17-19.10.2009 Daily Human Rights Report
(10/130) HRFTHuman Rights Foundation of Turkey Chair on Trial…
Nur Birgen, chair of the Third Expertise Department of the Fornesic Institute filed a complaint with the Prosecutor's Office in Kadıköy (İstanbul) demanding that Prof. Dr. Şebnem Korur, chair of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (HRFT) be charged with insult under Article 125 of the Turkish Penal Code (TPCTurkish Penal Code ) because she had said that making Mrs Birgen the chair had been an award of faithfulness. Nur Birgen also complained against Barış Yarkadaş, editing director of the website gercekgundem.com where the interview was published on 22 July 2009. Kadıköy Penal Court No. 2 decided to try Prof. Dr. Şebnem Korur Fincancı and Barış Yarkadaş and scheduled the first hearing for 15 January 2010. In case of a conviction of Prof. Dr. Şebnem Korur Fincancı, chair of the HRFT she will be deprived of her public rights and, if Nur Birgen is found to be right Prof. Dr. Şebnem Korur Fincancı will have to leave her post as chair of the (Radikal, 18 October).
In the article for which Prof. Dr. Şebnem Korur Fincancı is on trial she had criticized Nur Birgen for having issued reports that secrured the release of defendants in the Ergenekon trial and for negative reports on prisoners in F-type prisons suffering from the Wernicke Korsakoff syndrome. (Radikal, 18 October).
(10/131) Killing by unknown assailant in Yüksekova…
On 17 October 2009 the corpse of M. Ali Yılmaz was found in an empty terrain in Hakkâri province, Yüksekova district. M. Ali Yılmaz had 17 bullets in his body. The investigation into this killing is continuing (yuksekovahaber.com, 18 October).
(10/132) Explosion in Erzurum…
On 18 October 2009 Harun Kızıl (19) was severely injured when the military material he found in Erzurum province, Yakutiye district exploded in his hand (Zaman, 19 October).
(10/133) Explosion in Yüksekova…
Cebrail Torun (56) was heavily wounded in an explosion in Hakkâri province Yüksekova district, Kamışlı (Sinewa) village on 17 October 2009 (ANF, 17 October).
(10/134) JITEM trial related to killings of unknown assailants in Cizre…
On 16 October 2009 Diyarbakır Heavy Penal Court No. 6 continued to hear the case if 7 defendants in JITEM (Gendarmerie Intelligence and Fight against Terrorism) charged with 20 killings that had been committed between 1993 and 1995 when Cemil Temizöz had been the commander of Cizre Gendarmerie Station in Şırnak province, Cizre district.During the hearing Colonel Cemal Temizöz, commander of the Gendarmerie Regiment in Kayseri testified: "I witnessed in court that the victims and complainants were directed by the lawyers of the co-plaintiffs. The court can establish how many white cars Şırnak Police HQ owned between 1993 and 1995. In our inventory there was no white vehicle. As commander of the Gendarmerie Regiment in Kayseri I cannot endure to be in pre-trial detention." The court listened to witnesses and heard the defence of the imprisoned defendants. It ordered the continuation of their pre-trial detention and adjouned the hearing to 6 November 2009 (Zaman, 17 October).
(10/135) Trial on the massacre in Zirve Publishing house…
On 16 October 2009 Malatya Heavy Penal Court No. 3 held the 21st hearing in the case on the killing of Tilman Ekkehart Geske, Necati Aydın and Uğur Yüksel on 18 April 2007 in Zirve publishing house in Malatya because of proselytising and heard sergeant Murat Göktürk on duty at Iğdır Gendarmerie Command. Murat Göktürk stated that he had been on duty in Malatya as intelligence officer between 2004 and 2008 and maintained that his unit had not carried out any work on proselytising.The court's jury decided to wait for an answer to its request to Istanbul Heavy Penal Court No. 13 on whether the hand grenades found in Ümraniye that triggered the Ergenekon trial were connected to the case in Malatya and adjourned the hearing to 13 November 2009 (ntvmsnbc.com, 16 October).
