Annual Reports on Turkey (2010)

Besides the human rights organizations Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor in the US State Department prepare annual reports on the human rights situation in the world. These reports have entries for each country. The European Union issues reports on "Enlargement Strategy and Progress" only for countries that are candidates to join the European Union. Turkey is one of them. The Democratic Turkey Forum has made a comparison of these four reports by quoting from them. The quotes are marked with the abbreviations: AI, HRW, EU and US.

• Amnesty International Annual Report on Turkey 12 May 2011
• Human Rights Watch World Report: Turkey 24 January 2011
• European Commission Progress Report on Turkey 9 November 2010
• US State Department Annual Report on Turkey, 8 April 2011

Freedom of Expression

AI: There was more open debate regarding previously taboo issues. However, people were prosecuted under different articles of the Penal Code because they had criticized the armed forces, the position of Armenians and Kurds in Turkey, and ongoing criminal prosecutions.

HRW: Despite a climate of increasingly open debate, individuals continued to be prosecuted and convicted for non-violent speeches, writings, and participating in demonstrations.

EU: ... The high number of cases initiated against journalists who have reported on the Ergenekon case is a cause for concern. Pressure on newspapers discussing the Kurdish question or publishing in Kurdish increased.

US: The government limited freedom of expression through the use of constitutional restrictions and numerous laws. Press freedom declined during the year. There were limitations on Internet freedom.

Torture and ill-treatment

AI: Allegations of torture and other ill-treatment persisted, especially outside places of detention, including during demonstrations, but also in police custody and during transfer to prison.

HRW: Police ill-treatment remained a problem, particularly during street stops, demonstrations, and arrests. Torture and ill-treatment in detention was less common, but at this writing there are at least four cases of deaths in custody in disputed circumstances in 2010.

EU: The government pursued its efforts to ensure compliance with legal safeguards to prevent torture and ill-treatment. This policy has continued to produce positive results.

US: Human rights organizations continued to report cases of torture and abuse in detention centers and prisons during the year.

Prison conditions

AI: Allegations of ill-treatment in prisons persisted, especially of remand prisoners directly following transfer.

US: Prison facilities remained inadequate, although conditions generally improved during the year. Underfunding and overcrowding were the major problems. As of October 27, the Ministry of Justice reported the country had 371 prisons with a designed capacity of 114,220 holding a total of 121,102 inmates, 56,988 of whom were arrestees with ongoing trials.

EU: The prison reform programme continued. The four training centres organised courses for 8249 prison staff in 2009 and an additional 4929 staff have been appointed. However, the high proportion of prisoners in pre-trial detention remains one of the most significant problems. Health services in prisons need to be improved.

Fair trial

AI: Unfair trials under anti-terrorism legislation continued.

US: The close connection between public prosecutors and judges gave the appearance of impropriety and unfairness in criminal cases.

Human Rights Defenders

AI: Kurdish political activists, journalists and human rights defenders were among those most frequently prosecuted (for using their right to freedom of expression; DTFDemocratic Turkey Forum ).

EU: Human rights defenders have continued to face criminal proceedings. Investigations carried out as part of the fight against terrorism have raised concerns following the arrests of trade union and human rights activists.