PRESIDENT OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS ASSOCIATION OF TURKEY UNDER ARREST
Press Release: 3 September 1996
Akin Birdal, Chairman of the Human Rights Association of Turkey, and Ihsan
Arslan, Vice-Chairman of the Muslim Association were arrested in their homes
at 22:30 on Monday the 2nd of September. The arrests were authorised by the
Ankara Attorney General after Mr Birdal and Mr Arslan were allegedly sighted
standing under PKK (Kurdish Workers Party) and ERNK flags with PKK officials
during a visit to Northern Iraq.
Mr Birdal was initially approached at his home by men in plain clothes. He refused to open the door to them and alerted some of his colleagues from the Human Rights Association. Shortly afterwards, Nuh Mete Yuksel, the State Security Prosecutor arrived with a search warrant and a warrant for Mr Bridal's arrest.
During the search documents pertaining to human rights work and to the human rights association were seized, but nothing of a criminal nature was recovered. Controversy surrounds the event as Mr Birdal has not committed an offence in Turkey, and night time searches are banned under Turkish law.
An official of the Human Rights Association of Turkey
said that these actions aimed at "silencing and blocking those who defend
human rights" , but reiterated that war was not the only solution to
the Kurdish problem and that they along with others were willing to continue
to pay a heavy price for peace.
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.
