Weekly Report 33/2008
Contents |
9-11 August
(08/030) Operations and clashes in Southeast...
A soldier -Cem Hevale- was killed in the attack of Kurdistan Workers' Party's (PKKKurdish Workers' Party ) armed wing People's Defence Forces (HPGPeople's Defence Forces (armed wing of the PKK) ) militants on the Bükardi Gendarmerie Station in Aricak District of Elazig Province on 9 August (Taraf, 9 August).
A captain and seven soldiers were killed and four soldiers were wounded in the explosion of a mine near Acemoglu Bridge in Kemah District of Erzincan Province in the morning of 11 August (Milliyet, 11 August).
A person who claimed to placed 15 kilograms of plastic explosive to the Hatay Security Directorate's Special Operations Department was killed in the clash in Hatay Province in the morning of 11 August (Radikal, 11 August).
(08/031) Explosion in Semdinli District...
Dilvan Yavuz (13) was killed in the explosion which took place 100 metres away from the police checkpoint in Semdinli District of Hakkari Province in the night of 9 August (Gündem, 9 August).
(08/032) Kidnapped person...
HPG militants burned a truck which claimed to carry military material and kidnapped the driver near Daglica Village of Yüksekova District of Hakkâri Province in the night of 9 August (Zaman, 11 August; Gündem, 10 August).
(08/033) İntervention to demonstration...
Police intervened the public statement which was organised by Democratic Society Party (DTP) and Solidarity Association of Prisoners' Families (TUAD) about the coercion on Abdullah Öcalan in İstanbul Province on 10 August. 21 people were detained in the intervention and two people were seriously beaten by security forces (Atilim; Gündem; Taraf, 10-11 August).
(08/034) Sentenced demonstrators...
Kiziltepe Penal Court of First İnstance No.1 sentenced 15 people to 15 months' of imprisonment in connection with the march in Kiziltepe District of Mardin Province to protest the missing incident of two executives od HADEP Silopi District executives -Ebubekir Deniz and Serdar Tanis- in 2001 on charges of "opposing to the Law No. 2911 on Meetings and Demonstrations" under Article 128/1 of the same law (Gündem, 10 August).
(08/035) Sentenced member of DTP...
Beytüssebap Penal Court of Peace sentenced Yusuf Temel, DTP's Beytüssebap District chairperson to one month of imprisonment on the grounds that he used "Honourable Öcalan" praise in the celebration of Newroz in 2007. The sentence then converted to a fine of 500 YTL (Gündem, 10 August).
(08/036) Detentions and arrests...
Semsettin Eser and Haydar Em who have been collecting signatures in the framework of the "Honourable Öcalan" campaign was detained by Batman Security Directorate in Hilal Quarter of Batman Province in the night of 9 August (Gündem, 10 August).
Besir Çelik, a member of DTP's Patriotic Democratic Youth (YDG), was detained in Gap Quarter of Siirt Province as he was selling Sahinlesen Yurtsever Gençlik Magazine on 8 August. Çelik, was released with a fine of 125 YTL (Gündem, 8 August).
12 August
(08/037) Prisoner killed...
Ahmet Siren, a prisoner in Bingöl M Type Prison, was killed as he was taken to a dentist by gendarmerie soldiers in Saray Quarter of Bingöl Province on 8 August. Two people were detained in connection with the incident (Radikal, 9 August).
(08/038) Torture and ill-treatment in prison...
İlker Ekiz who had been arrested with three other people on charges of "being a member of Federation of Youth" and "reading Tavir Magazine", was beaten by guardians of Sivas E Type Prison. There are bruises in his face and arms (Bianet.org, 8 August).
(08/039) Coercion in prison...
The administration of Van F Type Prison did not allow two books in Kurdish -Ehmedê Xanî's Mem û Zîn and a book on the life of Feqiyê Teyran-to be given to the prisoner Ömer Seydaoğlu (Evrensel, 9 August).
(08/040) Coercion in prison...
