THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AGREES TO INVESTIGATE THREE FURTHER KURDISH CASES AGAINST THE STATE OF TURKEY.
Press Release (Cases Update): 5 January 1996
The European Commission has agreed to investigate three more cases alleging
Human Rights violation s against Turkey.
The cases concern allegations of:
the extra judicial killing of Dr. Zeki TANRIKULU (Application
no.23763/94), Head consultant at Silvan District State Hospital on 2 sept.¹
the 'disappearance' of Ramazan and Cemile SARLI (Application No. 24490/94) who were taken by gendarme from their home during the night of 25 December 1993.²
This decision to further investigate these allegations represents a significant step towards promoting accountability by the State of Turkey. The Commission may now decide to take oral evidence from applicants, witnesses and relevant government officials in relation to these cases.
The individual applicants were assisted in taking their grievances to Strasbourg by the Human Rights Association of Turkey and the Kurdish Human Rights Project.
1 The Special Rapporteur for Extra-judicial, Summary of Arbitrary Executions, notes in his report for 1995, "for more than two years the Special Rapporteur has found himself in a position where numerous allegations form a variety of credible sources and the replies provided by the Government which invariably states that the killings are not of an extra-judicial, summary of arbitrary nature, contradict each other" (E/CN.4/1995/61, para.315).
2
The working Group on Disappearances, Report 1994 state
that 74 new cases have been transmitted to the Government of Turkey, which
represented a significant increase - almost half of all cases brought against
Turkey - since 199. (E/CN.4/1995/36.p74)
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For further information please contact: Kerim Yildiz, Executive Director / Fiona McKay, Deputy Director / Sally Eberhardt, Public Relations Officer Kurdish Human Rights Project on the address below.
