Category: World

Turkey Tribunal held in Geneva concluded on Friday, 24 September 2021. The Tribunal which consisted of panel of five judges, three of them former judges at the European Court of Human Rights, listened to the testimonies of academics, lawyers, judges, teachers, journalists who were victims of human rights abuses in Turkey. The judges also heard the testimonies of the rapporteurs like Johan Vande Lanotte, Luca Perilli, Philippe Leruth, Yves Haeck, Emre Turkut, Johan Heymans and Eric Sottas who reported a number of crimes against humanity committed by the Erdogan regime, focusing specifically on the period since the failed coup attempt on 15 July 2016.

The Tribunal, although not a legally binding body, was organised to raise awareness in the international community and perhaps to take the matter to the Hague where the Erdogan regime can be tried for crimes against humanity. After listening to the testimonies of witnesses for four consecutive days, the judges delivered their verdict with a long statement confirming a series of human rights abuses which included abduction, torture, unlawful detention, prevention of basic rights such as legal representation, food, water, medicine, and sleep. The verdict also included that the current judicial system of Turkey was not independent and there was no freedom of media. The presiding judges were in the view that there is systematic torture, abduction, unlawful detention, and human rights abuses in Turkey, mostly against the members of the Gulen Movement and the Kurdish people.

Some of the testimonies included stories of horrific tortures. Mustafa Özben, a lawyer and an academic testified that in May 2017, after dropping his little girl off to her school, he was abducted by four men who pushed him into a black van, possibly a transporter, then placed a bag over his head and drove to an unknown location in Ankara. He was detained for 92 days in a facility where he was subjected to systematic torture which included electroshock, continuous beating, threatened with a sex object. Özben explained that his abductors were either the antiterror unit (TEM) or the intelligence service (MIT) who forced him to sign some documents and accept that he belonged to a terrorist organisation.

Another witness, Tülay Açıkkollu testified that her husband Gökhan Açıkkollu was taken from their home, severely beaten as he was place into to the police vehicle and denied legal representation. Gökhan Açıkkollu, a teacher at the time, died in custody when he was given access to essential medicines for his critical health condition.

Mehmet Alp, a teacher in a government school was abducted by the MIT (intellegence service), threatened with a gun and forced to sign documents incriminating him of encouraging his students to join the PKK (a terrorist organisation). When he refused to sign, his house was raided and his wife was also arrested while his one year-old son was left unattended in the house.

Erhan Doğan, another teacher, was arrested by TEM (antiterror unit) nine days after the fail coup and systematically tortured. He testified that he was hanged on what he describes as Palestine Hanger (Strappado) for 2 hours. Doğan almost burst into tears when he explained that he saw three women taken into the next room to be torured. They were screaming and begging their captors not to rape them, he said. He continued by stating that he thought of committing suicide when they threatened him with his wife, claiming that they would bring his wife and do the same thing to her in front of their children.

During the tribunal there were other testimonies by judges, lawyers, human rights activists and a Kurdish politician who testified about the atrocities committed on Kurdish citizens in Cizre.

The Tribunal however, mainly focused on the postcoup purge which saw the investigation of 600,000 people and arrests of more than 100,000 people who had no connection to the coup. Over four thousand judges and prosecutors were expelled straight after the failed coup attempt and 2,286 were arrested. Süleyman Bozoğlu, who served as a judge for fifteen years, was arrested six days after the coup. During the Turkey Tribunal, he testified that the list of thousands of judges who would be expelled or arrested was in the hands of the authorities a day before coup attempt.

Eren Keskin, a layer and human rights activist, also testified to women being sexually abused or raped during custody and explained that she was also given a prison term for being a member of a terrorist organisation. She added that she had appealed the verdict and was waiting for the higher court’s decision.

Unfortunately, the stories of many other victims of torture, abduction, and unlawful detention, could not be heard during the four-day tribunal.Historical evidence indicates that the human rights record of Turkey has never been perfect. There were periods in which significant improvement was achieved and other times, like to 1980 military coup when crimes against humanity had intensified. During the early days of Erdoğan administration which endeavoured to establish social justice, improve democracy, and make the necessary adjustments to join the EU, Turkey showed signs of significant improvement in its justice system, democracy, economy, education, and other areas. Unfortunately, following the 17/25 December 2013 corruption investigation which produced evidence that suggested the involvement of AKP Ministers, Erdoğan’s son Bilal and other senior government officials, everything took a drastic turn where the laws of the Constitutional Court of Turkey were violated by the AKP government. Members of the police force and the prosecutors who initiated the investigation were expelled and later arrested. Pro-government prosecutors and judges were assigned to the case and the investigated was gradually abandoned and all suspects were released.

