06.07.2011 Daily Human Rights Report
(07/012) Excessive use of force by law enforcement officers…
Adile Savcı (73) was wounded with the hit of the gas bomb shell as she was sitting in front of the her house during an intervention of police teams to a protest on Nusaybin District of Mardin Province on 3 July 2011. Adile Savcı was hospitalised to Nusaybin State Hospital (Evrensel, 5 July).
(07/013) Arrested guardians in connection with torture and ill-treatment…
Four guardians working in Kalkandere L Type Closed Prison (in Rize Province) were arrested in connect ion with torturing the prisoners in accordance with the report of the supervisors of the Minstry of Justice on 5 July 2011. They were place in a special dormitory away from other prisoners (Radikal,5 July).
(07/014) Tried “Peace and Democratic Solution Group” members...
Diyarbakır Heavy Penal Court No. 6 went on hearing the case against the 7 out of the 34 members of the “Peace and Democratic Solution Group” -Years and maz Dünen, Ayla Years and dırım, Mehmet Şerif Gençdal and Nurettin Turgut- who came to Turkey from Kandil Mountain and Maxmur Camp in Northern Iraq on 19 October 2009 in connection with their speeches in Diyarbakır Province on charges of “making propaganda of an illegal organisation” under Article 7/2 of Fighting with Terrorism on 5 July 2011.
The court read the hearing notes due to the change of the judges committee and after hearing the legal argument of the prosecutor on the essence of the case, adjourned the hearing for the preparation of the legal argument of the defendants on the essence of the case to 1 November 2011 (ANF, 5 July).
(07/015) Ongoing case on torture and ill-treatment in prison…
The third hearing of the case on torturing the conscientious objector Enver Aydemir in Maltepe Prison was held on July 4 at Selimiye Military Quarters.
While the Maltepe Prison Warden, Colonel M.Ö. and the duty officer İ.S., who are on trial with charges of ill treatment, did not attend the hearing, Aydemir's lawyers challenged the court arguing that it lacks fair trial standards.
Aydemir's lawyer Müşir Deliduman told bianet that they'd requested the court to bring the accused officers to the next hearing. He stated that if the accused appeared at court, the lawyers would have the right to question them directly and cross-examine in accordance with Article 201 of the Turkish Penal Code. This is why the accused avoid appearing at court, he believes.
Muşir Deliduman told bianet that they had conducted an inspection in Maltepe Military Prison on December 27, 2010 and detected some bloody fingerprints on the walls of Aydemir's cell. He explained how they scratched these bloody parts off the wall and put them in sealed envelopes, and that the court panel, which were present during the visit, signed and delivered the envelope. However, at the first hearing after the inspection they realized that the envelopes had been opened and the evidence was lost. He further said that:
- This court panel has no capacity to safeguard the information, documents and evidence exist in the case file.
- The investigation and prosecution judges that were assigned throughout the legal proceedings were lower in rank than the accused officer, who is a colonel.
- There is a disproportional of the superior-subordinate ranks, which would undermine court's impartiality principle.
Furthermore, the accused officers are facing charges of "ill treating a subordinate", whereas they should be charged with torture. Enver Aydemir was tortured and torture is a crime against humanity. Hence, they should be tried in a civilian court, not in the military one.
Noting that making a distinction as "civilian and military courts" is in contradiction with the equality principle enshrined in the constitution, Deliduman believes that fair trial would be impossible where a commander is tried by his subordinates.
Aydemir's lawyers challenged the court by claiming that the courts has no impartiality. The court will wait for the Northern Sea Territorial Waters Command's decision to which it submitted the lawyers' appeal.
The appeal will either be upheld and the court will be dismissed, or İ.S. and M.Ö. will continue to be tried by the current court (bianet.org, 5 July).
(07/016) Finalised KCKUnion of Communities in Kurdistan case in Ağrı Province…
Erzurum Heavy Penal Court No. 2 sentenced Fırat Tanrıverdi to 14 years and 6 months of imprisonment, Erman İlboğa to 8 years of imprisonment, Edip Akkuyon to 14 years and 6 months of imprisonment Adem Varol to 12 years and 6 months of imprisonment, and Levent Özden to 8 years of imprisonment who had been detained in the synchronised operations in Ağrı Province and its Doğubayazıt and Diyadin Districts on 11 March 2011 on charges of “being a member of an illegal organisation -Koma Ciwaken Kurdistan-Kurdistan Communities League /Assembly of Turkey (KCK/TMKCK Par lament Turkey ), the KCK is the intend to organize the Kurdish people as an umbrella organization that includes Kurdistan Workers Party (PKKKurdish Workers' Party )” under Article 314 of TPCTurkish Penal Code on 5 July 2011 (ANF, 5 July).
(07/017) Explosion in Ankara Province…
A sound bomb was exploded as an army shuttle was passing by from the forest of Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara Province on 5 July 2011 (Zaman, 6 July).
