EUROPEAN COMMISSION FINDS TURKEY VIOLATED RIGHTS OF KURDS; TWO MORE CASES REFERRED TO COURT
Press Release (Cases Update): 10 May 1996
The European Commission of Human Rights (ECHR) has released two reports on
applications, finding Turkey in breach of the European Convention of Human
Rights in both cases. The Commission has referred both of these cases to the
European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
The first of these cases, Azize MENTES and others v. Turkey (23186/94), involves the allegations on the part of the four women that Turkish soldiers burned their homes on 25 June 1993. The women were from Riz in Genc District of Bingol Province; when their homes were destroyed, they moved to Diyarbakir with their families. The Commission stated in its report that it found generally the oral testimony of the applicants Òmore consistent, more credible and more convincingÓ than that of the witnesses for the Turkish government. With regard to the destruction of their homes, the Commission found that the Turkish government had violated Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights, which assures the right to respect for family life. The Commission also cited Turkey as being in violation of Article 3, which protects from torture and inhuman or degrading treatment. The report cites Òdeliberate destruction (of the houses) in utter disregard of the safety and welfare of the applicants and their children who were left without shelter and assistanceÓ, and finds Turkey in violation of Article 3. In considering the question of violation of Article 6.1 and Article 13, which call for effective domestic remedies, the Commission found that Turkey's decision not to pursue the cases of these women in the domestic legal system Òfundamentally flawedÓ. (Four women made the application; one did not testify at the hearings and the Commission found with no further information, it did not have the basis to reach a conclusion that rights were violated.)
The second application, Sukran AYDIN v. Turkey (23178/94), involves the applicant's allegations of rape while in custody. Ms. Aydin is a resident of Derik, Mardin and was born in 1976. On 29 June 1993, Turkish authorities forced her and members of her family from their home, and subsequently took them to Derik Gendarme Station. There, they were beaten, placed in tyres and spun about, and sprayed with high pressure cold water. Later, a man wearing a Turkish military uniform raped Ms. Aydin in front of her sister-in-law. The Commission found the Turkish government in violation of Article 3, citing that it considered her treatment while in custody to be so severe as to be torture. The Commission cites the Òincompatibility (of rape) with the fundamental notions of human dignity and human freedomÓ. Rape, it says Òmust be characterised as particularly cruel and involving acute physical and psychological sufferingÓ, which is Òaggravated when committed by a person in authority over the victimÓ. The Commission further found the Turkish government had violated Article 6.1, the right to fair hearings by the judicial system, when it failed to pursue her case. Importantly, the Commission also found that Turkey had intimidated the applicants, violating Article 25.1, the right of individual petition to the Commission when rights are violated. The Commission cited instances of harassment of Ms. Aydin and her family in its findings. It noted that the Turkish government did not deny having called in her father, but called their explanations of those meetings Òunconvincing, even spuriousÓ. It concluded that the Turkish government's actions toward the Aydin family represented Òsignificant pressure....which threaten(ed) to impinge on their continued participation in the proceedings before the CommissionÓ.
The European Court of Human Rights will now schedule hearings on the two cases, which will be held in Strasbourg. The Court heard two KHRP cases at the end of April: one of these cases involved torture while in detention and the second involved the destruction of a village. All of these cases underline continuing human rights problems in Turkey. Cases involving village destruction highlight the problem of the forced eviction of an estimated three million people from south-east Turkey. Torture cases bring to the forefront the problem of systematic torture in Turkey.
Individual applicants are assisted in taking grievances to Strasbourg by KHRP and the Human Rights Association of Turkey. These cases are part of a series of cases which have been pursued in order to promote accountability and the rule of law in Turkey. To date, 54 KHRP cases have been declared Admissible by the European Commission. Over 400 individuals have been helped with cases before the ECHR by the Project.
To help in the effort to promote accountability and the rule of law in Turkey, KHRP urges you to raise the issue of these cases and the continuing violations of human rights in relevant meetings and with relevant governments, international organisations and intergovernmental organisations.
Please e-mail KHRP at khrp@khrp.org, to be placed on our Press Release mailing list.
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.
