KHRP CONDEMNS RECENT RAIDS ON MAZLUM-DER
FOR IMMEDIATE USE – 6th July 1999
Over the weekend of 19th and 20th June 1999, the headquarters and branches
of Mazlum-Der (the Association of Human Rights and Solidarity for the Oppressed
in Turkey) and the homes and offices of its executive members were searched
in a raid by the police. The warrant from the interior ministry had authorised
the search on the basis of the alleged existence of "documents and evidences
indicating that Mazlum-Der works against the Republican regime and the unity
of the country".
Mazlum-Der is an independent human rights organisation
focussing particularly on issues of freedom of religion and conscience. It
was established in 1991 and has 15 branches and 5,000 members throughout Turkey.
Since the National Security Council declared the Islamist movement in Turkey
as the primary enemy, Mazlum-Der and its members have been subjected to continuous
repression and harassment at the hands of the Turkish authorities. Branches
in Sanliurfa in south east Turkey and in Malatya were closed down by the police
in late 1998 and early 1999.
In the most recent raids, the doors of branches were broken down, books, journals
and videos were seized, and members’ telephone numbers were recorded.
Lawyers’ offices were searched in the absence of judicial warrants and
the attendance of a prosecutor, in breach of Turkish law.
The persecution of Mazlum-Der mirrors the treatment of other human rights
organisations within Turkey, including the Human Rights Association of Turkey
(IHD) whose former president, Akin Birdal, began a one year prison sentence
at the beginning of June 1999 for daring to suggest a peaceful solution to
the Kurdish question.
KHRP requests the international community to call Turkey to account for the
recent oppression of Mazlum-Der.
NOTES FOR EDITORS:
The Kurdish Human Rights Project works for the promotion
and protection of human rights within the Kurdish regions of Turkey, Iraq,
Iran, Syria and the former Soviet Union.
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.
Please e-mail KHRP at khrp@khrp.org,
to be placed on our Press Release mailing list.
