Turkey Regional Action Network

April 2012

(1) Turkey Blog Amnesty International USA website has featured one new blog articles on recent human rights issues in Turkey.

held hundreds of kilometers from his home, in the Dogubeyazt district of the province of Agr in eastern Turkey. He was released from prison on April 13, under the following conditions: That he must remain in his home province of Diyarbakr, southern Turkey, for the reminder of his sentence which is due to end on 3 June 2012, although he can make a request to visit his family in Cizre in two weeks' time; That he must report to the local police station every day; That he must not commit the same offence during the remainder of his sentence and that, if he does, he will be returned to prison and will not benefit from conditional supervised release again for this offence.

Freedom of Speech? Not if Youre a Turkish Student Because of Turkeys draconian antiterrorism laws, Turkish students are imprisoned for expressing social and political opinions.
To read the full article, visit http://blog.amnestyusa.org/waronterror/freedo m-of-speech-not-if-youre-a-turkish-student/

tvw tvwtvw tvw

(2) Halil Savda Released
Prisoner of conscience Halil Savda has been conditionally released from prison in eastern Turkey. He was released under new amendments to the law on the execution of sentences that make it possible for prisoners with less than a year of their sentence remaining to be conditionally released under supervision.

Halil Savda, who has regularly spoken out publicly against compulsory military service, had been in prison since February 24, 2012, serving a 100 day sentence for "alienating the public from military service". He was

As you can see, although it is good news, it was not unconditional and immediate release as we campaigned for. This means that Halil Savda will continue to face judicial harassment and imprisonment by the Turkish authorities for his activities defending the rights of other conscientious objectors in Turkey where there is no civilian alternative.

Halil Savda has told Amnesty International that he received around 500 cards and letters while in prison, including from Amnesty International activists as well as supporters in Turkey. He said that these boosted his morale tremendously. He would like to thank all those who wrote to him.
If you wish to do so, following is a sample message of solidarity action for Halil Savda along with his mailing address: Turkish:

Sevgili Halil Cezaevinden salverildiini Af rgtnden rendim. artsz olmasa da artk serbest olmana ok sevindim. Senin insan haklar iin yrttn abalarn yanndaym. Sayglarmla, English: Dear Halil I heard from Amnesty International that you had been released from prison. Whilst there are conditions to your release, I am very pleased that you are now free. I am by your side in solidarity with your efforts for human rights. With my best wishes, Solidarity messages should be sent to Halil Savda Yolalt mah. TOKI 3. etap, ilbe 4, D11A No: 8 D: 11 Yeniehir Diyarbakr Turkey

The release of publisher Ragip Zarakolu: Ragip Zarakolu, who was arrested October 28, 2011, apparently for speaking at a seminar organized by the legal Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), was released from prison pending his court appearance in July. Zarakolu, a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, had been in prison since early December. His arrest and imprisonment had been widely condemned by a number of human rights organizations, and was the subject of an urgent appeal in an earlier TURKRAN newsletter. Another person mentioned in the same urgent appeal, Professor Busra Ersanli was not released. For more on this, visit Bianet News at http://bianet.org/english/freedom-ofexpression/137537-ragip-zarakolu-released

The Insan Haklar Dernegi (IHD), Turkeys leading Human Rights Association, issued its 2011 Human Rights Report on April 11. The following items in the report are of particular relevance: 2,309 children are currently held in prison, and among them 2,100 are held being held in jail without being convicted; 11 people were reported victims of honor killings [1 child, 9 women, and 1 man], and five were wounded; There were 310 cases of torture and illtreatment of persons in custody; 517 cases outside places of detention, and 1 dead and 724 wounded in cases of torture and ill-treatment in prison; 1425 persons were beaten and wounded by the police at mass demonstrations.

tvw tvwtvw tvw

(3) Human Rights Trends in Turkey The following are Human Rights items of interest that have been reported in various Turkish media since our last newsletter:

The report is not yet available in English. For the Turkish version, visit the IHD website at
http://www.ihd.org.tr/index.php?option=com_co ntent&view=article&id=2528:ba20120411&catid =67:genel-merkez-aciklamalari&Itemid=213

Ankaras mayor speaks out against homosexuals: During a debate on social media on Turkish television, Mayor Melih Gkcek responded to the question When will we have a gay mayor in Turkey by declaring We can't approve and live together with the gay culture in Europe. Our morals are different. Inshallah [hopefully] there won't be any gays in our Turkey and there shouldn't be." For the full news story, visit Bianet News at
http://bianet.org/english/diger/137383inshallah-there-wont-be-any-gays-in-our-turkey