Erdoğan was quick to announce that the investigation was an attempt to overthrow his government and blamed the Gülen movement arguing that the allegations were fabricated, and the audio recordings of bribery and corruption were fake. He then commenced a campaign targeting the members of the Gülen movement. The campaign continued through the mainstream media, largely controlled by the government until the July 15 failed coup

when situations worsened, and the members of the Gulen Movement were systematically dehumanised via the media. Erdoğan pointed to the Gülen movement on the night of the coup, quickly blaming them for the attempt when no one had any idea of who was behind the coup. He dubbed the coup attempt as “a gift from God” as it gave him the opportunity to commence a major purge of people whose names were already listed long before July 15.

A state of emergency was announced and a power to pass legislations that allowed the government to commit crimes against humanity were given to Erdoğan. New laws (KHK) also alllowed the persecution of more than 600,000 people. Over 100,000 were arrested and 41.326 were sent to prisons. Arrests, detentions, abductions, tortures and unlawful imprisonments contiue today.

The judges of the Turkey Tribunal confirmed that crimes against humanity have been committed by the Erdoğan regime and continues to do so today. Experts in Turkish politics also assert that human rights violations have never been committed this openly before. In the past, officials would try their best to conceal crimes against humanity such as abduction, torture, and unlawful detention, but today they are advertising it with an objective to put fear into people. Almost, anyone who opposes the Erdoğan regime is accused of terrorism, and this gives the officials to do as they wish with them.

As mentioned above, human rights violations against minorities such as the Kurds, Alawies, Armenians, Greeks, faith groups, socialists and nationalists have been committed in various periods of Turkish history but never to the extent they were done so openly by the Erdoğan regime.

The Turkey Tribunal was a significant step towards taking further legal action. Perhaps the next step is an application to the Hague, where Erdoğan can be tried for crimes against humanity.

A  Turkish court on Thursday handed down prison sentences to a former university rector and a former vice rector on charges of membership in a terrorist organization due to their alleged links to the faith-based Gülen movement, Turkish Minute reported.

Former rector of the Diyarbakır-based Dicle University, Prof. Dr. Ayşegül Jale Saraç, and former vice rector Prof. Dr. Aytekin Sır were sentenced to six years, three months in prison each by the Diyarbakır 4th High Criminal Court for their alleged links to the Gülen movement.

Former vice rectors Prof. Dr. Sabri Eyigün and Prof. Dr. Aslan Bilici, who attended the hearing via IT Voice and Image System (SEGBİS), were acquitted of the same charges.

In her defense Saraç argued that there was no concrete evidence against her proving her membership in a terrorist organization.

“Those who testified against me are the people who ran against me in the rectorship election or who supported my rivals. Therefore, they may have testified due to a grudge against me,” she said.

The court, however, did not take her defense into consideration in its ruling.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been targeting followers of the Gülen movement, a faith-based group inspired by Turkish cleric Fethullah Gülen, since the corruption investigations of December 17-25, 2013, which implicated then-Prime Minister Erdoğan, his family members and his inner circle.

Dismissing the investigations as a Gülenist coup and conspiracy against his government, Erdoğan designated the movement as a terrorist organization and began to target its members. He locked up thousands including many prosecutors, judges and police officers involved in the investigation as well as journalists who reported on them.

Erdoğan intensified the crackdown on the movement following a coup attempt in July 2016 that he accused Gülen of masterminding. Gülen and the movement strongly deny involvement in the abortive putsch or any terrorist activity.

German police on Sept. 17 raided a hotel in Düsseldorf and detained a 40-year-old Turkish man with a gas pistol and a large amount of ammunition in addition to a list of followers of the Gülen movement, the Der Spiegel news website reported on Friday.

German law enforcement searched the niu Tab Hotel in Oberbilk for hours. The surrounding streets were cordoned off, and 550 guests had to vacate the hotel due to the operation.

The list of names of Gülen movement followers seized also included additional information on each person. The people on the list were possibly warned last weekend by the German police, according to Der Spiegel.

The Turkish government accuses the Gülen movement of masterminding a failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016 and labels it a “terrorist organization,” although the movement strongly denies involvement in the coup attempt or any terrorist activity.

The investigators are now looking into the question of whether this was a target list for planned attacks or for spying operations. Investigators are also concerned about the ammunition because it couldn’t be used in the weapon found on the suspect.

The investigators hope to learn more from chat messages that were seized from the suspect. In addition, a financial investigation will also be launched.

The Düsseldorf public prosecutor announced on Thursday that his office was now investigating the man on suspicion of criminal activity and violating the weapons law.

