Category: World

Evasive answers by the Trump Organization to questions by four U.S. Democratic senators on the U.S. President Donald Trump’s business dealings in Turkey, in fact, have drawn more attention to the case, Courthouse News reporter Adam Klasfeld said on Thursday.

Senate Democrats Tom Udall, Tammy Duckworth, Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal, in a letter sent on Tuesday, requested Trump Organization Executive Vice President Jill A. Martin to disclose information on the Trump family’s real estate in Istanbul.

The Trump Organization has a license agreement with Turkey’s Doğan Group for a twin tower in Istanbul, and Trump himself said in a 2015 interview during the presidential campaign that the arrangement presented “a little conflict of interest” should he be elected.

The Trump Organization did not provide any information on the total dollar value of income earned by the company related to its licensing agreement and the terms for Turkish entities to terminate its licensing agreement with the Trump Organization, both requested by U.S. senators in their Oct. 22 letter, Klasfeld said.

Senators also asked what authority the Turkish government has to remove the Trump name from the buildings or impact the licensing agreement and whether the Trump Organization received any messages from the U.S. government.

But, the Trump Organization ignored these question in the answers they provided, Klasfeld said.

Trump has been under harsh criticism for being more than accommodating towards Erdoğan’s requests, such as the withdrawal the U.S. troops that clear the way for the Turkish incursion into northeast Syria and blocking sanction attempts by the U.S. Congress against Turkey and Erdoğan.Ahval news

Turkey has prosecuted more than 1,500 attorneys, arresting 599 of them, on terrorism charges, since a 2016 failed coup, according to a newly released report from The Arrested Lawyers initiative.

As of Sept. 1, 321 lawyers had been sentenced to a total of 2,022 years in prison for terrorist group membership or disseminating terrorist propaganda.

Turkey survived a coup attempt in 2016, after which a two-year-long state of emergency was declared by the government, which accuses the faith-based Gülen movement of orchestrating the abortive putsch.

The Gülen movement strongly denies any involvement.

The state of emergency measures are still at work in the country’s judiciary as mass detention continue.

“Lawyers have particularly been targeted due to the identity or affinity of their clients,” the report said.

Dozens of lawyers who were defending Gülen-linked suspects have been arrested due to alleged Gülen ties in the last three years.

The report also said Turkey undermined the independence of bar associations with a presidential degree that gives the Turkish president the authority to dismiss chairpersons or board members of bar associations.

Still, more than 50 bar associations on Monday boycotted a ceremony marking the opening of the new judicial year at the presidential palace, stating that attending the event would jeopardize their independence.

The report criticized the Justice Ministry for preventing judges and prosecutors who were dismissed by government decrees during the state of emergency from working as private lawyers.

Turkey has sacked more than 4,000 judges and prosecutors since the failed coup.

One hundred eighty-four intellectuals have released a joint statement denouncing the recent removal of three Kurdish mayors from office by the Turkish government, the Artı Gerçek news website reported.

In a controversial move on Monday, the Interior Ministry removed the mayors of Mardin, Van and Diyarbakır in southeastern Turkey, claiming they had links to the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The mayors were elected from the ranks of the Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) in the March 31 local elections.

In a written statement the intellectuals said the removal of the mayors was not only a coup against them but also against the people who elected them and their right to elect and be elected.

“This is a new stage in [Turkey’s] descent into a full dictatorship. This is a lock placed on the tongue, will and freedom of all of us. If this lock is not unlocked altogether, it will take Turkey to a dead end,” said the intellectuals, adding that they do not recognize the government’s decision to remove the mayors and that they oppose tyranny.

The intellectuals called on everyone all around the world who believes in democracy, the will of the people, the right to elect and be elected, freedom of expression and law to raise their voice against what has been done to the three mayors.

The signatories of the statement include Can Dündar, a government-critical journalist currently living in exile; human rights activist and lawyer Eren Keskin; Professor Cengiz Aktar; Professor Baskın Oran; and Cem Özdemir, former co-chair of the Greens in Germany who has Turkish roots.

