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AMNESTY SLAMS TURKEY OVER HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
Hurriyet
May 13 2011
Turkey
Despite increasingly open debate regarding previously taboo issues,
numerous criminal prosecutions in Turkey are following the expression
of dissenting opinions, Amnesty International said Friday.
In its annual analysis of the world's human rights, Amnesty
International said "especially those relating to criticism of the
armed forces, the position of Armenians and Kurds in Turkey and ongoing
criminal prosecutions. Alongside various articles of the Penal Code,
anti- terrorism laws carrying higher prison sentences and resulting in
pre-trial detention orders were frequently used to stifle legitimate
free expression."
The rights group said, "Allegations of torture and other ill-treatment
persisted, especially outside places of detention, including during
demonstrations, but also in police custody and during transfer
to prison."
"In November, the U.N. Committee against Torture issued a series of
recommendations to the authorities to combat "numerous, ongoing and
consistent allegations of torture" for which the committee expressed
grave concern during their review of Turkey," the report noted.
On violence against women the report said the government failed to
achieve significant progress. "The government's National Action Plan
2007-2010 to combat domestic violence failed to record significant
progress, due in part to a lack of coordination, insufficient resource
allocation and the lack of measurable goals," it said.
The group criticized the Turkish government by saying independent
human rights mechanisms proposed by the government were not established
against human rights abuses in the country. "For example, civil society
was not effectively consulted over the draft law to establish the
Human Rights Institution (a body proposed to protect human rights and
prevent violations), which failed to provide the necessary guarantees
of independence," it said.
Allegations of ill treatment in prisons persisted, especially of remand
prisoners directly following transfer. Denial of effective access
to medical treatment and arbitrary limitations applied to prisoners'
rights to associate with each other continued, according to the report.
While constitutional amendments in Turkey and revisions to the
Anti-Terrorism Law represented positive steps, unfair trials under
anti- terrorism legislation continued, and anti-terrorism laws carrying
higher prison sentences and resulting in pre-trial detention orders
were frequently used to stifle freedom of expression, Amnesty said.
Hurriyet
May 13 2011
Turkey
Despite increasingly open debate regarding previously taboo issues,
numerous criminal prosecutions in Turkey are following the expression
of dissenting opinions, Amnesty International said Friday.
In its annual analysis of the world's human rights, Amnesty
International said "especially those relating to criticism of the
armed forces, the position of Armenians and Kurds in Turkey and ongoing
criminal prosecutions. Alongside various articles of the Penal Code,
anti- terrorism laws carrying higher prison sentences and resulting in
pre-trial detention orders were frequently used to stifle legitimate
free expression."
The rights group said, "Allegations of torture and other ill-treatment
persisted, especially outside places of detention, including during
demonstrations, but also in police custody and during transfer
to prison."
"In November, the U.N. Committee against Torture issued a series of
recommendations to the authorities to combat "numerous, ongoing and
consistent allegations of torture" for which the committee expressed
grave concern during their review of Turkey," the report noted.
On violence against women the report said the government failed to
achieve significant progress. "The government's National Action Plan
2007-2010 to combat domestic violence failed to record significant
progress, due in part to a lack of coordination, insufficient resource
allocation and the lack of measurable goals," it said.
The group criticized the Turkish government by saying independent
human rights mechanisms proposed by the government were not established
against human rights abuses in the country. "For example, civil society
was not effectively consulted over the draft law to establish the
Human Rights Institution (a body proposed to protect human rights and
prevent violations), which failed to provide the necessary guarantees
of independence," it said.
Allegations of ill treatment in prisons persisted, especially of remand
prisoners directly following transfer. Denial of effective access
to medical treatment and arbitrary limitations applied to prisoners'
rights to associate with each other continued, according to the report.
While constitutional amendments in Turkey and revisions to the
Anti-Terrorism Law represented positive steps, unfair trials under
anti- terrorism legislation continued, and anti-terrorism laws carrying
higher prison sentences and resulting in pre-trial detention orders
were frequently used to stifle freedom of expression, Amnesty said.