In July a pro-government social media account named “Jitemkurt” published a list of Turkish journalists living in Europe and North America whom they plan to assassinate.

The account published the names of 21 journalists resident in various countries and threatened to kill them. The name of the social media account refers to a group linked to the notorious gendarmerie intelligence unit JITEM.

Later, another hit list emerged that included the names of 55 critics of the Turkish government who live in exile. Politicians and artists are included on the new list in addition to journalists.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been targeting followers of the Gülen movement, a faith-based group inspired by Turkish cleric Fethullah Gülen, since the corruption investigations of December 17-25, 2013, which implicated then-Prime Minister Erdoğan, his family members and his inner circle.

Dismissing the investigations as a Gülenist coup and conspiracy against his government, Erdoğan designated the movement as a terrorist organization and began to target its members. He locked up thousands including many prosecutors, judges and police officers involved in the investigation as well as journalists who reported on them.

Erdoğan intensified the crackdown on the movement following a coup attempt in 2016.

In order to avoid the government-led crackdown, thousands of Gülen followers have fled Turkey and taken refuge in European countries and others.

For years, Turkey has repeatedly urged the German authorities to take action against Gülen supporters who sought asylum in the country.

Recently emerged photographs have revealed that a former decorated police officer who died last year of COVID-19 was handcuffed to a hospital bed while intubated for 35 days, the Tr724 news website reported.

Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, human rights defender and deputy from the Democratic Peoples’ Party (HDP), shared on Twitter hospital photographs of Veysel Atasoy, who died after being intubated for 35 days. “We will continue our demand for justice,” said Gergerlioğlu. “We have submitted a parliamentary question addressing both the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Justice about this scandal.”

Stressing that it was unacceptable that a sedated and critically sick person was handcuffed to a bed for more than a month, Gergerlioğlu said those responsible would be brought to justice.

Atasoy was arrested in September 2016 for alleged links to the Gülen movement. He was handed down an eight year, nine month sentence.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been targeting followers of the Gülen movement, inspired by Turkish Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen, since the corruption investigations of December 17-25, 2013, which implicated then-Prime Minister Erdoğan, his family members and his inner circle.

Dismissing the investigations as a Gülenist coup and conspiracy against his government, Erdoğan designated the movement as a terrorist organization and began to target its members. He intensified the crackdown on the movement following an abortive putsch on July 15, 2016 that he accused Gülen of masterminding. Gülen and the movement strongly deny involvement in the coup attempt or any terrorist activity.

Atasoy started showing symptoms of COVID-19 but was taken to the hospital very late. According to a diary hekept during his sickness, Atasoy asked several times to receive medication and to be taken to see a doctor but was turned down by the prison administration.

When he was finally taken to a hospital, Atasoy was not admitted to the intensive care unit because the gendarmerie would not be able to accompany him. After long arguments with the doctor, who insisted Atasoy needed special care, the gendarmes gave in, but it was already too late.

Atasoy’s family have said he was a victim of gross negligence.

The rapidly spreading COVID-19 has presented greater concerns in Turkey’s prisons, which were already notorious for human rights abuses, overcrowding and unsanitary conditions before the pandemic. The death of political prisoners has revealed once again how the Turkish government puts their health in danger.

The purge of thousands of dissidents in the aftermath of a coup attempt in July 2016 has filled Turkey’s prisons, which today are overcrowded with tens of thousands of political prisoners.

According to Yunus Alkaç, director general of Prisons and Detention Centers, 50 inmates have died of COVID-19 in Turkey’s jails since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in the country in March 2020.

The Turkish parliament passed an early parole law on April 14 aimed at reducing the inmate population of the country’s overcrowded prisons due to the coronavirus pandemic. Yet, the legislation excluded political prisoners, including opposition politicians, journalists, lawyers, academics and human rights defenders convicted under the country’s controversial counterterrorism laws. The law prompted calls from the UN, the EU and rights groups for the non-discriminatory reduction of prison populations. SCF

The judges of the Turkey Tribunal, a civil society-led, symbolic international tribunal established to adjudicate recent human rights violations in Turkey, on Wednesday heard rapporteur Luca Perilli present a report on Turkey’s judiciary that claimed an attempted coup in 2016 was an invaluable opportunity for Ankara to implement wide-ranging purges of an independent judiciary.

Perilli’s report underlined that the improvements introduced by a constitutional amendment in 2010 for an independent judiciary were reversed after a graft probe in 2013 targeted the inner circle of then-prime minister and current President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Saying that the year 2013 was an irreversible turning point for the protection of human rights in Turkey and for the Turkish judiciary, the report stated: “Then, in December 2013, when some prosecutors started to investigate in the secret rooms of the Government in a corruption scandal, the Executive decided, in few days, to shatter the independent High Judicial Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HYSK) and to regain political control over the judiciary. December 2013 signs the start of the race to the bottom for the rule of law in Turkey.”