A commission set up by the Turkish government to look into complaints from individuals who were adversely affected by government decrees during a state of emergency (OHAL) in Turkey has so far rejected 77,600 applications out of the 126,200 it has processed since its establishment in summer 2017, according to a written statement from the commission on Thursday.

The commission said it is continuing to assess the remaining 41,900 applications. The total number of applications adjudicated by the commission thus far is 84,300.

The commission said the applications include those from students whose scholarships were cancelled, retired military officers who lost their rank and employees of workplaces that were closed down by the government.

The commission ruled for the reopening of 28 organizations that were closed down by government decrees, including dormitories, foundations and some TV stations.

Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) government declared a state of emergency in the aftermath of a failed coup on July 15, 2016 that remained in effect until July 19, 2018.

During the state of emergency, the AKP issued a number of government decrees, known as KHKs, through which thousands of academics, politicians, teachers, doctors, officials, businessmen, artists and journalists were purged due to their real or alleged connections to the Gülen movement, which is accused by the government of being behind the failed coup. The movement strongly denies any involvement.

The commission accepts complaints regarding dismissal from the civil service, jobs or organizations; dismissal from university and the loss of student status; the closure of associations, organizations, unions, federations, confederations, private health institutions, private education institutions, private institutions of higher education, private radio and TV organizations, newspapers and magazines, news agencies, publication houses and distribution channels; and the loss of retiree ranking through government decrees.

Individuals whose applications have been rejected by the OHAL commission have the right, within 60 days, to file a case at the Ankara 19th or 20th administrative courts for cancellation of the decisions of the OHAL commission.

US President Donald Trump described Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as “a very good friend” and said the tentative ceasefire in northeastern Syria was “holding very well,” before inviting several Republican senators who have been critical of Turkey to join him at a White House meeting with the Turkish leader on Wednesday, according to The Washington Post.

“We’re having a very good discussion,” Trump told reporters as Senators Lindsey Graham, Ted Cruz, James E. Risch, Rick Scott and Joni Ernst sat on couches before him and Erdoğan in the Oval Office.

“The purpose of this meeting is to have an American civics lesson with our Turkish friends,” said Graham, who last month called on Trump to “stand up to Erdogan” and called him a “thug.”

Erdoğan’s visit comes amid smoldering tensions over Turkey’s offensive against US-allied Syrian Kurds after Trump announced last month he would withdraw US troops from the region, a move that has engendered bipartisan criticism on Capitol Hill.

But Trump rebuffed lawmakers who had called on him to cancel the invitation, saying Erdoğan has lived up to an Oct. 17 agreement negotiated with Vice President Mike Pence to limit Turkey’s incursion into Syria and allow it to create a long-coveted buffer zone at least 20 miles deep inside Syria. Turkey’s military operations have displaced an estimated 100,000 people in northern Syria from their homes, according to the United Nations.

“I want to thank the president for the job they’ve done,” Trump told reporters earlier Wednesday as he welcomed Erdoğan to the White House. He added that the Syrian Kurds, longtime partners with the United States in fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the region, “seem very satisfied” with the ceasefire deal.

“The president and I are very good friends. We have been for a long time — almost from Day 1,” Trump said. “I understand the problems that they’ve had — including many people from Turkey being killed, in the area that we’re talking about. And he has to do something about that also. It’s not a one-way street.”

The two leaders were expected to discuss the security situation in the region as well as efforts to put relations on a better track after Turkey purchased a sophisticated Russian missile defense system, the S-400. US law mandates sanctions for such purchases from an “adversary,” and the administration has already cut Turkey’s participation in the international consortium building the new F-35 fighter jet.

Senior administration officials said that an offer to circumvent those punishments and also implement a new $100 billion trade deal — both of which Trump had offered Erdoğan last month in a failed effort to prevent the Turkish military operation in Syria — were still possible if Turkey complies with the ceasefire agreement and the situation in northeastern Syria stabilizes.

