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Briefing Paper: Freedom of Expression in Turkey

Turkey is committed under international law to secure the right to freedom of expression and has instituted numerous reforms in this area in relation to the EU accession process. Yet despite the abundance of new legislation, there remain serious concerns that the law continues to emphasise the protection of the state at the expense of the individual. In recent months the widespread apprehension has proved to be well founded. Publishers, journalists, and satirists continue to be prosecuted and convicted for non-violent expression.

If Turkey is to adequately protect the right to freedom of expression, additional reforms are needed to bring legislation in line with international standards. Furthermore, legal reform must be accompanied with a fundamental shift in the attitudes of the Turkish authorities.

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Kurdish Culture in the UK – Briefing Paper

The Kurdish community in the United Kingdom provides a rich fabric of cultural expression and talent from which the rest of society can benefit. A number of significant Kurdish cultural projects have been located in the UK, and Kurds have received a degree of acceptance in mainstream culture. This briefing paper highlights measures that could support such intergration, including the need for accurate ethnic monitoring, the encourage of Kurdish language education by education institutions and by parents, by according political rights to refugees, and by developing relationships between the Kurdish community and bodies such as the new Commission for Equality and Human Rights. The paper was presented at a Council of Europe Hearing on Kurdish Culture in January 2006.

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Briefing Paper - Implementation Gaps in Turkey's Domestic Law

Entry to the European Union is predicated on the state achieving the political elements of the Copenhagen Criteria. Turkey 's domestic law, in its pre-accession state, fell short of these requirements and of its obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights. In order to meet the criteria, the Turkish Government began in 2001, a program of legislative reforms designed to harmonize its domestic legislation with the Copenhagen Criteria and set out her progress to Accession.

At the heart of these reforms was a major overhaul of the Turkish Constitution, accompanied by seven packages of legislative reforms amending a number of pieces of legislation including major redrafts of the Turkish Civil and Penal code. These amendments were intended to liberalise the Turkish legal system, advance fundamental rights and freedoms and end years of states restrictions in a number of key areas such as torture and the freedom of expression; to address the security situation in the Southeast of Turkey and to promote the ideals of democracy and the rule of law.

KHRP believes that Turkey 's membership of the EU offers the only real and stable viable option for resolution of the Kurdish question. However, it is essential to closely monitor Turkey 's progress on both legislative reform and its practical implementation.

Since the opening of official EU Accession negotiations in October 2005, KHRP is concerned that a sense of complacency has pervaded the Turkish government's attitude towards full implementation of the reforms. This concern seems to be echoed at the European level. The European Parliament's draft report on Turkey 's progress towards accession released in June 2006 has criticised the pace of change in Turkey , deploring the limited progress on fundamental rights and freedoms, and has stated that there is an urgent need to implement the legislation already in force.

This briefing paper lays out a number of key areas that Turkey must still address if it is to meet with its international human rights obligations. Without pressure from the international community on Turkey to keep the promises it has made, the harmonization packages could become nothing more than Turkey paying ‘lip service to EU bureaucrats', and the human rights situation in the country will remain fundamentally unchanged.

Publication available for free from khrp@khrp.org or +44 (0) 207 405 3835, or by downloading below.

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Turkey's Accession to the EU: Democracy, Human Rights and the Kurds

This publication, presented at the 2nd annual EUTCC conference on Turkey , the Kurds and the EU in September 2005, discusses the background to Turkey 's accession to the EU. It evaluates the likely impact of EU membership on the democratisation process within Turkey and its likely benefits for human rights and fundamental freedoms and for Turkey 's Kurdish population. The publication goes on to assess the reforms that have been enacted thus far as part of the accession process, particularly the amendments that have been made to the Turkish Penal Code. Whilst acknowledging that great strides have been made, it ultimately concludes that a lot of work remains to be done on the part of the Turkish administration if the accession process is to fulfil the promise that it has engendered.

ISBN 19001750991

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Torture in Turkey : The Current Status of Torture and Ill-treatment

Turkey has signed numerous treaties agreeing not to subject its population to torture or ill-treatment and to actively prevent it occurring. The Constitution of Turkey forbids it. Yet despite these commitments the practice of torture and ill-treatment persists.

