Today’s Zaman
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has criticized Turkish leaders, especially President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, over a series of human rights violations including the weakening of the rule of law, pressure on the media, crackdowns on peaceful protests and the rolling back of democratic gains the country has achieved in previous years.
In a report released on Monday, the New York-based human rights advocacy group said the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government has escalated its battle against fundamental rights and the rule of law in Turkey, warning that the only positive development in the Kurdish settlement issue may very well fall victim to democratic regression.
“Over the past year, Erdoğan’s [AK Party] has responded to political opposition by tearing up the rule book, silencing critical voices and wielding a stick,” said Emma Sinclair-Webb, senior Turkey researcher at HRW and author of the report titled “Turkey’s Human Rights Rollback: Recommendations for Reform”.
“For the sake of Turkey’s future and the rights of its citizens, the government needs to change course and protect rights instead of attacking them”, she urged.
The report underlined that the AK Party government has sought to curb the independence of the judiciary and weaken the rule of law in order to stifle what it called “the largest corruption investigations in the country’s history,” which incriminated senior officials in the government as well as family members of Erdoğan.
It said the government response to corruption investigations was swift and dramatic with “a massive rotation and demotion of police, prosecutors and judges, an immediate attempt to limit police powers, and a swathe of new legislation affecting the administration of the whole justice system and judicial functions.”
The report also noted that the government tried to control the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK), the key judicial body in the administration of the judiciary in Turkey, by passing new legislation. Although the legislation was partially annulled by the Constitutional Court in April, the government was able to change the composition of the chambers of the HSYK and to organize a massive, countrywide reassignment of judges and prosecutors.
“Genuine reform of the criminal justice system would bring long-lasting benefits for Turkey and the rights of its citizens. There is a pressing need to strengthen its independence from all forms of political pressure and against the domination of factions within the system itself,” HRW emphasized.
The report is also critical of a new system of criminal courts of peace and judges known as “judges of the peace.” The specially authorized courts were recently established by the government and endowed with extraordinary powers considered by jurists as contradicting standards of the universal rule of law. These courts are responsible for detentions, searches, pretrial detention and other measures at the criminal investigation stage.
Many of the anti-corruption investigators have been detained by these courts despite the fact that jurists say there is a lack of evidence of any wrongdoing. The criminal procedures brought against police involved in the investigations were described by many in Turkey as revenge operations orchestrated by Erdoğan and his allies in the government as part of a witch hunt against the Hizmet movement, a faith-based social movement that is inspired by the teachings of Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.
Erdoğan accuses Hizmet of constituting a “parallel structure” to the state and that Gülen was behind corruption investigations Erdoğan claims were aimed at toppling his government when he was the prime minister. Gülen strongly denies accusations of this parallel structure and rejects any link with corruption investigations.
HRW said Erdoğan’s promise of a counter-operation against the “parallel structure” within the criminal justice system materialized in late July and August, when many of the police officers involved in the corruption investigations were themselves arrested.
“On Sept. 1, and coinciding with the arrest of the members of the police, the media reported that prosecutors assigned to the corruption investigation against 96 suspects including Bilal Erdoğan, had issued a decision that there was no case to answer. The reasoning for closing the case was that the initial investigation had constituted an attempt to bring down the government,” the report explained.
Muzzling free press
HRW also drew attention to worrying press freedom woes in Turkey by saying that “the government’s erosion of media freedom, continuing readiness to limit freedom of expression, restrictive approach to freedom of assembly and readiness to prosecute demonstrators while tolerating police violence against them have been among the developments most damaging to Turkey’s democratic credentials and international reputation.”
The report said media critical of the government are targeted with tax and disciplinary fines from tax authorities and regulatory bodies. It also stated that the government carries out criminal defamation cases against journalists, prosecutes journalists for publishing leaked documents, restricts access to social media sites and employs political authorities to target journalists critical of the government.
The report underlined that all of this impedes “the ability or likelihood of the media to hold government authorities to account or scrutinize their activities.” It added that “the space for independent, nonaligned and critical journalism in Turkey has shrunk.”
