2010 Human Rights Report: Turkey Page 1 of 29 Home » Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs » Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor » Releases » Human Rights Reports » 2010 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices » Europe and Eurasia » Turkey 2010 Human Rights Report: Turkey BUREAU OF DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND LABOR 2010 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices April 8, 2011 Turkey, with a population of approximately 74 million, is a constitutional republic with a multiparty parliamentary system and a president with limited powers. The Justice and Development Party (AKP) formed a parliamentary majority in 2007 under Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the security forces. There were reports of a number of human rights problems and abuses in the country. Security forces committed unlawful killings; the number of arrests and prosecutions in these cases was low compared to the number of incidents, and convictions remained rare. During the year human rights organizations reported cases of torture, beatings, and abuse by security forces. Prison conditions improved but remained poor, with overcrowding and insufficient staff training. Law enforcement officials did not always provide detainees immediate access to attorneys as required by law. There were reports that some officials in the elected government and state bureaucracy at times made statements that some observers believed influenced the independence of the judiciary. The overly close relationship between judges and prosecutors continued to hinder the right to a fair trial. Excessively long trials were a problem. The government limited freedom of expression through the use of constitutional restrictions and numerous laws. Press freedom declined during the year. There were limitations on Internet freedom. Courts and an independent board ordered telecommunications providers to block access to Web sites on numerous occasions. Violence against women, including honor killings and rape, remained a widespread problem. Child marriage persisted, despite laws prohibiting it. During the year there were some positive developments. On April 11, the political parties law was amended to allow campaigning in languages other than Turkish, including Kurdish. On July 25, the government amended the antiterror laws to prohibit prosecution of minors under the laws, reduce punishments for illegal demonstrations and meetings, and allow for the release of minors who had been previously convicted under the laws, resulting in the release of hundreds of children from prison. On September 12, a package of constitutional reforms was passed by a referendum; it included provisions that changed the composition of the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors; http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2010/eur/154455.htm 4/11/2011 2010 Human Rights Report: Turkey Page 2 of 29 allowed appeal of decisions of the Supreme Military Council in civilian courts; established an ombudsman; and allowed positive discrimination in favor of women, children, veterans, persons with disabilities, and the elderly. RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom From: a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life The government or its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings; however, security forces killed some persons during the year. The domestic nongovernmental organization (NGO) Human Rights Foundation (HRF) reported that security forces caused the deaths of several persons during demonstrations. On May 11, police officer Gultekin Sahin allegedly shot Serzan Kurt during a demonstration at Mugla University. On May 17, the police officer was arrested. Kurt died from the wounds on May 19 at a hospital in Izmir. On August 10, a Mugla court transferred the case to a court in Eskisehir. The case continued at year's end. On May 28, the Diyarbakir prosecutor terminated the investigation into the 2009 death of Aydin Erdem after declaring he was killed by the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). There were no developments in the 2009 deaths of demonstrators Sinan Aydin, Mahsum Karaoglan, or Mustafa Dag during the year. There were continuing reports that security forces shot and killed civilians who refused to obey a warning to stop at checkpoints. The HRF reported that 29 persons died during the year specifically for refusing to stop, a decrease from the previous year. However, the Jandarma reported that there were no such deaths at checkpoints during the year. On February 7, the HRF said the Jandarma opened fire on a minibus that failed to obey the warning to stop in Sirnak, killing Hecer Uslu. No investigation had begun at year's end. Human rights organizations continued to state that the government's failure to clearly delineate in the law appropriate situations for the use of lethal force contributed to cases of disproportionate use of force. The Jandarma, however, reported that various laws and regulations define proportionate use and escalation of force and that security forces followed those rules when reacting to a situation. Yahya Menekse died after being run over by an armored police vehicle during a demonstration in Cizre, Sirnak, in 2008. On July 29, the first session of the court case for negligence began against the police officer who was driving the vehicle. The case continued at year's end. As of year's end, a criminal case had not been filed in the police shooting and killing of Zeki Erinc during Nevruz (Kurdish New Year) celebrations in 2008. On June 1, a Bakirkoy court convicted 21 of the 60 suspects in the death of Engin Ceber, who died of a brain hemorrhage in 2008, reportedly as a result of a beating by security forces during his detention and later by officials in prison. Four of the officials received life imprisonment. The appeal of the Istanbul prosecutor's decision to close the investigation of seven police officers suspected in the death of Mustafa Kurkcu in Umraniye prison in 2007 continued at year's end. The prosecutor requested acquittal for the police officers on July 26. The investigation also continued at year's end. http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2010/eur/154455.htm 4/11/2011 2010 Human Rights Report: Turkey Page 3 of 29 Approximate numbers based on reports from the security forces (military, Jandarma, and Turkish National Police (TNP)) indicated that 25 civilians were killed and 50 were injured in armed clashes related to the struggle against the terrorist PKK The O Affair during the year. Approximately 108 members of the security forces were killed and 244 were injured, and 149 terrorists the U were killed and five were injured. Most of the clashes between terrorists and security forces occurred in the southeast. The Exter number of civilian deaths and injuries decreased from 2009, while deaths of security forces increased. const polici According to the Jandarma, land mines killed 13 civilians and injured 17 during the year. The HRF, however, claimed that land mines and unattended explosives killed five civilians and injured 31 during the year. On several occasions throughout the year, the Turkish government used military aircraft to attack areas where the PKK, a terrorist organization, was active in northern Iraq. According to press reports, one civilian was killed and two others were injured in Iraq by artillery fire on June 18. b. Disappearance There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances during the year. c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment The constitution and law prohibit such practices; however, there were reports that some government officials employed them. Human rights organizations continued to report cases of torture and abuse in detention centers and prisons during the year. They alleged that torture and abuse largely occurred outside of detention centers in more informal venues where it was harder to document. In its report for the year, Amnesty International (AI) noted that investigations into human rights violations by police were largely ineffective and that instances of bringing officials to justice were rare. The UN Committee against Torture (UNCAT) stated in its November report that it was "gravely concerned about numerous, ongoing, and consistent allegations concerning the use of torture, particularly in unofficial places of detention." The HRF reported that courts investigated allegations of abuse and torture by security forces during the year. However, they rarely convicted or punished offenders. Authorities typically allowed officers accused of abuse to remain on duty during their trials. UNCAT reported in November that it was "concerned at the continuing failure of authorities to conduct effective, prompt and independent investigations into allegations of torture and ill-treatment." In its November progress report, the European Commission (EC) reported that security forces frequently initiated countercases for resisting arrest against persons who alleged torture or abuse and that such cases were often given priority in courts. Domestic human rights organizations agreed and claimed that this practice had a deterrent effect on the filing of abuse complaints. The Prime Ministry's Human Rights Presidency (HRP) received a total of 3,475 applications based on human rights violations, including torture, during the year. The HRP attributed the increase in numbers of applications to a higher level of awareness of HRP's provincial and subprovincial