AI UA329/94 TURKEY Fear of torture

[Labor Video Project]

From: Labor Video Project <lvpsf>

/* Written 12:00 PM  Sep  9, 1994 by gn:rmitchellai in igc:ai.uan */
/* ---------- "AI UA329/94 TURKEY Fear of torture" ---------- */
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EXTERNAL (for general distribution)  AI Index: EUR 44/93/94
                                     Distr: UA/SC          
 
UA 329/94     Fear of Torture/"Disappearance"  9 September 1994
 
TURKEY               Dr.Mustafa Ersoz, medical doctor
                     Fevzi Ersoz, lawyer
                     Hikmet Senol        
 
Amnesty International is concerned for the safety of Dr Mustafa
Ersoz, his uncle Fevzi Ersoz, and Hikmet Senol, who were detained
on 5 September 1994 and are believed to be held at the Regimental
Gendarmerie Headquarters in Diyarbakir, southeast Turkey.
 
On 4 September 1994, Dr Mustafa Ersoz, the lawyer Fevzi Ersoz and
Hikmet Senol travelled from Elazig to Lice to retrieve the bodies
of relatives killed in a clash between PKK militants and the
security forces which occurred on 30 August in the village of Resan,
near Lice. In Lice they were reportedly told that, on the orders of
the Lice State Prosecutor, the bodies could not be released to them.
After informing relatives of this by telephone on the evening of
Monday, 5 September, nothing more was heard from Mustafa Ersoz,
Fevzi Ersoz, or Hikmet Senol.
 
Relatives of the three men applied to local police stations,
including the Diyarbakir Regimental Gendarmerie Headquarters, for
information of their whereabouts, but it was repeatedly denied that
they were in custody. On Wednesday 7 September, however, the
Diyarbakir Provincial Governor responded to inquiries from the
Turkish Human Rights Association, saying that all three men were
held at the Diyarbakir Regimental Gendarmerie Headquarters and would
remain in detention for 30 days.  However, Diyarbakir Regimental
Gendarmerie Headquarters still deny holding the three men. The
Prosecutor at Diyarbakir State Security Court, where their detention
should be registered, denies any knowledge of their custody, and
there has been no written confirmation of their detention. Relatives
are concerned that Mustafa Ersoz, Fevzi Ersoz, and Hikmet Senol are
being interrogated under torture, and that they may be at risk of
"disappearance".
 
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
 
There has been a striking increase in reports of "disappearance"
since the summer of 1993 - particularly in the 10 southeastern
provinces where a State of Emergency is in force and where police
and gendarmerie have the right to hold political suspects
incommunicado for up to one month. 
 
Procedures laid down in the Turkish Criminal Procedure Code for the
prompt and proper registration of detainees, and for notification
of their families, are almost universally ignored in the
southeastern provinces and increasingly disregarded in the rest of
Turkey. Lack of proper registration and notification is not only
extremely distressing for families, but it creates the conditions
in which "disappearances" can occur and torture takes place. 
 
Turkey ratified the European Convention for the Prevention of
Torture on 25 February 1988 and the UN Convention Against Torture
on 2 August 1988. Following a programme of visits to Turkish police
stations in 1990, 1991 and 1992, the European Committee for the
Prevention of Torture (ECPT - established by the Council of Europe)
reported: "In the light of all the information at its disposal, the
ECPT can only conclude that the practice of torture and other forms
of severe ill-treatment of persons in police custody remains
widespread in Turkey and that such methods are applied to both
ordinary criminal suspects and persons held under anti-terrorism
provisions". 
 
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send telegrams/faxes/express and airmail
letters either in English or in your own language:
 
- voicing your concern at the arbitrary detention of Mustafa Ersoz,
Fevzi Ersoz, and Hikmet Senol;
 
- mentioning the ECPT's findings and seeking assurances that the
three detainees are not subjected to torture or any other form of
ill-treatment;
 
- urging that their families and lawyers are informed without
further delay of their whereabouts and state of health;
 
- asking to be informed of any charges against them.
 
APPEALS TO
 
Chief Prosecutor at Diyarbakir State Security Court:
 
DGM Bassavcisi                [Salutation: Dear Sir]
Devlet Guvenlik Mahkemesi
Diyarbakir, Turkey
Telegrams: DGM Bassavcisi, Diyarbakir, Turkey
 
Minister of the Interior:
 
Mr Nahit Mentese              [Salutation: Dear Minister]
Icisleri Bakanligi
06644 Ankara, Turkey
Telegrams: Interior Minister, Ankara, Turkey
Faxes:     +90 312 428 4346
 
Emergency Legislation Governor:
 
Mr Unal Erkan                 [Salutation: Dear Governor]
Olaganustu Hal Valiligi
Diyarbakir, Turkey
Telegrams: Olaganustu Hal Valisi, Diyarbakir, Turkey
Faxes:  +90 412 224 3572 
 
PLEASE SEND COPIES OF YOUR APPEALS TO: His Excellency Mr Candemir
Onhon, Embassy of Turkey, 43 Belgrave Square, London SW1X 8PA
 
[Please see the responses to this topic for the addresses
of diplomatic representatives in other countries]
 
AND, IF POSSIBLE, TO THE FOLLOWING:
 
Minister of Foreign Affairs:
 
Prof Mumtaz Soysal
Disisleri Bakanligi
06100 Ankara, Turkey
Faxes: 90 312  287 1886
 
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.  Please do not send appeals after
21 October 1994.
 
+-----------------------------------------------------------+
+ If you have any queries about this Urgent Action or about +
+ the UA scheme in general, please contact:                 +
+   Ray Mitchell                                            +
+   Amnesty International British Section                   +
+   99 - 119 Rosebery Avenue                                +
+   London EC1R 4RE      email: rmitchellai at gn.apc.org      +
+-----------------------------------------------------------+