Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris

REVUE DE PRESSE~PRESS REVIEW~BERHEVOKA ÇAPÊ~RNISTA STAMPA~DENTRO DE LA PRENSA~BASIN OZETi
July 9,1994
24
Amnesty International
report slams Turkey
Summary of 1993 human rights violations focuses
on torture cases and extrajudicial executions
By Ugur Akmel involved in .separatist activities or
Turkish Daily News defending pro-PKK.and/or pro-
WASHINGTON" Amnesty Kurdish views makevery painful
International' s "Report 1994" reading:
details many of th~ hum.an rights "He .said he ,:"ashung by the
violation cases momtored m Turkey anns, given electnc shock to hIs finby
the int.ernatio~al human rights gers, tongue and penis, an~ had .a
organizatIOn dunng the January- truncheon repeatedly forced mto his
December 1993 period.. anus.
The 352-page report also contains . As a result his anns became parsimilar
violations in 150 other coun- tJally paralyzed ... [She was] given
tries. In this global survey, Amnesty electric shocks, to her fingers and
International says: "Prisoners of nipples; dragged around by hair;
conscience were held in 63 coun- forced to stand on one le~; sexually.
tries' more than 100,000 known assaulted; and'suspended m a CruCIpoliti~al
prisoners were locked .up !n fix position..,"
detention without charge or tnal m The report also relates several
53 countries' more than 112 govern- cases of suspicious disappearances
ments tortu~ed or ill-treated prison- where the body of the victi!TI is
ers; and political killin~s~rthe state fo.und a few days later, sometimes
took place in 61 countnes. with marks of torture.
, Concerning the pressures brought
Record on Turkey: upon thepro-Kurdish daily Ozgur
list of horrors Gundem, Amnesty International
The report's three-and-~-half page said: "Since mid-1992, Il journalsection
on Turkey reads hke a cata- ists and distributors of the newspalog
ofhorrors. ''Torture by police or per have been killed in circumgendarme.s
(~oldiers carrying ~ut stances giving rise to allegations of
police dulles m rural areas) contm- security force involvement." Attacks
ued to be reported from all parts of on DEP deputies also received a
Turkey, p.artlc?larly the major cities prominent treatment in the report,
and the Sdtltb'east. Including murders of such DEP
Detainees ,Suspectedof links with p'.oliticiansas Mehmet Sincar, Metin
illegai"aHned'organizatlons were Ozdemir and Habib Klhç. '
held for up to 30 days in incommu- In probably the most damag-"
nicado detention, unprotected by ing testimony against the Turkish
even the most basic safeguards security forces, Amnesty
against torture." International reports that the follow-
Graphic details of tortures ing case of official overkill in the
endured by different individuals Southeast; "In October, 12 hours
turkish daily news
after an operation iil which one
guerilla and a gendarmerie officer
were killedin Altlnova, Mus
province, a laroer body of gendarmes
returned to the town and
allegedly burned 30 houses, app'arently
selecting in particular families
whose sons and daughters had left to
join the PKK. '
Animals were killed and burned
together with foodstuffs and fodder.
Inflammable material was thrown
into the house of Nasir Ögüt - who
died in the flames to*ether with his
wife and six children. '
In two paragraphs devoted to
PKK murders, Amnesty
Interniitional. says: "PKK. gueril~as ,
wereresponslble for over 200 deltberate
and arbitrary killings. The victims
included children, teachers,
local politicians and other civilians ...
Amnesty International condemned
these grave abuses and in June
(1993) and publicly urged the PKK
to cease executions and other abuses."
Conscientious
objector in TRNC
The Amnesty International report
also includes the case of a conscientious
objector, Sa1ih Askerogul, who
refused to go military service in the
Turkish Republic of Northern
Cyp,rus(TRNC).
I Salih Askerogul was arrested in
September and In November was
sentenced to three months' imprisonment
for failing to enlist for mili- '
tacy service and a further three years
for "making propaganda against the
armed forces after he made a public
statement on his reasons for refusing
to perform military service." Two
foreign nationals who visited TRNC
to monitor Askerogul's trial were
arrested as well.
Amnesty International
demands the immediate release of
Askerogul and the foreign nationals
involved.