The December 17-25 bribery and corruption investigations shook the country back in 2013. The probe implicated, among others, the family members of four cabinet ministers as well as Erdoğan’s children.

Despite the scandal resulting in the resignation of the cabinet members, the investigation was dropped after prosecutors and police chiefs were removed from the case. Erdoğan, officials of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the pro-government media described the investigation as an attempt to overthrow the government.

Dismissing the investigations as a conspiracy against his government by the Gülen movement, a group inspired by Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen, Erdoğan designated the faith-based movement as a terrorist organization and began to target its members.

He locked up thousands, including many prosecutors, judges and police officers involved in the investigation.

“Illegitimate forced transfer of judges and prosecutors but even detention of judges and prosecutors, who investigated in Government affairs, occurred much before July 2016, when the state of emergency was declared; they continued also after July 2018, when the extraordinary long state of emergency was revoked,” Perilli said in his report.

“The rapid decline of rule of law in Turkey is, therefore, not connected with the attempted coup d’état of 15 July 2016. On the contrary, the attempted coup d’état was a ‘gift from God,’ as President Erdoğan declared shortly after the facts, an invaluable occasion for the Government to implement wide purges against an independent judiciary, political opponents, and critical voices,” the report said.

The government-led purges targeted real and alleged members of the Gülen movement, which is regarded as a terrorist organization by Ankara and is accused of masterminding the 2016 abortive putsch.

Despite the strong denial of Gülen and his followers of any involvement in the coup attempt or in any terrorist activity, more than 130,000 public servants, including 4,156 judges and prosecutors, were summarily removed from their jobs for alleged membership in the faith-based group in the aftermath of the attempted coup.

“A set of unofficial criteria were relied upon to determine alleged links to the Gülen movement, including the attendance of a child at a school affiliated with the organization, the deposit of money in a bank affiliated with the organization or the possession of the mobile messaging application ByLock,” Perilli noted.

The judges commended Perilli for the clarity of the extensive report. Judge Johann van der Westhuizen said he was very familiar with the findings of the report as they resemble some the cases in some African countries he previously observed. Turkish Minute

Victims of enforced disappearances perpetrated by Turkey testified on their abductions by the state agents on Tuesday before the judges of the Turkey Tribunal, a civil society-led, symbolic international tribunal established to adjudicate recent human rights violations in Turkey, Turkish Minute reported.

According to Bünyamin Tekin’s story, the judges first heard the testimony of Mustafa Özben, who was abducted by Turkish intelligence in May 2017. Özben’s testimony was the first publicly available testimony by a victim of enforced disappearance carried out by Ankara, live-streamed on the Turkey Tribunal website.

Özben was an academic at Turgut Özal University, which was closed down by a decree-law after a failed coup in July 2016 due to the institution’s alleged ties to the Gülen movement.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been targeting followers of the Gülen movement, a faith-based group inspired by Turkish cleric Fethullah Gülen, since the corruption investigations of December 17-25, 2013, which implicated then-Prime Minister Erdoğan, his family members and his inner circle.

Dismissing the investigations as a Gülenist coup and conspiracy against his government, Erdoğan designated the movement as a terrorist organization and began to target its members. He intensified the crackdown on the movement following a coup attempt on July 15, 2016 that he accused Gülen of masterminding. Gülen and the movement strongly deny involvement in the abortive putsch or any terrorist activity.

Özben said he was abducted in broad daylight in Ankara. As he approached his car, he was forcibly put into a black transporter van.

“They pulled me out the van and stripped my clothes off,” Özben said.

Saying that he was put in a small cell, Özben stated that it was dark and there was just enough light to enable the camera inside the room operate.

“They were continuously watching,” said Özben, adding that in order not to lose track of time, he invented a way to mark the days by placing objects in the room differently.

Özben said he was certain that his abductors were working for the state as they showed him photos of people taken as if they were under surveillance, shot from a distance, and photos of people taken from CCTV footage all over the city of Ankara. And they also told him so.

“Mustafa, here we are the state. Now the state is being governed in a different manner. If you do as we say, we will send a note to the prosecutor, and you will be set free. We will give you a new identity and a lot of money,” Özben said he was told.

“Or else. We know human anatomy very well. We can make you beg us to kill you,” Özben said he was told by his abductors.

Özben told judges he underwent electric shocks, brutal beatings, continuous insults and threats against his wife and children.

Özben said he was kept there for 92 days and added that before they released him, they stopped the torture to let him recuperate in an effort to hide the marks of torture.

