik 44 2528 1.7
Kırıkkkale 74 1226 6
Kocaeli 57 2098 2.7
Marmara 102 3201 3.2
Mersin 33 1630 2
Muğla Sıtkı Koçman 38 1523 2.5
Mustafa Kemal 105 1060 9.9
Niüde Ömer Halisdemir 36 891 4
Ondokuz Mayıs 123 2347 5.2
Pamukkale 181 1995 9.1
Sakarya 97 2010 4.8
Selçuk 126 2732 4.6
Süleyman Demirel 271 2303 11.8
Trakya 29 1701 1.7
Uludağ 38 2474 1.5
Yıldız Teknik 114 1754 6.5
Yüzüncü Yıl 73 1705 4.3

Son olarak, sıralamadaki değişimin ihraç oranına bölünmesi ile oluşturulan kişisel başarı endeksi (atılanların akademik başarıya katkı endeksi) hesaplanmıştır. Buradaki amaç, ihraç edilen insanların üniversitelerin başarısına olan etkisini hesaplamaktır. Listenin en başında olan ve de en çok dikkat çeken Ege Üniversitesi’dir. Ege Üniversite’sinde toplam ihraç edilen akademisyen sayısı 45 ve oranı %1.4 olmasına rağmen, bu üniversitenin dünya çapındaki sıralaması 674’ten 913’e gerilemiştir ki, bu da akademik başarının %35 oranında düştüğünü göstermektedir. Ege Üniversitesi’nin söz konusu endeksi 25.33 olarak hesaplanmıştır. Benzer şekilde listenin üçüncü sırasında, İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi’nde toplam ihraç edilen akademisyen sayısı 32 ve oran %1.4 olmasına rağmen bu üniversitenin dünya çapındaki sıralaması ise %19 civarında düşüş göstermiş, endeksi 13.76 olmuştur. Bu endeksin en yüksek olduğu üniversiteler Şekil 4’te verilmiştir.

Daha fazla bilgiye sayfanın üstünde yer alan PDF Link’ine tıklayarak ulaşabilirsiniz….

References

  1. Kural, B., Adal, H. (2018, July). Haber Listesi : Akademide İhraçlar 6 Bin 81’e Yükseldi.
    Retrieved from: http://bianet.org/bianet/ifade-ozgurlugu/198990-akademide-ihraclar-6-bin-81-e-yukseldi
  2. Kural, B., (2016, August). Haber Listesi : Sayılarla Kapatılan Üniversiteler.
    Retrieved from: https://m.bianet.org/bianet/egitim/177442-sayilarla-kapatilan-universiteler
  3. University Ranking by Academic Performance.(n.d.)
    Retrieved from: http://tr.urapcenter.org/2019/index.php
  4. Country Note, (2014). Turkey–Education at a Glance 2014: OECD Indicators.
    Retrieved from: https://www.oecd.org/education/Turkey-EAG2014-Country-Note.pdf
  5. Yuksek Ogretim Bilgi Yonetim Sistemi, (n.d.).
    Retrieved from: https://istatistik.yok.gov.tr/
  6. http://www.webometrics.info/en

 


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GRAVE DECLINE IN ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT BETWEEN 2016-2020 IN TURKEY

This study aims to analyze the impacts of the state of emergency declared after the 2016 coup attempt in Turkey on the academic achievements of the universities.

After the coup attempt on July 15th of 2016 in Turkey, a total of 6,070 academics have been dismissed from 122 state institutions following 11 issued emergency decrees (KHK)[1]. 2,808 academics have been added to this list with the closure of 15 private universities [2]. In total,  8,878 academics have been dismissed from their jobs, corresponding to nearly 15 percent of the number of academics in Turkey. The academics who voluntarily left the country are not included in this number.

Considering graduate and undergraduate studies, an average of 12 years should be spent on being an academic. According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the average amount of expenditure of a person starting from primary education until becoming an academic is approximately 124.448 USD [3]. This means Turkey’s financial loss to be roughly around 1.1 billion USD.

In this study, the impacts on the worldwide success ranking of the universities after the cruelty that occurred in public universities in Turkey are examined. The top 50 universities of Turkey are also amongst the 122 universities from where the academics were dismissed. The total number of dismissed academics from the 50 universities is 4,632. Table 1 and Figure 1 detail the number of dismissed academics on a university basis. Dumlupınar University ranks highest on that list, with its 13.6% of academics having been dismissed by emergency decrees. On average, one in every 7 scientists was dismissed. Figure 2 shows that 20 universities have the highest rate in this regard.

