COUNTRY OF ORIGIN INFORMATION REPORT TURKEY 12 MARCH 2007 RDS-IND COUNTRY OF ORIGIN INFORMATION SERVICE TURKEY 12 MARCH 2007 Contents Preface Latest News EVENTS IN TURKEY FROM 1 FEBRUARY 2007 TO 12 MARCH 2007 REPORTS ON TURKEY PUBLISHED OR ACCESSED BETWEEN 1 FEBRUARY AND 12 MARCH 2007 Paragraphs Background Information 1. GEOGRAPHY ........................................................................................1.01 Map.................................................................................................1.05 2. ECONOMY ............................................................................................2.01 3. HISTORY ..............................................................................................3.01 General Elections 2002 ................................................................3.01 General Elections in 2007 ............................................................3.03 European Union Reforms 2006 ...................................................3.05 4. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS .....................................................................4.01 Terrorism in 2006..........................................................................4.01 5. CONSTITUTION .....................................................................................5.01 6. POLITICAL SYSTEM ..............................................................................6.01 Introduction...................................................................................6.01 Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA).................................6.01 National Security Council (MGK) or (NSC) .................................6.03 Local Government ........................................................................6.06 Human Rights 7. INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................7.01 8. SECURITY FORCES...............................................................................8.01 Intelligence Agency (MIT) ..........................................................8.03 Police .........................................................................................8.06 Other government forces .............................................................8.13 Jandarma/Gendarmerie .............................................................8.13 Village Guard .............................................................................8.16 Torture........................................................................................8.21 Turkish Armed Forces..................................................................8.32 Discrimination in armed forces...................................................8.35 Extra-judicial killings...................................................................8.43 9. MILITARY SERVICE ...............................................................................9.01 Deferring Military Service ............................................................9.05 Evasion of Military Service and Punishment .............................9.08 Conscientious Objectors (vicdani retci).....................................9.10 Posting after completion of basic training.................................9.17 10. JUDICIARY ..........................................................................................10.01 Organisation..................................................................................10.01 2 This Country of Origin Information Report contains the most up-to-date publicly available information as at 12 March 2007. Older source material has been included where it contains relevant information not available in more recent documents. 12 MARCH 2007 TURKEY Independence................................................................................10.05 The Court System .........................................................................10.13 Courts ............................................................................................10.14 Military Courts...............................................................................10.15 Military Criminal Courts (Askeri Ceza Mahkernesi)....................10.15 The Military Criminal Court of Cassation (Askeri Yargitay) ........10.18 State Security Courts (DGM) .......................................................10.19 The Constitutional Court (Anayasa Mahkemesi) .......................10.23 Fair trial..........................................................................................10.27 Penal code.....................................................................................10.32 Code of criminal procedure .........................................................10.37 11. ARREST AND DETENTION – LEGAL RIGHTS..........................................11.01 Detention for questioning prior to formal arrest........................11.10 Warrants/Court Summonses .......................................................11.12 Right to legal advice.....................................................................11.14 12. PRISON CONDITIONS...........................................................................12.01 E and F-Type Prisons ...................................................................12.06 Monitoring of prison conditions..................................................12.15 13. DEATH PENALTY.................................................................................13.01 14. POLITICAL AFFILIATION.......................................................................14.01 Freedom of political expression..................................................14.01 Freedom of association and assembly.......................................14.07 15. FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND MEDIA .......................................................15.01 Journalists.....................................................................................15.09 Media and Press ...........................................................................15.17 The High Board of Radio and Television (RTÜK) ......................15.27 Internet...........................................................................................15.35 16. HUMAN RIGHTS INSTITUTIONS, ORGANISATIONS AND ACTIVISTS...........16.01 Human Rights Advisory Board (IHDK)........................................16.06 Reform Monitoring Group............................................................16.11 Human Rights Presidency and Human Rights Boards/Councils.......................................................................16.14 Parliamentary Human Rights Commission/Parliamentary Human Rights Investigation Committee ................................16.21 Ministry of Interior’s Investigation Office...................................16.26 Prison Inspection Committees/Prison Monitoring Board .........16.28 The Gendarmes Investigation and Evaluation Centre for Human Rights Abuse Issues (JIHIDEM).................................16.32 European Court of Human Rights (ECTHR) ...............................16.37 17. CORRUPTION .....................................................................................17.01 18. FREEDOM OF RELIGION.......................................................................18.01 Headscarves..................................................................................18.12 Alevis including Alevi Kurds .......................................................18.18 Beliefs and Practices of Alevis....................................................18.20 Difficulties and Problems.............................................................18.26 Mystical Sufi and other religious social orders and lodges .....18.29 Non Muslim minorities .................................................................18.30 Christians ......................................................................................18.37 Jews ...............................................................................................18.43 19. ETHNIC GROUPS.................................................................................19.01 This Country of Origin Information Report contains the most up-to-date publicly available information as at 12 March 2007. 3 Older source material has been included where it contains relevant information not available in more recent documents. TURKEY 12 MARCH 2007 Kurds .............................................................................................19.05 Kurdish language .........................................................................19.10 Teaching in Kurdish .....................................................................19.16 Pro Kurdish political parties........................................................19.22 Hadep.............................................................................................19.23 Relatives of Hadep........................................................................19.25 Dehap.............................................................................................19.26 Democratic Society Movement (DTH)/ Democratic Society Party (DTP) .............................................19.33 PKK/Kadek Kongra-Gel and the conflict in the south east ..................................................19.37 Newroz/Nevruz celebrations........................................................19.51 Arabs..............................................................................................19.55 Caucasians....................................................................................19.58