Judge Johan Van Der Westhuizen asked Özben if he would repeat the same testimony under oath or in the presence of a representative of the Turkish state.

Özben said he would repeat the same things and many more he wasn’t able to say due to shortage of time.

Answering a question from the judges about the impact of the torture on his and his family’s life, Özben choked back tears and said the worst thing he underwent was not knowing the fate of his family.

After Özben, Sezin Uçar, the lawyer for Gökhan Güneş, who was abducted in broad daylight in İstanbul in January of this year, testified remotely in a video call.

After he went missing on January 20, Gökhan was released six days later and returned home on his own. He was reportedly left blindfolded in İstanbul’s Başakşehir district, where he worked as an electrician and was abducted.

With bruises on his face and hands, Gökhan made a statement at the İstanbul branch of the Human Rights Association (İHD), describing the torture he was subjected to during the days he was missing.

“They tortured me from time to time. This included electric shocks, beatings and pouring ice-cold water over me. They did this to me either while I was naked or wearing only my underwear. They also threatened me with rape,” he said. He added that his torturers also asked him to cooperate by serving as an informant.

“They asked me whether I knew who they were. When I told them they were probably from [Turkish] intelligence, they remained silent. Sometimes they told me they were ‘the invisibles’,” Gökhan further stated.

Uçar said that Gökhan had previously been kept behind bars before he was acquitted of charges related to anti-war demonstrations and was targeted because of his activisim.

“They tried to make an informant out of him, to learn more about organized activism,” said Uçar.

“During his enforced disappearance, Gökhan was continuously tortured, went through brutal beatings,” Uçar said, adding that he was released due to pressure from civil society organizations and other activists.

Answering Judge Westhuizen’s question about her own safety, Uçar said she was detained and currently faces several court proceedings as is the case with many lawyers in Turkey who are being prosecuted for their professional activities.

Mesut Kaçmaz, a former school principal who was abducted by plainclothes officers who were assumed to be Pakistani law enforcement or intelligence agents in Lahore along with his wife Meral Kaçmaz and children, testified after Uçar.

The four members of the Kaçmaz family, who were under the protection of the UNHCR, were abducted on September 27, 2017, by 15 armed men dressed in civilian clothes. Mr. Kaçmaz, who protested the raid, was beaten by his abductors. They blindfolded and hooded Mr. and Mrs. Kaçmaz along with their two teenage daughters.

The Kaçmaz family was kept in detention for 17 days without being able to contact anyone. They were prevented from going outside and did not see daylight for 17 days.

Mr. Kaçmaz said he and his family had been illegally detained in an unknown place in the city despite a habeas corpus decision by the Lahore High Court. They were was forcibly deported on October 14 2017 and flown on a special, unmarked aircraft from Islamabad to Istanbul.

During the five-hour flight, Mr. Kaçmaz said he was continuously tortured, with abductors threatening him with raping his wife and daughters.

The Kaçmaz couple was transported to Ankara for interrogation after the flight landed in İstanbul, where a court arrested them. They were later released pending trial and fled the country.

Enforced disappearances, which were common in Turkey during the 1990s, made a reappearance following a failed coup in July 2016.

After hearing rapporteur Johan Heymans’ report on enforced disappearances on Monday, the panel of judges heard the testimony of victims on Tuesday.

According to the report heard by the court, at least 25 people have been abducted by Turkish intelligence since 2016 in Turkey and no fewer than 68 have been abducted abroad. Most of the abductions targeted members of the Gülen movement. SCF

Bünyamin Tekin, Geneva

The judges of the Turkey Tribunal, a civil society-led, symbolic international tribunal established to adjudicate recent human rights violations in Turkey, on Monday heard lawyer Johan Heymans present a report on enforced disappearances perpetrated by Ankara.

“Abductors never worried about witnesses or cameras,” Heymans said in presenting his report, pointing to the audacity of the abductors as circumstantial evidence of government involvement.

Heymans based his report on the findings of the Ankara Bar Association.

Differentiating between the internal abductions — enforced disappearances taking place within Turkey’s borders — and international abductions, the report states that it can be established beyond reasonable doubt Ankara has abducted 25 people in Turkey since 2016, when an attempted coup shook the country to its core.

“All abductees, consequently, disappeared for a period ranging from one month to as much as two years without any information on their whereabouts given,” the report said.

According to the report, Hüseyin Kötüce disappeared for almost two years, while Mesut Geçer disappeared for 16 months, and Gökhan Türkmen and Mustafa Yılmaz disappeared for nine and eight months, respectively. Erkan Irmak, Yasin Ugan, Salim Zeybek and Özgür Kaya disappeared for five months, and Ümit Horzum and Mustafa Özgür Gültekin for four months.