“The blocking of Twitter and YouTube in 2014, together with more restrictive steps to control the Internet through new revisions to Turkey’s main law regulating content on the Internet (law no. 5651), came in the wake of the December 2013 corruption scandal,” the report said.
A third revision to the internet law passed by Parliament without consultation with stakeholders on Sept. 10 gave the Telecommunications Directorate (TİB) increased powers to block websites for reasons of “national security, the restoration of public order and the prevention of crimes,” and to retain data on internet users’ browsing histories.
“These restrictions come on the back of concerns over the government’s attempts to stifle the circulation of recordings of politically damaging telephone conversations between members of the government, the prime minister and close associates, which circulated widely on social media,” HRW explained.
The government also violated the rights of citizens to exercise the right to freedom of assembly during the Gezi Park protests of last year, HRW noted.
“The government has repeatedly demonstrated an unduly restrictive interpretation of the right to assembly, regularly preventing demonstrations and public assembly, including on the May 31 one-year anniversary of the Gezi protests, without providing compelling reasons [for doing so],” HRW emphasized.
At least 5,500 have been put on trial in connection with the Gezi protests, the report said, adding that scores of people face additional terrorism charges in connection with the protests.
“In September, the İstanbul prosecutor indicted 35 individuals linked with a football club fan organization for allegedly attempting to overthrow the government during the Gezi protests, for which they face possible life imprisonment. The indictment cites tweets, telephone calls, and an effort to occupy the prime minister’s İstanbul office as evidence of an attempt to overthrow the government,” it noted.
HRW hailed a suspension of hostilities over the course of 2013 and 2014 between the government and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and noted that the government set the peace process on a legal footing via a law passed by Parliament.
“The most important development in Turkey for its potential to further human rights is the peace process with the Kurds,” it said, stressing that bolder steps to remedy the rights deficit for Turkey’s Kurds could further human rights for all ethnic and religious minority groups in Turkey.
The report pointed out that Turkey’s politicized and faction-riven judiciary has contributed greatly to the perpetuation of a culture of impunity for serious human rights violations by police, military and state officials.
“As a result, the victims of these abuses face significant obstacles in securing justice,” it noted.
Recommendations from HRW to the government of Turkey
1. End constitutional restrictions on human rights
* Completely revise the 1982 Constitution to ensure no provisions impede the enjoyment of fundamental rights and freedoms and rule of law in Turkey.
2. In order to support the Kurdish peace process, protect rights and uphold the rights of all minority groups:
* End the misuse of terrorism charges (contained in the Turkish Penal Code and Anti-Terror Law) against individuals for whom there is no evidence of violent activities, plotting, or logistic help to illegal armed groups;
* Conduct a full review to identify, with a view to overturning, all flawed terrorism convictions of political activists, students and others for whom there is no evidence of violent activities, plotting, or logistic help to illegal armed groups; replace Turkish Penal Code Article 314 (“membership of an armed organization”) with a narrower offence criminalizing only those who directly participate in violent activities connected to an unlawful armed group;
* Withdraw Turkey’s reservation to Article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) on minority rights. Ratify the Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and other international instruments relating to minority rights, and ensure that they are fully enforced;
* Enact comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation, including a prohibition on discrimination on grounds of ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity, and include the prohibition of such discrimination in constitutional changes;
* Among other measures to uphold the rights of all minority groups, end discrimination against the Alevi Muslim minority by legally recognizing their meeting houses (cemevi) as places of worship.
3. Protect freedom of expression, assembly and association
* Conduct a review of all articles of the Turkish Penal Code, the Anti-Terror Law, the Law on Public Assemblies and Demonstrations, new revisions to the Law on the National Intelligence Agency, the Law Regulating Content Published on the Internet and Combatting Crimes Committed Through Such Publication (No. 5651), and other laws that are used to unjustifiably restrict the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly and the right to access to information, and amend or repeal restrictive provisions to bring them in compliance with international standards;
* Halt executive interference with editorial decisions, pressure and intimidation against critical news outlets and journalists;
* End the criminalization of individuals for peaceful participation in unauthorized demonstrations under the Law on Public Assemblies and Demonstrations (Law No. 2911);
* Drop cases against Taksim Solidarity representatives and other protestors for exercising their right to free assembly and expression; drop “coup attempt” and other charges against 35 individuals associated with the Çarşı football fan group for exercising their right to free assembly and expression during the May-June 2013 Gezi protests;
* End the excessive use and misuse of tear gas while policing protests and hold to account officers who bear responsibility for either conduct.