“We think we can bring trade up very quickly,” Trump said. Erdoğan, in brief remarks through an interpreter, thanked Trump but did not offer details of his goals of the meeting, citing a joint news conference with the two leaders later in the day.

Graham, a Trump confidant, initially had criticized Trump’s decision to withdraw all US forces from Syria — about 1,000 troops — as “the biggest mistake of his presidency.” But he later congratulated the president on the ceasefire deal and Trump’s subsequent agreement to leave about 600 troops in northeastern Syria.

Ernst and Scott said in advance of the meeting that they planned to confront Erdogan on Turkey’s purchase of the S-400 missile system.

“I want to make sure he understands that we’re gonna have to implement sanctions,” said Scott, a vocal critic of Erdoğan. “The president doesn’t have a choice. And that’s not gonna be good for Turkey.”

Trump has held off on imposing congressionally mandated sanctions on Turkey for the S-400 purchase, while canceling its participation in the F-35 program.

Administration officials, citing Turkey’s importance as a NATO and regional ally, have said Trump would propose a workaround that would allow Turkey to keep the S-400s as long as it does not deploy them, and purchase F-35s. “I project that we will work something out,” Trump said at the meeting with the senators.

The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) called on supporters to join a protest before the meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Nov. 13.

Erdoğan will arrive in Washington on Wednesday to discuss with Trump the ongoing situation in northern Syria as well as other issues that have soured relations between the two allies, including potential sanctions to be imposed on Turkey’s state-run Halkbank for evading U.S. sanctions on Iran.

The Turkish president’s meeting with Trump will take place after the U.S. House of Representatives last week approved a resolution recognising the mass deportation of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire in 1915 as genocide.

The protestors will gather at Lafayette Park across the White House, according to a poster shared by the ANCA on Twitter.

The call for protest accuses Erdoğan of a long list of issues including destroying democracy, desecrating churches, invading Syria, killing Kurds and denying genocide.

Turkey launched a military offensive against Kurdish-controlled territories in northern Syria on Oct. 9, after Trump announced that he had decided to withdraw American troops in the region. The offensive ended in nine days as Turkey made two separate agreements with the United States and Russia for the withdrawal of Kurdish militia in the region 30 km south from the border.

The ANCA teamed up with Greek-American, Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac-American, Kurdish-American, Arab-American and other human rights groups for the protest on Wednesday.

U.S. Representative Dan Crenshaw has called on his colleagues to join him in asking the State Department and the Washington, DC Metropolitan Police Department “to ensure President Erdoğan and his security detail are aware of and understand that Americans enjoy First Amendment rights to assembly and speech,” the ANCA reported.

The letters to be sent separately by members of the U.S. Congress to the State Department’s Chief of Protocol and the Metropolitan Police Department will refer to the incident when “during past visits by the Turkish President, Americans exercising their First Amendment rights were assaulted by pro-Erdoğan protesters and President Erdoğan’s security detail.”

In May 2017, 15 members of Erdoğan’s security team were accused of beating peaceful protesters in Washington. U.S. prosecutors dropped charges against 11 of the 15 security guards in the incident that launched national headlines, sparking outrage among members of the U.S. Congress.ahvalnews

Turkey’s Supreme Court of Appeals has issued a landmark decision in the case of a person who was sentenced to prison due to alleged links to the Gülen movement, ruling that there must be concrete evidence to show one’s involvement in terrorism.

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 top court issued its verdict on July 9, but the ruling was recently brought to public attention by a former judge, Kemal Karanfil, who was purged from his job following the coup attempt.

Karanfil posted a copy of the top court’s July ruling on his Twitter account and said the ruling could set a precedent for thousands of people who were jailed on terrorism charges due to their Gülen links.

In its ruling the top court said membership in a labor union, liking a social media post, owning certain books and taking part in demonstrations cannot be considered criminal activity.

