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Refusing Refuge: Investigating the Treatment of Refugees in Turkey

Refusing Refuge: Investigating the Treatment of Refugees in Turkey

 

In July 2006, Kurdish Human Rights Project carried out a fact-finding mission to Van and Ankara in Turkey. It discovered worrying trends concerning the situation of refugees and asylum seekers. KHRP is concerned about the welfare of these marginalised and vulnerable people. Of particular concern are twelve hundred Iranian citizens of Kurdish origin currently stranded in Turkey with no access to social provisions or the option of resettlement in a third country.

The mission established serious shortcomings in the legal framework in place to address the problems faced by refugees. If Turkey is to institute the necessary mechanisms to remedy the situation of refugees, the mission recommends a series of reforms which conform to international standards.

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

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The Internally Displaced Kurds of Turkey: Ongoing issues of Responsibility, Redress and Resettlement

The Internally Displaced Kurds of Turkey: Ongoing issues of Responsibility, Redress and Resettlement

by Mark Muller and Sharon Linzey

Since early in the 20th century, the position of the Kurds in Turkey has been precarious.  This was particularly so during the 1980s and 1990s when state security forces forcibly evacuated some 3,500 towns and villages in the Kurdish regions of Turkey.  Between 3 and 4 million people became internally displaced during this period. 

Since becoming a candidate for accession to the European Union (EU) in 1999, Turkey has received a greater level of attention from the international community, particularly in relation to its progress towards meeting the standards required for EU membership, including various human rights standards. However, comparatively little attention has been given to the specific issue of the vast number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Turkey. The Turkish Government has purported to resolve the situation of internally displaced people in Turkey through monetary compensation arrangements and limited programmes for return. These measures have been plagued with legal and practical deficiencies, yet there has been no intergovernmental financial or other support structure designated to assist Turkey in better addressing this massive humanitarian catastrophe.

This report provides an overview and critique of the Turkish Government’s programmes for return, resettlement and redress.  It also addresses the issue of responsibility, both in the context of the EU and the international community more generally.  It further provides a survey of the current and continuing difficulties facing IDPs in Turkey.  The issue of internal displacement remains a critical one for the Kurds in south-east Turkey, the Turkish state, the European Union and the region overall. This report and its recommendations will be essential to all those working for significant change to the benefit of IDPs.

ISBN 978-1-905592-12-8

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Legal Review 12

This is the latest issue of KHRP’s biannual Legal Review, the only existing legal journal covering significant legislative and policy developments in the Kurdish regions of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Syria and the Caucuses.

This edition covers the period from May to December 2007. The Review features news and updates from the Kurdish regions, and summaries and analysis of the most significant decisions of the ECtHR, ECJ, ICJ, UN and UK Courts. Uniquely, the journal covers new cases that have not yet reached any judicial decision, but nonetheless provide invaluable updates of the most recent allegations of human rights violations to be submitted to international courts and mechanisms. Articles in this issue address the murder of Hrant Dink, the Kurdish conflict in international law, media freedom in Turkey, human rights indicators and Islamic headscarves in European case law.

The journal is essential reading for anyone interested in monitoring legal developments in Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Syria and the Caucuses.

Available by free download at this site. Hard copies are £10.00 + P&P and available from our online shop. 

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An Ongoing Practice: Torture in Turkey

This new report, which is an update of KHRP’s 2004 book Torture in Turkey: The Ongoing Practice of Torture and Ill-Treatment, addresses the continuing practice throughout Turkey of the torture and ill-treatment of detainees in light of the reforms of the early 2000s.

Over the years, the international community has condemned the practice of torture in Turkey, and while the government has made significant progress toward reform, inadequate implementation, legislative loop-holes and a surviving mentality conducive to the practice, see the torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of detainees persist as systematic.

In light of reform having slowed, the report looks at the approach of the EU and other countries pressing for Turkish accession and the influence of geo-political strategic concerns that see a ‘margin of latitude’ afforded to Turkey in meeting the objective criteria for accession. Assessing the impact of the reforms carried out in the early 2000s, this report identifies firstly a shift from flagrant to more subtle forms of ill-treatment, leaving few traces or long-term physical signs, as well as an increase in incidences of ill-treatment outside official detention centers, betraying progress reflected by official figures, and secondly an increasingly ‘two tier’ criminal justice system, with increased procedural and custodial safeguards for those detained for ‘regular’ offences and the simultaneous erosion of custodial safeguards for those held under anti-terror legislation.

ISBN 978-1-905592-10-4

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Third International Conference on the EU, Turkey and the Kurds

This report covers the key proceedings of the Third Annual EU-Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC) Conference, which was held on 16-17 October 2006 at the European Parliament in Brussels. Themed Time for Justice, Dialogue and Solution, the event was hosted by the founders of the EUTCC, namely the Bar Human Rights Committee (UK); the Kurdish Human Rights Project (UK); medico international (Germany); and the Rafto Foundation (Norway), and was supported by members of the European Parliament. The 2006 Conference focused on implementing a solution to the Kurdish Problem—the most difficult issue for Turkey in its bid to develop democracy. The Conference also focused on the need for fundamental changes to the judiciary; on the situation of internally displaced people; on continued violations of human rights; and on suggestions for compliance with the Copenhagen Criteria, specifically the obligation to respect and promote the rights of minority groups. The Conference concluded with the adoption of new resolutions.

This publication attempts to shed light on particular areas of concern for a successful accession process by bringing together the leading speeches and papers of the 2006 Conference, including its Final Resolutions.