The administration of Tekirdağ F Type Prison No.2 did not allow Atılım Newspaper's latest issue dated 2 August 20082 to be given to Atılım Newspaper's Editor and prisoner İbrahim Çiçek (Atilim.org, 11 August).
(08/041) Confiscated newspaper...
İstanbul Heavy Paenal Court No.12 decided to confiscate Birgün Newspaper's 9th August issue in connection with Hakan Tahmaz's interview with one of the Kurdistan Workers' Party's (PKK) executive Murat Karayılan, on charges of "publishing the statements of PKK" under Article 7/2 of Fighting with Terrorism Law (BİA, 11 August).
(08/042) Restricted website...
On 8 August the access to the website, www.ankarasgd.org, a discussion and share forum for the socialist youth was restricted. On 10 August two other addresses of the same website, ankarasgd.com/net/biz/info and sosyalistgenc.org were also restricted (atilim.org 10 August).
13 August
(08/043) Explosion in Mazıdagı District...
Two soldiers were wounded in an explosion in Mazıdagı District of Mardin Province on 12 August (Gündem, 12 August).
(08/044) Mine Explosion in Uludere District...
On 12 August Kamil Ilhan and his brother Selahattin Ilhan were wounded in the mine explosion in their car near Karatepe Village of Uludere District of Şırnak Province (Milliyet, 13 August).
(08/045) Right-wingers attacked on a person...
Mesut Aslan was stabbed by a group of 20 people in a back street in front of the police officers after the police intervention to the public statement which was organised by Democratic Society Party (DTP) and Solidarity Association of Prisoners' Families (TUAD) about the coercion on Abdullah Öcalan in Istanbul Province on 10 August. Aslan applied to the Human Rights Organisation's (IHD/HRAHuman Rights Association ) Istanbul Branch and stated that the police officers only watched the incident and detained him after it. He said that "they (officers) did not let me to drink water or sit despite my wound and they insulted me." (Gündem, 12 August).
(08/046) Torture and ill-treatment in detention...
Hakan Yogungan claimed that he was beaten and insulted by four police officers inside and outside the police car in Kartal Coast in Istanbul Province in the night of 4 August. Then he was taken to the Dragos Forest and officers went on beating him and left him there (atilim.org, 11 August).
(08/047) Coercion in prison...
Van Solidarity Association of the Families of Prisoners (TUYAD-DER) made a public statement to draw attention to the coercion in Bitlis E Type, Van F Type and Erzurum H Type Closed Prisons. The Chairperson Adil Kotay stated that A. Hakim Esiyok, a prisoner in Erzurum H Type Closed Prison has to live with a metal object on his head since 1994 and the administration of the prison did not let him to be cured.
Prisoners' families claimed that the female prisoners in Bitlis E Type Closed Prison have been sexually harassed by the male guardians (Gündem, 12 August).
(08/048) Coercion in prison...
Prisoner Ahmet Kırboga claimed that he was insulted and threatened by the soldiers as he was transferred from Bitlis E Type Closed Prison to Erzurum H Type Closed Prison without his consent on 11 July 2008. According to the statement of HRA he was stripped naked, ill-treated and put into solitary confinement for three days (Bianet, 12 August).
(08/049) Detentions and arrests...
Izmir Security Directorate's Fighting with Terrorism Department teams raided to DTP's Izmir Branch's office and detained DTP's Izmir Province chairperson Nametullah Epözdemir and Konak District chairperson Yıldız Akat in connection with the "Honourable Öcalan" petitions (Gündem, 12 August).
Eight people were detained in the home raids of gendarmerie teams in Bozova District of Urfa Province in the morning of 11 August in connection with the "Honourable Öcalan" petitions on charges of "praising crime and criminal" and "making propaganda of PKK" (Gündem, 12 August).
(08/050) Coercion in Prison...
Ö.E. (31) a prisoner in Kocaeli F Type High Security Closed Prison set ablaze himself in his cell on 13 August. He fell and hit his head to the ground during incident. Second degree burns on his arms, chest and back and trauma on his head occurred. He was hospitalised to Kocaeli University Medicine Faculty Hospital (Zaman, 14 August).