As part of a massive purge launched by the Turkish government, more than 30,000 people have been arrested in Turkey since the coup attempt just because they were a member of a Gülen-linked labor union, deposited money to a Gülen-affiliated bank, sent their children to Gülen-operated schools or simply because they had Gülen books in their homes.

The court said in order to convict someone of membership in a terrorist organization, a person should have known the final goals of the terror group and that there must be concrete evidence showing that person’s existence in the hierarchy of the terrorist group.

The top court also noted that liking a terrorist organization, agreeing with the goals, values and ideology of a terrorist organization, reading and owning publications about them or respecting the leader of a terrorist organization are not sufficient for someone to be considered a member of a terrorist organization.

The landmark decision was made by the 16th Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals regarding a decision of the Isparta 3rd High Criminal Court, which handed down a prison sentence to someone convicted of terrorist organization membership due to Gülen links.

Berlin has tried to reassure the public that suspected German Islamic State supporters being deported from Turkey do not pose a security threat. Critics say the government should have brought them back sooner.

A family of seven German Islamists arrived in Berlin on Thursday after the Turkish Interior Ministry announced earlier this week that it would start deportations of captured “Islamic State” supporters.

There are no German arrest warrants for the family of German-Iraqi Kanan B., meaning they will be free to return to their homes in the central German state of Lower Saxony, though under police observation.

According to Turkish authorities, Kanan B. tried to travel to Syria with his family about a year ago, but it is not known if he arrived. The family, consisting of two parents, two adult children, plus three minors, had been in custody in the Turkish city of Izmir since March.

Read more: ‘Islamic State’ resurgence a ‘very real possibility’ after US exits Syria

German authorities said they do not believe Kanan B.’s family ever joined Islamic State, but that he was part of the “Salafist spectrum,” which means the family members are thought to observe a particularly conservative interpretation of Islam.

No need for panic

Armin Schuster, the interior policy spokesman for Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), insisted that the German returnees were not “serious cases,” and warned against media-fueled hysteria.

“They did not take part in the fighting,” he told the Deutschlandfunk radio station. “They won’t be sent to prison but they have to be kept under surveillance.” He added that the cases would be thoroughly assessed and that such procedures were routine for German security forces. Schuster also rejected reports that the Turkish announcement caught German authorities by surprise and that Ankara did not provide adequate notice ahead of the deportations.

More problematic deportations coming

The other two Germans being returned by Turkey in the coming days are “a little more difficult,” Schuster said. The two women are already under investigation in Germany and are to be picked up by authorities at the airport, questioned and searched. Prosecutors will then decide whether there is enough evidence to issue an arrest warrant.

German opposition parties have been critical of the government’s failure to face the problem sooner. Stephan Thomae, deputy leader of the Free Democratic Party (FDP), acknowledged that Berlin had little choice but to accept German citizens deported by another country, but “the government kept its head in the sand for a long time, didn’t want to have anything to do with these cases,” he told DW. “That is coming back to bite them now. It would have been better if the government had made contact with Turkey much earlier to discuss such processes.”

Some critics have argued that German prosecutors have little chance of bringing cases against IS members because of the difficulty proving their suspected roles in the war in Syria.

“We have to be able to bring the victims of these perpetrators to Germany as witnesses before a proper court,” he said. “Why aren’t Yezidi women questioned as witnesses?” He also pointed out that Kurdish groups had offered to help find evidence against foreign IS fighters.

Read more: Who was IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi?

Bring home, de-radicalize

Ninety-five German suspected IS supporters are believed to be in custody in Turkey, Syria, or Iraq. German police have active investigations against 33 of them and arrest warrants have been issued in 26 cases, according to the dpa news agency.

Meanwhile, dozens of IS members have already faced court in Germany after voluntarily returning, and even those against whom there is no evidence of actual crimes are usually put under surveillance by state police or domestic intelligence agencies.