Orçun Şenyücel, Cengiz Usta, Cemil Koçak, Ahmet Ertürk and Önder Asan were disappeared for periods ranging from one to three months.

Hüseyin Galip Küçüközyiğit, a former Turkish bureaucrat who had been missing since December 2020 has recently been found in Ankara’s Sincan Prison, nine-and-a-half months after his disappearance. He has lost a significant amount of weight, according to his daughter Nursena.

“While most of them eventually resurfaced after a number of months or even years, a considerable number of others continue to be missing,” the report says, referring to individuals such as Sunay Elmas, who was abducted in January 2016, Ayhan Oran (abducted in November 2016), Turgut Çapan (abducted in March 2017), Mustafa Özben and Fatih Kılıç (abducted in May 2017), Murat Okumuş (abducted in June 2017), Hıdır Çelik, (abducted in November 2017), Fahri Mert (abducted in August 2018), Hasan Kala (abducted in July 2018) and Yusuf Bilge Tunç (abducted in August 2019).

According to Heymans, when abductees reappear, it is always under the same circumstances.

“In their sudden disappearance, authorities say the disappeared person suddenly appeared and surrendered to them,” he said.

The abductees resurface either in local police stations or at the Anti-Terrorism Department in Ankara, with the authorities providing no explanation or an unconvincing one as to how they ended up there, according to his report. They have been “tortured and ill-treated in order to obtain statements in which they either incriminated themselves or others, often in high-profile cases against the Gülen movement in Turkey,” the report states.

Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) government launched a war against the Gülen movement, a worldwide civic initiative inspired by the ideas of Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen, following corruption investigations in late 2013 that implicated the close circle of then-prime minister and current President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

The war against the movement culminated after an attempted coup in Turkey on July 15, 2016 because Erdoğan and his AKP government accused the movement of masterminding the abortive putsch and initiated a widespread purge aimed at cleansing sympathizers of the movement from within state institutions, dehumanizing its popular figures and putting them in custody.

Turkey lauds operations to abduct citizens abroad

According to the report, while Ankara denies any involvement in the disappearance of Turkish nationals who were abducted within its borders, it openly acknowledges, even brags, about abductions taking place around the world.

“In spite of the fact that our investigation of the publicly known cases only allowed us to identify 63 cases of such abductions, Turkish officials have repeatedly claimed that Turkey was involved in more than 100 international abductions,” the report says.

“For instance, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu confirmed that 104 Gülenists from 21 countries were abducted and brought back to Turkey as part of the Turkish government’s global manhunt. Similarly, Deputy Foreign Minister Yavuz Selim Kıran stated that this happened to more than 100 Gülenists. İsmail Hakkı Pekin, former head of the Turkish Armed Forces Intelligence Department, also confirmed that, unless the followers of the Gülen movement are ‘returned to Turkey by force, they must be exterminated wherever they are, just like ASALA or the MOSSAD did with the former Nazis.’ The presidential spokesperson İbrahim Kalın furthermore publicly stated that operations abroad against the Gülen movement were being carried out ‘under clear instructions’ from President Erdoğan,” the report notes.

Heymans told Turkish Minute that despite the fact that Turkey is not party to the Rome Statute establishing the International Criminal Court (ICC), which looks into cases of crimes against humanity, some of Turkey’s abductions abroad, taking place in state parties to the Rome Statute, could result in a case before the ICC.

“Crimes against humanity stemming from a country that is not a party to the Rome Statute to a country that is could very well make it to the ICC,” Heymans said, giving the example of the crackdown on the Rohingya in Myanmar, many of whom fled to neighboring Bangladesh.

“Myanmar is not a party to the Rome Statute, but Bangladesh is. Some lawyers are now working to lodge an application with the International Criminal Court about the Rohingya,” Heymans said, asserting that this could be the next step with the crackdown on the Gülen movement, with Ankara’s transnational repression campaign spilling over to more than 20 countries, with some of them such as Kosovo party to the Rome Statute.

No protection of right to life of political opponents of Turkish gov’t

The report states that there is no effective protection of the right to life of political opponents of the Turkish government and that no effective investigations are carried out into cases of enforced disappearances.

“A thorough investigation into such complaints is being prevented in every possible way: the authorities refuse to execute essential investigate acts. When crucial evidence is collected and joined to the file by the relatives of the abductees themselves, the authorities choose to ignore it. This is diametrically opposed to Turkey’s positive obligations under international law to investigate such allegations and complaints,” the report says.