Whilst the legal reforms of the last few years have been positive, torture in Turkey remains serious and systematic. Potentially retrogressive steps in Turkey's reform process require immediate attention, and further effort is needed to bring about widespread and effective change on the ground. ‘Zero tolerance' must correspond to 100 per cent accountability, and if Turkey is serious about ending torture, it must ensure that potential victims are protected and perpetrators are answerable to the courts.

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Suppressing Academic Debate: The Turkish Penal Code - Trial Observation Report

KHRP sent a trial observation mission to Turkey in February 2006 to observe the trails of Professor Baskin Oran and Professor Ibrahim Özden Kaboglu, members of the Human Rights Advisory Board of the Prime Ministry. These two individuals were charged under articles 301 and 216 of the revised Turkish Penal Code, following the release of a report which argued that "Turk" is an identity of only one ethnic group and that Turkey also includes other ethnic groups such as "Kurds" or "Arabs", a statement considered to be sufficient "denigration" of the state to warrant criminal proceedings. The report concludes that despite the amendments that have been enacted, the Turkish Penal Code continues to exert a "chilling effect" on free expression in Turkey.

ISBN 1900175975


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Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Oil Pipeline – Fact-Finding Mission to Georgia : Human Rights, Social and Enviro

This report presents the findings of an international fact-finding mission to Georgia to investigate the impacts of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline project. The mission, comprising representatives of several human rights and environmental organisations, visited towns and villages in the Tetritskaro, Borjomi and Akhaltsikhe districts, holding interviews with villagers and others affected by the project. It returned to several villages visited during earlier missions to examine developments and progress on problems encountered previously. The report highlights multiple concerns with the pipeline scheme, including expropriation of land, failure to implement acceptable environmental standards, lack of consultation, uncompensated ancillary damage, labour violations and unacceptable use of untested materials during construction.

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Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Oil Pipeline – Fact-Finding Mission to Turkey : Human Rights, Social and Environ

This report constitutes the findings of an international fact-finding mission that conducted interviews in towns and villages in the Ardahan region, north-east Turkey , in September 2005 to investigate the impacts of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline project. The mission, comprising representatives of several human rights and environmental organisations, documents concerns raised by people affected by the pipeline, experts, pipeline workers, NGOs and the project's own monitoring reports. These matters relate to human rights abuses, expropriation of land, damage to land and property, lack of compensation, discrimination in community investment programmes, labour violations and repression of freedom of speech against people who have criticised the project.

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Taking Cases to the European Court of Human Rights: A Manual

Intended to inform practitioners and interested individuals on the practical usage of the Strasbourg mechanisms, KHRP has published an update to its manual, Taking Cases to the European Court of Human Rights. Written by Kerim Yildiz, Executive Director, and Lucy Claridge, Legal Officer, the manual provides commentaries on the practice and procedure of the European Court, in addition to key texts such as the European Convention, the Court's application form and details of the legal aid available from the Court. It also now includes updated sections on admissibility rules, just satisfaction claims and enforcing judgments, together with information regarding the changes to be introduced by Protocol 14.

The manual has been distributed to human rights lawyers and individuals at KHRP's training sessions in Turkey and the Caucasus in order to aid them in utilising the European Court of Human Rights to improve respect for human rights on the ground. Updates in Turkish and Russian languages will be available shortly.

Publication available for 10 GBP from khrp@khrp.org or +44 (0) 207 405 3835, or by downloading below:

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The Status of Internally Displaced Kurds in Turkey : Return and Compensation Rights – An Update

KHRP recently returned from Turkey where it gathered evidence on the situation and status of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Turkey. The mission was carried out by KHRP Legal Officer, Lucy Claridge and Legal Team member, barrister Catriona Vine to investigate state policy and practise regarding measures to provide redress to persons displaced during the armed conflict in east and south-east Turkey in the 1980s and 1990s. The mission discovered severe failings in the legislative mechanisms designed to deal fairly with IDPs and their claims for compensation. Without essential reforms to ameliorate the legal provisions available to displaced persons, this already marginalised group may never receive a just solution to their plight.

Publication available for 10 GBP from khrp@khrp.org or +44 (0) 207 405 3835, ISBN 1 905592 05 1 or by downloading below:

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