Human Rights Watch has published the World Report of events that took place in 2010. This 21st annual World Report summarizes human rights conditions in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide. It reflects extensive investigative work undertaken in 2010 by Human Rights Watch staff, usually in close partnership with domestic human rights activists. The report also focuses on media freedom in these countries.
TURKEY
Freedom of Expression, Assembly, and Association
Despite a climate of increasingly open debate, individuals continued to be prosecuted and convicted for non-violent speeches, writings, and participating in demonstrations. The practice of holding suspects charged with non-violent crimes in prolonged pre-trial detention continued.
Journalists and editors remained targets for prosecution. Legitimate news reporting on trials was deemed “attempting to influence a judicial process,” reporting on criminal investigations was judged as “violating the secrecy of a criminal investigation,” and news reports on the PKK was deemed “terrorist propaganda.”
Human Rights Watch has published the World Report of events that took place in 2010. This 21st annual World Report summarizes human rights conditions in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide. It reflects extensive investigative work undertaken in 2010 by Human Rights Watch staff, usually in close partnership with domestic human rights activists. The report also focuses on media freedom in these countries.
TURKEY
Freedom of Expression, Assembly, and Association
Despite a climate of increasingly open debate, individuals continued to be prosecuted and convicted for non-violent speeches, writings, and participating in demonstrations. The practice of holding suspects charged with non-violent crimes in prolonged pre-trial detention continued.
Journalists and editors remained targets for prosecution. Legitimate news reporting on trials was deemed “attempting to influence a judicial process,” reporting on criminal investigations was judged as “violating the secrecy of a criminal investigation,” and news reports on the PKK was deemed “terrorist propaganda.”
Some editors and journalists faced scores of ongoing legal proceedings in 2010. The case of Vedat Kursun stands out among those convicted in 2010. The editor of Kurdish daily Azadiya Welat, Kursun received a 166-year prison sentence in May for 103 counts of “terrorist propaganda” and “membership” in the PKK. At this writing he remained in prison pending an appeal.
Long-term restrictions on access to websites, including YouTube, continued. Leftist and pro-Kurdish political newspapers and journals were subject to arbitrary closure. In 2010 the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) condemned Turkey twice for using its Anti-Terror Law to ban publication of entire periodicals, saying the move was censorship that violated free expression. The court found Turkey had violated free expression in at least 10 other rulings in 2010.
Courts continued to use terrorism laws to prosecute hundreds of demonstrators deemed to be PKK supporters as if they were the group’s armed militants. Most spent prolonged periods in pre-trial detention, and those convicted received long prison sentences. A legal amendment by parliament in July will mean that convictions of children under the laws will be quashed. The laws remain otherwise unchanged.
Hundreds of officials and activist members of the pro-Kurdish party DTP and its successor BDP (which has 20 parliamentary members) were prosecuted during the year, including for links to the Union of Kurdistan Communities (KCK/TM), a body associated with the PKK’s leadership.
In October seven mayors, several lawyers, and a human rights defender (see below) were among 151 officials and activists tried in Diyarbakir for alleged separatism and KCK membership. At this writing the mayors have spent 10 months-and the 53 other defendants have spent 18 months-in pre-trial detention, while around 1,000 DTP/BDP officials and members suspected of KCK affiliation were in pre-trial detention nationwide, raising concerns about the right to political participation.
Source: Human Rights Watch