28-31.08.2010 Daily Human Rights Report
(08/073) Operations, Attacks in the South-east…
One soldier was injured as the result of fire opened on a military unit in Diyarbakır, Lice district on 31 August 2010 (ntvmsnbc.com, 31 August).
(08/074) Case of the Yüksekova gang…
On 27 August 2010 Hakkari Heavy Penal Court decided to close the case against village guards, high ranking soldiers and confessors known as the Yüksekova gang who had been charged with murder, blackmail, smuggling of drugs and arms because of lapse of time.
The gang had been discovered after the detention of businessman Abdullah Canan in Hakkâri, Yüksekova district on 17 January 1996 and his subsequent death under torture and the kidnapping of businessman Necip Baskın on 21 September 1996. Four court cases had been initiated.
Only the confessor Kahraman Bilgiç had been sentenced to eight years' imprisonment (ANF, 27 August; Milliyet, 29 August).
(08/075) Torture and Ill-treatment in detention…
On 29 August 2010 G.Ç. (17), student at an industrial lyceum was detained in Gaziantep because he was wearing a T-shirt caricaturing Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. In the police car he was threatened to wear the T-shirt upside down and then allowed to go (Radikal, 30 August).
(08/076) Violations as a result of extreme use of force of the uniformed forces..
On 30 August 2010 a private security officer was beaten by police officers at the metrobus station in Zincirlikuyu (Istanbul) for an unknown reason. The scene was film by a passenger showing that one police officer tried to use his gun (Star, 30 August).
(08/077) Pressure in the Prisons…
On 29 August 2010 information was received that Alpan Yanku imprisoned in Osmaniye M-type Prison has problems with his ears, but does not receive treatment. The brother Cemal Yanku stated that applications for treatment had remained unanswered and asked the Adana branch of the Human Rights Association for legal aid (Günlük, 29 August).
(08/078) Pressure in the Prisons…
On 30 August 2010 information was received that the wards in Van F-type Prison had been searched and the notebooks of prisoners had been confiscated. Sinan Serhat had been punished with 15 days' solitary confinement, because of writings in his book (Gündem, 30 August).
(08/079) Journal confiscated…
On 19 August 2010 Mersin Peace Court 2 ordered the confiscation of the 53rd edition of tzhe Journal Güney Culture Art and Literature, because the article "Children's rights of imprisoned Kurdish kids" contained propaganda for an illegal organization (istanbul.indymedia.org, 29 August).
(08/080) Publication of Newspaper stopped…
On 28 August 2010 Istanbul Heavy Penal Court 11 ordered a one month's ban on publication for the Kurdish daily Rojev that had been issued after the stop of publication of the newspaper Azadiya Welat on the grounds that 36th edition of 28 August 2010 included an article on the front page that contained propaganda for an illegal organization.
The court also ordered the confiscation of the 36th edition of Rojev according to Article 25/2 of Press Law 5187 (ANF, 28 August).
(08/081) Newspaper staff on trial…
On 27 August 2010 the trial against Suzan Zengin, working in the Kartal office of the newspaper İşçi Köylü (Worker Peasant) who had been arrested on 28 August 2009 on charges of being a member of an illegal organization.
During the hearing at Beşiktaş Hevay Penal Court 10 the testimony of Suzan Zengin was taken. The court ruled that if Suzan Zengin would be released she might destroy evidence and prolonged the arrest warrant. The hearing was adjourned to 15 February 2011 (atilim.org, 27 August).
(08/082) Violations and attacks related to the referendum on 12 September 2010…
On 27 August 2010 the Peace and Democracy Party (BDPPeace and Democracy Party ) organized a demonstration in Sur district (Diyarbakır) asking for a boycott of the referendum. Police officers intervened with arms so that Cembeli Erdem (50) was seriously wounded to his back. Reportedly Cembeli Erdem will be paralysed (Evrensel, 30 August).
(08/083) Detentions and arrests…
On 25 August 2010 the police raided the Workers' Culture House in Mamak district (Ankara) and detained seven members of the Independent Revolutionary Class Platform (BDSP). On 29 August 2010 for of them were put in pre-trial detention (atilim.org, 29 August).
Of the seven people that were detained during the funeral in Ağrı, Doğubayazıt district of the militant Şeyma Yılmaz who had lost her life in a clash in the rural areas of Hakkâri, Şemdinli district on the grounds that they made propaganda for an illegal organization five were arrsted on 28 August 2010 (Zaman, 28 August).
Of the five people that were detained in Hakkari on 25 August 2010 on charges of being members of Koma Ciwaken Kurdistan (Union of Kurdish Communities) KCK/TMKCK Par lament Turkey (Turkey Assembly) Lokman Özdemir, chair of the trade union of theological staff and Bülent Armut, member of Hakkari municipality parliament were arrsted on 29 August 2010 (Günlük, 30 August).