Observing the rate of change in academic ranking on a university basis reveals that the success rankings of these institutions decreased by an average of 18%, despite 5% dismissal rate at the top 50 universities [4]. This is an important indicator showing the contribution of the dismissed academics to the scientific achievements in Turkey. Another issue to consider is that instead of dismissed academics, new academics were recruited between 2016 and 2019, thereby increasing the total number of academics by around 7% [5]. Despite the new recruitments, academic setbacks at such a high level are very thought-provoking. The universities which had significant changes in the academic ranking are identified in Figure 3. Celal Bayar University ranks highest on that list, attracting large attention. It ranked 2,207 in the world university rankings before July 2016; however, its ranking dropped to 4,755 in December of 2019, a dramatic change by 109%. Celal Bayar University is followed by Bülent Ecevit University with a 70% drop rate. Noticeably, 42 of the 50 universities experienced a decrease in the world rankings, whereas only  8 universities’ rankings remained the same.

In conclusion, the personal success index (contribution index of the dismissed to academic success), which is formed by dividing the change in the ranking by the rate of dismissing, was calculated. The aim was to calculate the impact of dismissed academics on the success of universities. At this point, the most notable one is Ege University which is ranked highest on that list. Although the total number of dismissed academics at Ege University was 45 and its rate is 1.4%, the global ranking of this university has decreased from 674 to 913, which indicates that academic success has decreased by 35%. The index of this university was calculated at 25.33. Similarly, in the third place of the list, although the total number of dismissed academics at Istanbul Technical University was 32 and the rate was 1.4%, the world ranking of this university decreased by 19% and its index was 13,76. The universities that have the highest index are stated in Figure 4.

University Number of
dismissed academics
Total number
of academics
Rate of dismissed
academics (%)
Abant Izzet Baysal 78 1333 5.9
Adiyaman 67 862 7.8
Adnan Menderes 54 1726 3.1
Afyon Kocatepe 93 1360 6.8
Akdeniz 115 2492 4.6
Anadolu 68 2188 3.1
Ankara 133 3732 3.6
Atatürk 152 2703 5.6
Balikesir 67 1032 6.5
Bülent Ecevit 71 1287 5.5
Çanakkale 18 Mart 205 1653 12.4
Celal Bayar 140 1651 8.5
Cumhuriyet 56 1858 3
Dicle 172 1935 8.9
Dokuz Eylül 46 3381 1.4
Dumlupınar 168 1239 13.6
Ege 45 3175 1.4
Erciyes 145 2398 6
Erzincan 54 916 5.9
Eskişehir Osmangazi 46 1542 3
Fırat 47 1741 2.7
Gazi 233 3982 5.9
Gaziantep 128 1644 7.8
Gaziosmanpaşa 59 1286 4.6
Gebze Teknik 19 154 12.3
Hacettepe 74 3720 2
Harran 68 1012 6.7
İnönü 58 1672 3.5
İstanbul 192 5445 3.5
İstanbul Teknik 32 2211 1.4
Kafkas 30 890 3.4
Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam 126 1305 9.7
Karabük 50 995 5
Karadeniz Teknik 44 2528 1.7
Kırıkkkale 74 1226 6
Kocaeli 57 2098 2.7
Marmara 102 3201 3.2
Mersin 33 1630 2
Muğla Sıtkı Koçman 38 1523 2.5
Mustafa Kemal 105 1060 9.9
Niüde Ömer Halisdemir 36 891 4
Ondokuz Mayıs 123 2347 5.2
Pamukkale 181 1995 9.1
Sakarya 97 2010 4.8
Selçuk 126 2732 4.6
Süleyman Demirel 271 2303 11.8
Trakya 29 1701 1.7
Uludağ 38 2474 1.5
Yıldız Teknik 114 1754 6.5
Yüzüncü Yıl 73 1705 4.3

 

You can read more from PDF Link….

