PDF LINK 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. This report is based on an interview conducted on behalf of Advocates of Silenced Turkey, via a telephone conversation. The information presented in the interview has been evaluated in accordance with the standards set by the European Convention on Human Rights, the Constitution of The Republic of Turkey, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for Non-custodial Measures (the Tokyo Rules), United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules), and the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-Custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules). These documents have played a critical role in assessing the human rights violations in the case. This report briefly describes the current women’s rights violations in Turkey and aims to provide an overview of the current crisis. Persecuted Lives in Erdogan’s Regime by Sevil Sena Kesgin INTRODUCTION ” Old Turkey no longer exists; this Turkey is new Turkey “ … said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in an outrageous speech. Thus, started the story of the dictatorship and the despotic regime of Turkey. Following the alleged coup attempt of 15th July 2016, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) along with President Erdogan has taken a wave of oppressive actions against many innocent people, especially targeting members of the Gulen Movement. Although Gulen strongly denied any role in the failed coup and has called for an international investigation, President Erdogan and the Turkish Parliament has refused Gulen’s proposal. Instead of launching an investigation regarding the coup attempt and finding proof to support claims, the government decided to use the event as a tool to remove and detain people from all walks of life who oppose the government or simply do not support it. Most of the recent detentions targeted a highly educated segment amongst women’s groups including professionals ranging from academicians, doctors, and teachers to judges and prosecutors. According to Advocates of Silenced Turkey’s report on human rights violations in Turkey, “more than 130,000 people have been dismissed from their jobs. In correlation, more than 217,000 have been detained, 160,000 have been arrested and an unknown number of people have fled from their home country in hopes of finding their freedom” since July of 2016.1 In the aftermath of the government’s propaganda, those labeled as “traitors” have been shown no goodwill by prosecutors and judges who view even pregnant women and homemakers as non-threatening offenders even if they have no prior criminal records. Women have been arrested and tortured over these baseless claims. According to the Turkish Criminal Code, Law No. 5275, Article 16/4 the implementation of Criminal and Security … Continue reading WOMEN’S RIGHTS VIOLATIONS BY THE TURKISH LEGAL SYSTEM