Witnesses will testify on enforced disappearances

The panel of judges on Tuesday will hear the testimonies of Mesut Kaçmaz, who was rendered by the Turkish state from Pakistan along with his family; Sezin Uçar, the lawyer for Gökhan Güneş, who was abducted by people identifying themselves as police officers in January of this year; and Mustafa Özben, who was abducted by Turkish intelligence in May 2017.

Apparently intimidated, most of the abductees had kept their silence after their reappearance. Speaking at a court hearing in February 2020, one of the abductees, Gökhan Türkmen, revealed that he had been held incommunicado at a black site in Ankara run by Turkey’s intelligence agency and subjected to severe torture during his 271-day stay. Türkmen was the object of threats and was sexually harassed and abused during his enforced disappearance. He also alleged that he was visited in prison and threatened no less than six times by officials who introduced themselves as intelligence officers, pressuring him to retract his allegations of abduction and torture made at the February hearing.

Bünyamin Tekin, Geneva

The panel of judges of the Turkey Tribunal, a civil society-led, symbolic international tribunal established to adjudicate recent human rights violations in Turkey, heard the testimony of two victims of torture and a rights advocate on Monday.

The judges first heard the testimony Mehmet Alp, a teacher working at a government school who was abducted by Turkish intelligence agency MIT in Cizre on April 18, 2015. 

Alp was forced to sign statements that accused him of encouraging his students to join the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). He said he was threatened at gunpoint to sign the documents.

After this incident, about which Alp said he told no one out of fear, he was imprisoned in 2016. While he was in prison a coup attempt took place in Turkey on July 15, 2016, which dramatically changed the political climate in the country, as the government launched a crackdown on political opponents under the pretext of an anti-coup fight.

Despite Alp being in prison at the time the coup unfolded, he was charged with coup involvement. He said he was exposed to torture that led to internal bleeding and was denied medical care.

“We won’t only torture you, we will also torture your wife, and your children will end up in foster care. So if you love your family, then don’t tell the court that you were tortured,” Alp quoted his torturers as saying. Alp was released by a court pending trial in 2018, after which he fled to Europe to seek asylum.

When Judge Ledi Bianku asked Alp if he filed any complaints with the authorities about the torture he had been through, he answered that he did but to no avail.

Erhan Doğan, a history teacher who worked at a school affiliated with the Gülen movement, testified after Alp. 

Ankara accuses the Gülen movement, a faith-based group inspired by Turkish cleric Fethullah Gülen, of being behind the abortive putsch and designates the group as a terrorist organization. The movement denies any involvement with the coup or any terrorst activity.

Doğan said he was detained 10 days after the failed coup and taken to a gym used as a detention center after the coup attempt by the Ankara Police Department’s counterterrorism unit (TEM).

“The torture started immediately after my arrival,” Doğan said. “I was battered, stripped naked and bludgeoned with batons,” he added.

Doğan said the police demanded that he give them the names of at least 10 people, promising he would be released if he did. 

“They told me, ‘You might die here. There are people who died here and nobody knows about them,’” Doğan recounted. “I was put in a room where I saw traces of blood around me,” adding that what they said about the deaths sounded more credible after seeing it. 

“Police officers took me to another room. They started to bang my head against the wall, demanding that I give them 10 names. I refused. This torture went on for 10 days,” Doğan said.

“They would undress us and bludgeon us with their batons. They would subject us to torture by strappado. I was kept in that position for hours. I thought all my bones were broken,” Doğan said.

“They took us to doctors. A doctor asked me if I was OK,” Doğan said, adding that he wasn’t allowed to tell the doctors what he had undergone as the police officers were present, threatening him with more torture if he told the doctor about the torture.

Doğan said he saw the police bringing in three women where he was held with other detainees.

“We could hear their screams, begging them, ‘Please don’t rape us.’ The police told me, ‘This could happen to your wife and daughter if you don’t follow our orders.’ I still hear the screams of those women to this very day,” Doğan said, breaking down in tears.

Judge Johann van der Westhuizen asked Doğan which was the most painful experience he underwent — the physical torture or the rape threat against his wife.

Doğan said it was the rape threat, adding that the screams of the women still haunt him.

Presiding Judge Dr. Françoise Barones Tulkens asked Doğan if he could recount other methods of torture he was subjected to, apart from beatings and strappado.

Doğan said the police sexually harassed him by touching his genitals after stripping him naked.

After Doğan, Eren Keskin, a lawyer and human rights activist in Turkey, testified remotely in a video call. 

Keskin said the most pressing issue when it comes to torture is the difficulty of documenting the torture. 

Underlining that the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled against Turkey for not assigning independent medical experts to examine the detainees and prisoners who claim to have experienced torture, Keskin said despite the regulations, Turkish courts do not accept reports other than those prepared by forensic medical experts who are appointed and employed by the government.