(10/136) Lieutenant on trial for killing soldiers…
On 17 August 2009 an explosion occurred in military barracks in Elazığ province Karakoçan district during which four soldiers were killed. During the investigation a witness had stated that the explosion happened when lieutenant Mehmet Tümer gave a hand grenade whose fuse had been checked to the soldier İbrahim Öztürk. On 18 August 2009 lieutenant Mehmet Güner was arrested for having cause the death of İbrahim Yaman, İbrahim Öztürk, Ali Osman Altın and Mesut Bulut.On 16 October 2009 the Military Court of the 8th Army continued to hear the case against lieutenant Mehmet Tümer. During the hearing a hand grenade was brought in to demonstrate how the fuse of it can be checked. The court ordered the continuation of Mehmet Tümer's arrest and adjourned the hearing to 11 November 2009 (Radikal, 17 October).
(10/137) Violations as a result of extreme violence of the uniformed forces…
It was alleged that Yusuf Uzun was beaten by police officer Mikail Gökbulut and his friends of the police, when on 24 September 2009 their discussion on debts turned inti a fight in İstanbul province Avcılar district on 24 September 2009.It was learned that Yusuf Uzun was threatened when he prepared for an official complaint after he got a report on blows from hospital (Günlük, 18 October).
(10/138) Constables beats staff of newspaper…
On 16 October 2009 staff of Kızıl Bayrak newspaper held a press conference at the Istanbul branch of the Human Rights Association (HRAHuman Rights Association ) explaining that police teams and constables of Istanbul Municipality had physically intervened when they had been introducing and selling their paper in Istanbul on 13 October 2009.Yılmaz Yaşar reporter of Kızıl Bayrak said that he had been beaten when he tried to visualize the incident and a plain clothes detective had come and asked who he was. When he said that he was a reporter he was told to go elsewhere and film an incident. Since he continued to film 15 constables had come and dragged him to one of the vehicles close to the petrol station. Here they continued to beat him, broke his camera and took the smart card away. In the evening hours he was thrown under kicking into a park at Zeytinburnu beach (kizilbayrak.net, 16 October).
(10/139) Special security officers beat journalists…
Four journalists, three of them male were beaten and locked into a room by special security officers in İzmit on 17 October 2009 when they visualized a protest in a shopping centre. Their cameras were confiscated and they were detained by police teams (ntvmsnbc.com, 17 October).
(10/140) Hindered website…
On 16 October 2009 it was learned that the Presidency of Telecommunication (TIB) had banned access to the site expatriates.com that published advertisements of foreigners in and outside Turkey according to Law 5651 on Offences via the Internet on 23 June 2009 (bianet.orgi 16 October).
(10/141) Association official on trial…
The trial against Kenan Alpay, deputy chair of the Association for the Rights to Free Thought and Education (ÖZGÜR-DER), charged under Article 216 of the Turkish Penal Code for having publicly incited the people to hate and enmity in a press statement where he demanded to cancel the Pupils' Oath before the start of lessons at primary schools . The hearing at Fatih Penal Court was adjourned to 17 March 2010 in order to gather evidence (ozgurder.org, 16 October).
(10/142) Person on trial…
Yüksel Genç, member of the first peace group that came to Turkey from the Kandil Mountain in 1999 and publishing director of the closed daily, was indicted because he used the expressed honourable Öcalan during a panel on 28 January 2007. The trial on charges of “praising a crime and a criminal” under Article 216 TPC will start at Eyüp (İstanbul) Peace Court No. 1. on 20 October 2009 (Gündem, 18 October).
(10/143) Student convicted…
On 16 October 2009 Erzurum Heavy Penal Court No. 2 sentenced Hüseyin Karakuş (24), student at the High School for Nursing and Health at the Kafkas University, because material from his mobile allegedly confirmed that he was a "member of an illegal organization" (ANF, 17 October).
(10/144) Armed attack on members of a political party…
In Hatay province Samandağ district armed attacks were conducted against the infirmary of Timur Rencüzoğulları and the house and car of Gökhan Toplar, both members of the Freedom and Solidarity Party (ÖDPParty for Peace and Solidarity ) on 16 October 2009. Nobody was injured during the attacks; material damage occurred in the infirmary, the house and the car (Birgün, 17 October).
(10/145) Detentions and arrests…
As part of the operation that started on 15 October 2009 simultaneously against members of Al Quada in İstanbul, Bursa, Adana, Tokat, Erzurum, Sakarya, Konya, Hatay, Batman and Van four of the 10 people detained in Erzurum were arrested on 18 October 2009 on charges of "membership of an illegal organization" (Zaman, 18 October).
