Turkey: European Court Rules TR Tortured PKK Suspect

[english at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl]

European Court Rules TR Tortured PKK Suspect
                                       
STRASBOURG, France, Sept 25 (Reuter) - The European Court of Human
Rights ruled on Thursday that Turkish gendarmes raped and beat a woman
suspected of links to Kurdish separatists and ordered Ankara to pay
her compensation.

The court said Sukran Aydin had been tortured by police in the town of
Derik in southeastern Turkey while being held in custody for three
days in 1993. She was 16 at the time.

It also found that Aydin, who was never charged with any crime, had
not had any recourse to justice in Turkey, in violation of the
European Convention on Human Rights.

The Turkish government has denied ever detaining her. According to
government lawyers, she was described in intelligence reports as a
terrorist working for the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

"The Court was satisfied that the accumulation of acts of physical and
mental violence and especially cruel act of rape to which she was
subjected amounted to torture in breach of Article Three of the
Convention," it said in a statement. "In view of the extremely serious
violation of the Convention suffered buy the applicant and the
enduring psychological harm which she may be considered to have
suffered on account of being raped, the Court decided to award her the
sum of 25,000 sterling together with a substantial part of the legal
costs and expenses claimed." The costs amounted to a further 37,360
sterling, it said.

The rights court is part of the 40-nation Council of Europe, of which
Turkey is a member. The council was set up after World War Two to
promote democracy and human rights ac ross Europe.


-- 
Press Agency Ozgurluk
The Struggle for justice, democracy and human rights in Turkey and Kurdistan
http://www.ozgurluk.org                          
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