Human rights violation on the increase in first half of 2011
Human rights violation on the increase in first half of 2011
The Human Rights Association (IHD) has denounced the deep worsening of the situation of human rights in the Kurdish region in Turkey. The IHD has registered 16,482 cases of human rights violation in the first six months of 2011, against 13,219 cases over the same period of 2010.
The association on Friday has released in Diyarbakir the mid-term report on the situation of human rights in the Kurdish region.
The Secretary of the Diyarbakir branch of the association, Raci Bilici has said that the country is in a "critical" situation. Recalling that the AKP, the Islamic-conservative party in power, has won 50% of the vote in parliamentary elections on June 12, he called the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan "to show real political will" to solve the Kurdish question and "remove all anti-democratic laws."
According to the report, 16,482 cases of human rights violation have been recorded in the first six months of 2011, against 13,219 cases in 2010. The association denounced an increase of 200% in the cases of torture, arrests and violent police interventions against demonstrators.
Underlining that the government does not even tolerate posters being put up to denounce "torture by the police on the street," the association has stressed that "the justice protecting torturers" has ordered the seizure of these posters, which had been put up in the context of International Day against Torture, on June 26.
OVER 1,000 CASES OF TORTURE
The report has recorded 1010 cases of torture and ill-treatment in the first six months of the year in the Kurdish region alone, against 433 in 2010. "The main reason for the increasing in the cases of torture has been the protection granted to the torturers by the political and judicial bodies," says the association.
OVER 4,000 DETENTIONS
The report also condemns the arrest of 4,015 persons in the first six months of 2011, against 2,430 in 2010.
1,145 people out of 4,015 have been remanded in custody.
Police has injured 762 people during operations carried out in 335 events, while 1,555 people were subject to prosecution, trial and conviction, the report says.
Despite the alarming figures being available to all, the government refuses to see the ongoing violation of human rights and claims to have developed a "mature democracy".
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had stated: "We have put an end to torture," during the election campaign of his party AKP. He also said that there was no restriction to freedom of expression. However, Turkey has become the world's biggest prison for journalists, with at least 60 journalists in jail, according to organization supporting imprisoned journalists.
On July 12, the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, Thomas Hammarberg, had also denounced the "particularly worrying" situation for freedom of expression and media freedom. He has done so when publishing's progress report on Turkey.The Commissioner in his report welcomes the progress made by Turkey in recent years concerning a free and open debate on a variety of human rights-related issues. However, in view of the very large number of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, for more than a decade, finding violations by Turkey of the right to freedom of expression, he remains concerned by the fact that Turkey has not yet taken all necessary measures to effectively prevent similar violations. He considers that the reported increase in criminal proceedings and arrests involving journalists in Turkey are the result of a failure to effectively address to date the underlying causes identified notably in the judgments of the Court.
The association on Friday has released in Diyarbakir the mid-term report on the situation of human rights in the Kurdish region.
The Secretary of the Diyarbakir branch of the association, Raci Bilici has said that the country is in a "critical" situation. Recalling that the AKP, the Islamic-conservative party in power, has won 50% of the vote in parliamentary elections on June 12, he called the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan "to show real political will" to solve the Kurdish question and "remove all anti-democratic laws."
According to the report, 16,482 cases of human rights violation have been recorded in the first six months of 2011, against 13,219 cases in 2010. The association denounced an increase of 200% in the cases of torture, arrests and violent police interventions against demonstrators.
Underlining that the government does not even tolerate posters being put up to denounce "torture by the police on the street," the association has stressed that "the justice protecting torturers" has ordered the seizure of these posters, which had been put up in the context of International Day against Torture, on June 26.
OVER 1,000 CASES OF TORTURE
The report has recorded 1010 cases of torture and ill-treatment in the first six months of the year in the Kurdish region alone, against 433 in 2010. "The main reason for the increasing in the cases of torture has been the protection granted to the torturers by the political and judicial bodies," says the association.
OVER 4,000 DETENTIONS
The report also condemns the arrest of 4,015 persons in the first six months of 2011, against 2,430 in 2010.
1,145 people out of 4,015 have been remanded in custody.
Police has injured 762 people during operations carried out in 335 events, while 1,555 people were subject to prosecution, trial and conviction, the report says.
Despite the alarming figures being available to all, the government refuses to see the ongoing violation of human rights and claims to have developed a "mature democracy".
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had stated: "We have put an end to torture," during the election campaign of his party AKP. He also said that there was no restriction to freedom of expression. However, Turkey has become the world's biggest prison for journalists, with at least 60 journalists in jail, according to organization supporting imprisoned journalists.
On July 12, the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, Thomas Hammarberg, had also denounced the "particularly worrying" situation for freedom of expression and media freedom. He has done so when publishing's progress report on Turkey.The Commissioner in his report welcomes the progress made by Turkey in recent years concerning a free and open debate on a variety of human rights-related issues. However, in view of the very large number of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, for more than a decade, finding violations by Turkey of the right to freedom of expression, he remains concerned by the fact that Turkey has not yet taken all necessary measures to effectively prevent similar violations. He considers that the reported increase in criminal proceedings and arrests involving journalists in Turkey are the result of a failure to effectively address to date the underlying causes identified notably in the judgments of the Court.