The EUTCC was established in November 2004 as the outcome of the first international Conference on ‘The EU, Turkey and the Kurds’ held in the European Parliament in Brussels on 22-23 November 2004. The EUTCC aims to both promote and provide suggestions for Turkey’s bid for EU accession, and to help guarantee respect for human and minority rights and a peaceful, democratic and long-term solution to the Kurdish situation. The EUTCC monitors and conducts regular audits of Turkey’s compliance with the accession criteria, as defined in the accession agreements. It also makes recommendations, acts as a point of contact, and exchanges information, with the institutions of the EU and other governmental and non-governmental organizations.

ISBN: 9781905592159 

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Reform and Regression: Freedom of the Media in Turkey

In July 2007, the Kurdish Human Rights Project (KHRP) carried out a joint fact-finding mission to Turkey to investigate the current situation for freedom of the media.  The mission was co-organised with Article 19, Index on Censorship, the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (BHRC) and the Centre for European Studies, Limerick, Ireland in response to reports of rapidly increasing violations of the right to freedom of expression. 

The mission found that today’s retrogressive legislation, rising harassment on the ground and the increased powers that have been conferred to the police, have led many to regard the situation for freedom of the media to have become reminiscent of the ‘dark years’.  The report thus provides a background to the 1980s and 1990s and the backdrop against which media freedom has substantially deteriorated since the reforms of 2003 to 2004.  It looks at Turkey’s legal obligations with respect to the international human rights instruments to which it is State Party; outlines recent amendments to its domestic legislation; and highlights the frequent accounts of violations of the right to freedom of expression experienced increasingly by the opposition, mainly pro-Kurdish media.

 

ISBN: 9781905592142

Available by free download at this site. Hard copies are £10.00 + P&P and available from our online shop. 

 

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Freedom of the Media in Turkey and the Killing of Hrant Dink

This trial observation report illustrates how the failure of the State to safeguard the right to freedom of expression and the media led to the death of one of Turkey’s most prominent journalists, Hrant Dink.

In July 2007 KHRP organised a joint mission with BHRC, Index on Censorship and Article 19 to observe the opening of the trial of Dink’s alleged assassins. This report attempts to outline the background to the killing of Hrant Dink and examines the indictment against the alleged perpetrators as well as claims of State complicity in the murder.

The mission noted, inter alia, that the proceedings raised numerous concerns with regard to substantive issues, namely the scope of the investigation and the possible participation of the police, gendarmerie and intelligence services as evidence suggests that these were aware of the assassination plot and failed to take any action. More broadly however, the report highlights the restrictive legislation which encroaches on the right to free speech and provides support for the argument that ‘301 killed Hrant Dink’.

ISBN 978-1-905592-11-1

Available by free download at this site. Hard copies are £10.00 + P&P and available from our online shop. 

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Publishers on Trial: Freedom of Expression in Turkey in the context of EU Accession

KHRP sent a trial observation mission to Turkey in February 2007 to observe the trial of Publisher Songül Özkan. Özkan faces charges relating to the former Turkish Penal Code for ‘openly inciting people to hatred' by publishing the book Kürt Isyanlari (Kurdish Uprisings), written by Kurdish journalist and author Ahmet Kahraman. The report concludes that the initiation of the trial is illustrative of the generally repressive atmosphere which publishers are currently facing in Turkey , and that the right to freedom of expression, despite recent amendments to relevant Turkish legislation, is not yet guaranteed in Turkey .

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

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KHRP Legal Review 11 (2007)

This is the only existing legal journal covering significant legislative and policy developments in the Kurdish regions of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Syria and elsewhere. Published biannually, this edition covers the period from January to June 2007, including summaries and analysis of the most significant decisions of the ECtHR.

Uniquely, this journal covers new cases that have not yet reached any judicial decision, but nonetheless provide invaluable updates of the most recent allegations of human rights violations to be submitted to international courts and mechanisms.

This edition features news and updates on all the Kurdish regions, as well as newly communicated cases and admissibility decisions and judgments of the ECtHR and the UN. The journal is essential reading for anyone interested in monitoring legal developments in Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

ISSN 1748-0639 £8.00+ £2.00 (P+P) or available

Available for £8.00 by contacting khrp@khrp.org or by downloading here

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State Accountability? The Şemdinli Trial Re-Hearing

On 11 July 2007 KHRP sent a mission to observe the opening of the Şemdinli bombing trial re-hearing at Van 3^rd Heavy Penal Court.

The November 2005 bombing of the Kurdish-owned Umut bookstore in the town of Şemdinli in south-east Turkey killed one man and injured two others. The incident sent shock waves throughout Turkey and internationally because the three individuals accused of planting the explosives were apprehended by a crowd of civilians at the scene. Two of the men were non-commissioned army officers, raising the spectre of ‘deep state’ involvement in the attacks. The trial of the two officers, Ali Kaya and Özcan İldeniz, began in May 2006 and was observed reported by KHRP in 2006’s Promoting Conflict – The Şemdinli Bombing. On 19 June 2006 both men were sentenced to 39 years imprisonment each for “forming a criminal organisation, killing people, attempting to kill people and causing injury”. However, on 16 May 2007 the Court of Appeal overturned the verdict, ordering the case to be re-heard.

In State Accountability?The Şemdinli Trial Re-Hearing, the mission who observed the re-hearing on 11 July 2007 upholds the concerns of the 2006 mission. Indeed, in light of the events surrounding the ruling of the Court of Appeal and the subsequent handing over of military jurisdiction, concerns regarding State impunity the independence of the judiciary have been greatly amplified.

ISBN 978-1-905592-13-5

Available by free download at this site. Hard copies are £10.00 + P&P and available from our online shop. 

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