4. Reform the Criminal Justice System
* End the misuse of terrorism charges against individuals for whom there is no evidence of violent activities, plotting, or logistic help to illegal armed groups;
* Further limit the maximum time permitted in pretrial detention and speed up trial proceedings;
* Strengthen the independence of judges and prosecutors from the executive and from all forms of political interference;
* End government and other political interference in the criminal justice system and in criminal investigations relating to government-linked corruption allegations and ensure that public officials can be held accountable for human rights abuses and corruption.
5. End Impunity for Violence against Women
* Ensure effective implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention), including through implementation of Turkey’s 2012 domestic Law on the Protection of the Family and Prevention of Violence against Women;
* Ensure the criminal prosecution of perpetrators of domestic violence and violence against women and implementation of sanctions commensurate with the seriousness of the crime;
* The Ministries of Justice, Interior, and the Family and Social Policy should jointly conduct a broad review of cases where women have been the victim of violence while under a protection order to determine how to strengthen enforcement of protection orders;
* Ensure that there are sufficient specialized and safe shelters for victims of domestic violence, with a view to bringing the number of available places in line with recommended number in the Istanbul Convention, and accessible for all women irrespective of age, ethnicity, nationality, sexuality, pregnancy, marital status, or disability.
6. Strengthen Official Human Rights Bodies in Turkey, Implement a Human Rights Action Plan
* In line with obligations under the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Torture (OPCAT), establish a fully independent national preventive mechanism for monitoring places of detention;
* Revise the law on the National Human Rights Council of Turkey to ensure adherence to the Paris Principles, to make it an independent body, adequately resourced and empowered, accountable to the public, and established with the active participation of civil society groups;
* Take steps to implement the recommendations in the government’s March 2014 “Action plan to prevent violations of the European Convention on Human Rights.”
7. Combat Impunity of Public Officials and the Security Forces for Human Rights Abuses
* Repeal the 20-year statute of limitations for violations of the right to life by those acting as agents or on behalf of the state;
* Ensure that if a trial of alleged state perpetrators on charges relating to unlawful killings and enforced disappearances is held in a court distant from the location in which the crimes were committed, the families of victims represented in the case are provided with financial support to cover all additional expenses incurred due to the location of the trial;
* Repeal new revisions to the Law on the National Intelligence Agency granting immunity from prosecution to intelligence agency officials;
* Revise Law 4483 on the Prosecution of Civil Servants and other public officials to state clearly that civil servants, including police and other law enforcement officers of all ranks, can be prosecuted without administrative authorization where there is credible evidence of criminal wrongdoing or abuse of power;
* Establish an effective independent mechanism to carry out prompt, impartial, and thorough investigations into allegations of misconduct by members of the security forces and law enforcement officials that are capable of leading to prosecution of offenders and holding senior officers responsible for the conduct of junior officers;
* Ensure that criminal investigations and trial hearings of members of the security forces and law enforcement officials take place without undue delay.
To the European Union and United States
* Emphasize in their relations with Turkey the importance of respect for human right and the rule of law and encourage Turkey to implement the recommendations above;
* Acknowledge that respect for human rights and the rule of law in Turkey are a key element of its stability in a regional context and should therefore be a strategic priority for US and EU policy towards the region;
* The Council of the European Union should express a willingness to discuss Chapter 23 of the EU Acquis concerning Justice and Fundamental Rights and, to start with, agree on the conditions that Turkey needs to fulfill to open this chapter and communicate those opening benchmarks to the Turkish government.