 

References

  1. Kural, B., Adal, H. (2018, July). Haber Listesi : Akademide İhraçlar 6 Bin 81’e Yükseldi.
    Retrieved from: http://bianet.org/bianet/ifade-ozgurlugu/198990-akademide-ihraclar-6-bin-81-e-yukseldi
  2. Kural, B., (2016, August). Haber Listesi : Sayılarla Kapatılan Üniversiteler.
    Retrieved from: https://m.bianet.org/bianet/egitim/177442-sayilarla-kapatilan-universiteler
  3. University Ranking by Academic Performance.(n.d.)
    Retrieved from: http://tr.urapcenter.org/2019/index.php
  4. Country Note, (2014). Turkey–Education at a Glance 2014: OECD Indicators.
    Retrieved from: https://www.oecd.org/education/Turkey-EAG2014-Country-Note.pdf
  5. Yuksek Ogretim Bilgi Yonetim Sistemi, (n.d.).
    Retrieved from: https://istatistik.yok.gov.tr/
  6. http://www.webometrics.info/en

 


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Women and Children in Prison

Recent reports from the Journalist and Writers Foundation in Turkey and the Stockholm Center for Freedom have estimated the number of women in Turkish prisons is a staggering 17,000 along with over 660 children. Official records indicate that 23 percent of these children are infants less than a year old. Dr. Alan Mendoza, executive director of the Henry Jackson Society (a British foreign policy think tank) said “prison is no place for children in any civilized country”.

These reports have questioned the basis for the detainment and imprisonment of these women, as well as the timing of their arrests, in some cases shortly after giving birth. Many of these women have been held without charges being pressed and without access to legal representation, and in some cases, access to their family.

Reports from within Turkey have shown images of security officials waiting outside hospital rooms for mothers to be discharged in order to detain them and their newborn children. With the critical need of preventing bacteria during a child’s first months, questions about the conditions of the prisons where these women are held with their newborn children have also arisen in numerous media reports. Since “extra food, books, phone calls, trips to the hospital, and bathroom supplies are all added to inmates’ prison bills” some women with poor financial situation cannot afford basic hygienic items such as sanitary pads (which they are not provided).

The prison conditions are not satisfactory for the well being of women, and especially children. They are forced to stay in overcrowded rooms, denied health care, missing fresh air and have to share bed and meal.

Many inmates sleep on the floor. Human Rights Association (IHD) has stated that in Turkey, 1025 prisoners are in poor health, 357 of which are seriously ill. Nonetheless, at a parliamentary hearing, it was revealed that at least five women have suspiciously died at the women’s prison in Kocaeli’s Gebze district .

We wholeheartedly condemn this violation of basic human rights of not only the imprisoned women but also these children who are being subjected to a life behind bars without cause.

Read AST’s report on women and children in prison:
AST_1-28-18_REPORT4_WOMEN’S AND CHILDREN’S RIGHTS ARE UNDER ATTACK IN TURKEY

Download AST’s presentation on women and children in prison:
https://silencedturkey.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/AST_presentation_Persecution-of-women-in-Turkey.pdf

Download AST’s newsletter on women and children in prison:
https://silencedturkey.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/AST_Newsletter2_Womens-Rights-Newsletter.pdf

News and reports on women and children in prison:
http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/TR/2018-03-19_Second_OHCHR_Turkey_Report.pdf
https://silencedturkey.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/AST_Newsletter2_Womens-Rights-Newsletter.pdf
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2018/02/13/hundreds-young-turkish-children-jailed-alongside-their-moms-as-part-post-coup-crackdown.html
http://jwf.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Children-Report-2017-.pdf
http://jwf.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Womens-Rights-Under-Attack.pdf
http://stockholmcf.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Jailing-women-in-Turkey.pdf

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

1. Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau
Email: [email protected]

2. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada, Chrystia Freeland
Email: [email protected]

3. Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship of Canada, Ahmed D. Hussen
Email: [email protected]

4. Foreign Affairs and International Development Committee of Canada, Robert D. Nault
Email: [email protected]

5. Justice and Human Rights Committee of Canada, Anthony Housefather
Email: [email protected]

6. Embassy of Canada to Turkey in Ankara
Email: [email protected]

Download sample statement as a word document:
https://silencedturkey.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/AST_Letter-Women-and-children-in-Prison.docx

 


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Women and Children in Prison

As you are aware, recent reports from the Journalist and Writers Foundation in Turkey and the Stockholm Center for Freedom have estimated the number of women in Turkish prisons is a staggering 17,000 along with over 660 children. Official records indicate that 23 percent of these children are infants less than a year old. Dr. Alan Mendoza, executive director of the Henry Jackson Society (a British foreign policy think tank) said “prison is no place for children in any civilized country”.

