12.05.2010 Daily Human Rights Report
(05/055) Operations, Attacks in the South-east....
On 11 May 2010 one soldier was injured in an attack on Yeniköy Gendarmerie Station in Mardin province (Milliyet, 11 May).
One soldier was injured in Hakkâri Yüksekova district Dağlıca region on 11 May 2010 when something exploded in the fields (tsk.tr, 11 May).
(05/056) Ongoing JİTEM Trial...
On 11 May 2010 Diyarbakir Heavy Penal Court 6 started to hear the case of two trials that had been combined because the charges are equal. In one trial 11 defendants (renegades) of Gendarmerie Intelligence and Fightig Terrorism (JITEM) were tried for killings, looting and bombing in Diyarbakır, Mardin, Batman and Şırnak. In the other trial five defendants including the renegade Mahmut Yıldırım, code named Yeşil and the renegade Abdülkadir Aygan were charged with eight murders in Diyarbakir between 1992 and 1994.
In the hearing the information requested from the Ministry of the Interior on the identity of the defendants Ali Ozansoy, Hüseyin Tilki, Fethi Çetin and Kemal Emlük was read out.
The Ministry of the Interior stated that the identity of these defendants had been changed and regarding the costs for the changes their identity could not be revealed to the court as the regulation stated. After the information the court listened to the comments of the lawyers of the victims and stated that it was in contravention of the Articles 2, 5, 6, 9, 10 and 11 if the Ministry of the Interior did not provide the true identity of the defendants. The court also decided that the notion of "State secret" was not applicable if the security of persons for their lives and property was at stake. It decided that the Ministry of the Interior should openly and quickly provide the true identities of the defendants.
The court ordered that all defendants be present during the hearing on 11 June 2010 and demanded the extradition of Abdulkadir Aygan from Sweden (Zaman, 12 May).
(05/057) Trial on massacre in Koşuyolu Park…
On 11 May 2010 Diyarbakir Heavy Penal Court 5 continued to hear the case of three defendants who had been detained during simultaneously conducted operations in Diyarbakır, Konya, Gaziantep, Mersin, Mardin, Batman, Sakarya and Şanlıurfa on 22 March 2009. They are held responsible for the massacre in Koşuyolu Park, Diyarbakır on 12 September 2006 that resulted in the death of 10 and injuries of 16 people and for which the Turkish Revenge Brigade (TIT) claimed responsibility. In the hearing the leading defendant Hikmet Topal said that he was disturbed to be called "PKKKurdish Workers' Party bomber". The defendant Murat Ekin stated that he was not involved in the incident and asked to be acquitted. The other defendant Burhan Güneş said that he had kept silent for three years because his life was at risk and damage could be done to his family. "But from now one I shall not remain silent. Hikmet Topal is testifying against me, because he was captured upon my statement. With the help of people outside he is threatening me and my family to change my statement. But I am not afraid. Even if they kill me, I shall speak," he said.
The court ordered the continuation of arrest for the defendants and adjourned the hearing to 3 August 2010 to complete the missing parts of the file (Gündem, 11 May).
(05/058) Pressure in the Prisons…
On 11 May 2010 it was learned that 30 minors imprisoned in Diyarbakır E-type Prison for having thrown stones at the security forces were banned from social activities for five weeks, because they put up illegal posters in their ward and caused damage to State property during the Newroz celebrations in their ward (ANF, 11 May).