(08/051) Attack on party building...
On 12 August after the funeral of the Specialised Sergeant Gökhan Kuvat, a group attacked on the Democratic Society Party's (DTP) Elazig Province Branch's building with stones and bottles. Police intervened and dismissed the group (Gündem, 12 August).
(08/052) Municipal police attacked on peddlers...
Twenty civil municipal polices attacked on seven peddlers in Karaköy District of Istanbul Province with iron sticks in on 13 August. One of the peddlers, who had been seriously wounded in the attack, was handcuffed and made lay on the ground by police teams. Three of the peddlers made official complaints against the municipal police to Beyoglu Security Directorate (Birgün, 14 August).
(08/053) Banned website...
Ankara Heavy Penal Court No. 11 restricted the access to the Gündem Newspaper's website which was banned four times before, gundemonline.net, with its decision on 7 August 2008.
The access to the websites -gundemimiz.com, ozgurgundem.net, ozgurgundem.org, gundemonline.com-was restricted before. Gündem Newspaper stated that the access to the newspaper can be made from www.gundemonline.org (ANF, 13 August).
(08/054) Detentions and arrests...
Mersin Security Directorate's Special Operation Teams raided on Sevket Sümer, Yenihal, Yenipazar and Çilek Quarters in Akdeniz District of Mersin Province and detained the sons -Y.A. (21) ve M.A. (17)- of Osman A., the executive of Akdeniz District Branch of DTP. Police confiscated the PC and some printed material including Free People [Özgür Halk] Magazine (Mücadele Birligi, 12 August).
15 August
(08/055) Explosion in Yüksekova District...
Three people were wounded in the explosion in front of the Justice and Development Party's district building in the downtown of Yüksekova District of Hakkâri Province in the night of 14 August (ANF, 15 August).
(08/056) Attack on human rights defender...
Securty forces raided to Democratic Society Party's (DTP) Adana Province building in the morning of 14 August and wanted to send away the Human Rights Association's (HRA) Adana Province executives Ethem Açikalin and Hüseyin Beyaz who were in the building to monitor the raid. Police officers pushed Hüseyin Beyaz down the stairs in the quarrel. Beyaz's arm was fractured and he got a "disable for work for two months" report after he was hospitalised to Adana State Hospital (Gündem; Adana IHD, 14 August).
(08/057) Kidnapped person...
Gülsen Tekin (30), Secretary of the Batman Municipality, was kidnapped as she was going to her work in the morning of 14 August by armed people driving a black Mercedes car. Tekin had made an official complaint to Batman Chief Public Prosecution Office about the threats six months ago (Gündem, 14 August).
(08/058) Investigation launched against the assistant governor...
An investigation was launched against the Bitlis Assistant Governor Hakan Burak Uz in connection with his words he said a week ago. He allegedly said that "80 percentages of the people of Bitlis Province are thieves. I do not trust them" (ANF, 14 August).
(08/059) "Honourable Öcalan" investigation...
An investigation was launched against the 00 people who enunciated themselves with a petition in the framework of "Honourable Öcalan" campaign in Varto District of Mus Province (Gündem, 14 August).
(08/60) Detentions and arrests...
44 people were detained in the home raids of gendarmerie teams in Adana Province in the morning of 14 August. Küçükdikili Mayor Leyla Güven and Yakapinar vice-mayor Burhan Aras are among the detainees (Gündem, 14 August).
Three people were arrested on charges of "making illegal demonstrations", "producing and throwing petrol bombs", and "making propaganda of an illegal organisation" in Mersin Province on 14 August. They had been detained on 12 August (Gündem, 14 August).
Local singer Fahrettin Kepenek was arrested in connection with the Kurdish songs he sang in the May Day in Yüksekova District of Hakkari Province on charges of "praising crime and criminal" (ANF, 15 August).
Retired Gendarmerie Major Arif Dogan, who claimed to be the founder of the Gendarmerie Intelligence Organisation (JITEM), was detained with two other people in the framework of Ergenekon Investigation in the night of 14 August in Ankara Province. (Milliyet, 15 August).