These reports have questioned the basis for the detainment and imprisonment of these women, as well as the timing of their arrests, in some cases shortly after giving birth. Many of these women have been held without charges being pressed and without access to legal representation, and in some cases, access to their family.

Reports from within Turkey have shown images of security officials waiting outside hospital rooms for mothers to be discharged in order to detain them and their newborn children. With the critical need of preventing bacteria during a child’s first months, questions about the conditions of the prisons where these women are held with their newborn children have also arisen in numerous media reports. Since “extra food, books, phone calls, trips to the hospital, and bathroom supplies are all added to inmates’ prison bills” some women with poor financial situation cannot afford basic hygienic items such as sanitary pads (which they are not provided).

The prison conditions are not satisfactory for the well being of women, and especially children. They are forced to stay in overcrowded rooms, denied health care, missing fresh air and have to share bed and meal.

Many inmates sleep on the floor. Human Rights Association (IHD) has stated that in Turkey, 1025 prisoners are in poor health, 357 of which are seriously ill. Nonetheless, at a parliamentary hearing, it was revealed that at least five women have suspiciously died at the women’s prison in Kocaeli’s Gebze district .

We wholeheartedly condemn this violation of basic human rights of not only the imprisoned women but also these children who are being subjected to a life behind bars without cause.

Read AST’s report on women and children in prison:
AST_1-28-18_REPORT4_WOMEN’S AND CHILDREN’S RIGHTS ARE UNDER ATTACK IN TURKEY

Download AST’s presentation on women and children in prison:
https://silencedturkey.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/AST_presentation_Persecution-of-women-in-Turkey.pdf

News and reports on women and children in prison:
http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/TR/2018-03-19_Second_OHCHR_Turkey_Report.pdf
https://silencedturkey.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/AST_Newsletter2_Womens-Rights-Newsletter.pdf
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2018/02/13/hundreds-young-turkish-children-jailed-alongside-their-moms-as-part-post-coup-crackdown.html
http://jwf.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Children-Report-2017-.pdf
http://jwf.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Womens-Rights-Under-Attack.pdf
http://stockholmcf.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Jailing-women-in-Turkey.pdf

We urge everyone to take action. Express your views or send attached statement to your Representatives and Senators, and urge them to bring up this concern to the State Department:

U.S. House of Representatives
U.S. Senators
State Representatives
State Senators

Find your members of Congress:
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members
Find your senators:
https://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm?OrderBy=state

Download sample statement as a word document:
AST_Letter-Regarding-Women-and-children-in-Prison

 


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Rights defender Gergerlioğlu gets 2.5 year prison sentence on terror charges

Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, one of Turkey’s most renowned human rights activists and former president of the Association of Human Rights and Solidarity for Oppressed Peoples (Mazlumder), has been handed down a prison sentence of two-and-a-half years on charges of disseminating terrorist propaganda.

The verdict was decided by the Kocaeli 2nd High Criminal Court on Wednesday where Gergerlioğlu was standing trial on charges of involvement in terrorist propaganda.

Gergerlioğlu was tried because of his messages on social media that called for the end of years-long clashes between the Turkish military and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

The court ruled that Gergerlioğlu’s messages on social media were tantamount to praising the activities of the PKK and the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), an umbrella organization that encompasses the PKK.

In a message posted to his personal blog on Wednesday, Gergerlioğlu commented on the court ruling and said throughout his life he has defended human rights, rejected conflict, supported dialogue and reconciliation and defended everyone’s right without discrimination.

“At a time when the law has been shelved, I do not accept this very unjust ruling, and I leave it to the conscience of the nation. I will continue my struggle so that [people of] all identities and views can enjoy human rights and a free life,” he wrote.

Gergerlioğlu also said that at a time when unbelievable acts of tyranny are taking place in the country, he would not lose his hope about the end of this period and continue his efforts to maintain the rule of law.

Gross human rights violations have been taking place in Turkey since a failed coup attempt in July 2016 as the Turkish government has launched a massive witch-hunt to punish its critics under the pretext of an anti-coup fight.

Gergerlioğlu has been a vocal critic of the government’s ongoing crackdown on regular citizens. He frequently brings rights violations experienced by the government’s victims to public attention.

Gergerlioğlu, who is a doctor by profession, was also fired from his job at a public hospital by a government decree in January 2017.

Source:
https://turkeypurge.com/rights-defender-gergerlioglu-gets-2-5-year-prison-sentence-terror-charges

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