Thomas Mücke, founder and head of the Violence Prevention Network, said it is possible to deradicalize IS returnees, as it is with any extremists, and that his organization has visited several in prison. “We have had experiences with 36 IS returnees,” he told DW. “With young people, we can do a lot.”

He pointed out that his organization had successfully helped a 17-year-old who had been put into a suicide command unit. “Today he is 24 and living a completely normal life in Germany,” Mücke said.

He added that it would have been better to bring more people back to Europe, rather than leaving them in Turkish or Syrian prisons, surrounded by other extremists.

“That would’ve been more organized than is the case now,” he said. dw.com/

A Malaysian human rights group has said the deportation of Arif Komiş and his family to Turkey upon a request from Ankara, which claimed they were linked with the faith-based Gülen movement, was “wrong and unjust.”

“Malaysia should respect the principle of non-refoulement especially when it comes to asylum seekers and refugees in Malaysia, which means that Malaysia should not be arresting and sending back these persons to countries from where they have fled from prosecution,” Charles Hector, a human rights activist, said in a statement on behalf of the Malaysians Against Death Penalty & Torture (MADPET).

Malaysia on Aug. 29 deported the family to Turkey, which launched a crackdown against the Gülen movement followers after a 2016 failed coup.

Ankara accuses the movement of orchestrating the coup attempt, although it strongly denies any involvement.

The United Nations on June 12 accepted the Komiş family’s application as asylum-seekers.

“Unfortunately, Malaysia still have no written law that deals with refugees and asylum seekers, which would also define the rights of these persons seeking such refugee status,” the group said, “Malaysia has to speedily enact such a law.”

Arif Komiş was taken into police custody immediately after the plane landed at a Turkish airport, according to the Turkish media.

MADPET called on the Malaysian government to clarify its position towards asylum-seekers from UN in the country, since the Komiş family was not the only example.

The European Union, which Turkey aspires to join, has condemned the Tuesday re-arrest of well-known Turkish journalist and writer Ahmet Altan, 69, one week after his release from prison, saying that the development further damages the credibility of the Turkish judiciary.

Altan’s re-arrest came shortly after a Turkish court on Tuesday reversed a previous ruling to release the journalist on appeal after convicting him of aiding a terrorist organization.

The ruling was challenged by a prosecutor immediately after the hearing. Altan was detained by police officers at his İstanbul home on Tuesday evening and transported to the jail on Wednesday.

“The lack of credible grounds to re-arrest Ahmet Altan and his renewed imprisonment, reversing the court’s initial decision to release him, further damages the credibility of Turkey’s judiciary, in particular due to the high level of political interference. This interference needs to halt,” said a statement issued on Wednesday by Maja Kocijancic, spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations.

“Media freedom and freedom of expression are key to a functioning democracy. The EU has at all levels and in all fora expressed its opposition on the persistent erosion of press freedom in Turkey and, in particular, at the high number of journalists imprisoned there. Journalists need to do their job – they do not belong in jail,” the statement added, referring to more than 150 journalists in Turkey’s jails.

Dozens of critical journalists were arrested in Turkey in the aftermath of a failed coup attempt in July 2016 under the pretext of an anti-coup fight.

In the meantime, Dunja Mijatovic, Council of Europe commissioner for human rights, also reacted to the re-arrest of Altan on Twitter.

“Like many others, I am appalled by the senseless cruelty that Turkish courts displayed once more by detaining #AhmetAltan again. He should immediately be released,” she tweeted on Wednesday.

Journalists Altan and Nazlı Ilıcak were sentenced last week to 10 years, six months and eight years, nine months in prison, respectively, for “aiding a terrorist group without membership in it” but were released by the court pending appeal. A third journalist, Professor Mehmet Altan, who was also tried in the same proceedings, was acquitted due to a lack of evidence against him.

One of Turkey’s most famous writers and journalists, Altan was first arrested after a 2016 failed coup on charges of supporting the coup attempt.turkishmin