The Turkish government was given the opportunity speak for itself after the witness testimony but did not use this opportunity to make its case.

On the last day of the hearings in Geneva, the tribunal will announce its verdict, which will also be published on the website.

Turkey has been experiencing a deepening human rights crisis in recent years.

After the abortive putsch, ill-treatment and torture became widespread and systematic in Turkish detention centers as evidenced by the UN special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment in a report based on his mission to Turkey between November 27 and December 2, 2016. Lack of condemnation from higher officials and a readiness to cover up allegations rather than investigate them have resulted in widespread impunity for security forces.

The press service of the Turkey Tribunal, a civil society-led, symbolic international tribunal established to adjudicate recent human rights violations in Turkey, said on Monday that the Turkish diplomatic mission in Geneva tried to prevent the event from taking place by exerting pressure on the suppliers of the event and threatening economic consequences.

Below is their press release.

Monday 20 September in Geneva was the launch of the independent Turkey Tribunal to investigate allegations of crimes against humanity by the Turkish regime.

Prior to the launch, in a blatant attempt to silence proceedings, the Turkish permanent mission in Geneva used diplomatic pressure upon our suppliers to try to have the event canceled.

The Tribunal is a gathering of globally renowned international judges, legal experts, academics to assess the reports of the rapporteurs and listen to witness statements of the victims of torture and rendition. It will investigate whether the Turkish state is guilty of systematic torture of those deemed to be in opposition to the regime, illegal kidnappings home and abroad, and crimes against humanity. Six independent judges from all over the world will give their judgment and verdict on the evidence presented on Friday 24 September 2021.

In response to the attempts to keep the event from happening, [t]he head of the Turkey Tribunal, Professor Dr. Em. Johan Vande Lanotte, former Belgian Minister of State stated that, “diplomatic pressure on governments in Belgium and Switzerland, intimidation of employees and suppliers and attacks on our website will not stop us” Vande Lanotte continued, “on the contrary. Depending on what the final opinion of the Tribunal will be, we will prepare a complaint to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, with solid cases.”

The Turkish diplomatic Mission in Geneva was presented with copies of the 6 reports and given more than six weeks to respond. The Turkish authorities were also invited to attend the Turkey Tribunal and given time each day to respond to the evidence raised.

Johan Vande Lanotte revealed the pressure that has been brought to silence the event.

“The Belgian government was contacted by the Turkish representatives in Brussels with the urgent request to call me back, as I am Minister of State (which is an honorary title). Obviously, this was not accepted. Here in Geneva, the Turkish Embassy pressured suppliers with economic consequences. The University of Ghent – where I am professor emeritus- was also pressured.“

At the beginning of the Tribunal our website was massively attacked; But we survived.

The Turkey Tribunal operates under the title ‘Because silence is the greatest enemy of fundamental human rights’ and it highlights the environment that pervades in Turkey today.

Vande Lanotte stated, ‘It shows how Turkey fears the truth because that is the only thing the tribunal is about: the truth. We speak up and we ask judges of the highest caliber whose reputations are beyond doubt to analyze what we say, in a trial setting. Who is afraid about that, has a lot to hide.”

Press Service
Turkey Tribunal

Tokyo gold medal-winning swimmer Madison Wilson has been admitted to hospital having tested positive for COVID-19.

The 27-year-old is in Italy for the International Swimming League (ISL) and posted on social media saying she was moved to hospital yesterday for further care and observation.

Wilson, who is fully vaccinated, says she may have been run down and has described the experience as “a huge wake-up call”.

“I am extremely disappointed and upset not to be racing alongside my teammates in match 8 here in the ISL,” Wilson said in a post on social media.

“Even though I am double-vaccinated and took the right precautions set in place through the ISL, I have managed to fall to this virus.

“It’s been a crazy few months and I believe being run down physically and mentally may have made me more susceptible.

“I feel extremely unlucky but I do believe this is a huge wake-up call, COVID is a serious thing and, when it comes, it hits very hard.”

Wilson also thanked those close to her, overwhelmed by their outpouring of love and support.

“I’d be stupid not to say I wasn’t scared,” she said.

“I’m so lucky for all my family, friends, and support people.

“I can’t believe how much love I have been shown and I’m forever in debt to these people.

“Special thanks to my incredible LA family, you haven’t and won’t ever see a team with a bigger heart than theirs, away from the pool the most incredible compassionate group of people and in the pool, we are fighting with every bit of strength. I can promise we will be ready to fire come semi-finals!

“I’m taking some time to rest and I’m sure I’ll be ready to bounce back in no time.” abc News