Melek Çetinkaya: A Mother’s Struggle For Justice

Ms. Melek Çetinkaya is the mother of Taha Furkan Çetinkaya, a military student. She believes in her son’s innocence and tries to make her voice heard on social media so that her son, who is currently held imprisoned, is released. Ms. Çetinkaya stayed at home with her children for three and a half years, believing that the state would provide justice until she finally decided to take to the streets to protest government unfairness through peaceful demonstrations and marches.[i] According to the Turkish Constitution, every citizen has the right to act peacefully without permission, stone, stick or weapon. However, every time she protests, she is fined 390 Turkish Liras (TL) and is taken to the police station, where she is kept for several hours. One of the times she was arrested, she was forced to stay in the anti-terror department (TEM) for two days.[ii]

 

Melek Çetinkaya is known for her campaigns and peaceful protests to raise awareness on her son’s victimization known to large masses and for the release of his son and hundreds of others’ unlawful arrests. The protests stem from the ineffectiveness of the Turkish judicial system under Erdogan’s regime.

Çetinkaya’s son, Taha, was a military student at the Turkish Air Force Academy. Taha was on summer vacation at home after completing his first year at the Air Force Academy. On July 10th, 2016, five days before the attempted coup, cadets were invited to the annual 3-week routine military camp. These camps were one of the programs determined one year in advance and included in the military students’ yearly program calendar.[iii]

On the morning of July 15th, Air Forces Commander General Abidin Ünal made an unplanned visit to the cadet camp and gave a speech to the cadets. Ünal visited the cadet camp every year, but not unnoticed. He usually made a scheduled visit to the centre. The cadets would clean the campsite, cook, and upkeep the spaces s and, as preparation for high profile visits. Only once this is done will the visitors meet the cadets.[iv]

The cadets passed police points when arriving at the Osmangazi Bridge, but none of the police asked them where they were going. The commanders carried no money on them, so when they reached the toll, both the cadets paid the fee with cash they had individually collected and crossed the bridge. The authorities stopped the bus with the cadets in Sultanbeyli after crossing the bridge and were told there had been a coup, a news that came as a shock to the cadets. The public offered the cadets water and cigarettes and sang the national anthem.[v] At approximately 2 am, two policemen stated, “Okay, we have these kids; you can disperse”. The cadets did as they were told, reiterating they were not coup plotters. Later in the morning, the police arrested the cadets and made them wait on the bridge until 8 am instead of taking the cadets to the police station or the air force school.[vi]

Throughout the morning, people started arriving at the bridge carrying weapons, knives, skewers, and sticks and started attacking the cadets. They first broke the bus’s windows and proceeded to get on the bus and start kicking the cadets. One of the armed persons shot the gas tank and shouted, “kill them”. The cadets hid their weapons under their arms in response to the fear and terror that had broken out, and fortunately, no cadets were killed. However, the children present were taken to the police station in Sultanbeyli and held in detention for four days.[vii]

The institutional facilities had severely poor conditions. The fact that the cadets were arbitrarily detained for over five years, the children subjected to torture for four consecutive days under police authority, and dogs were tied up and deprived of food and water highlights grave human rights violations. When the cadets asked to go to the toilet, they were taken by banging their backs, shoulders, and heads against the wall. The prison authorities filled 40-person detention rooms with 120 people.[viii]

The cadet’s indictments sought three life sentences for overthrowing the Turkish Constitution. The authorities separated the imprisoned cadets into five cases, namely ‘the Sultanbeyli case’, the ‘TRT/Digiturk case’, the ‘Orhanlı case’, the ‘Bosporus bridge case,’ and the ‘Fatih Sultan Mehmet (FSM) bridge case’. The Court of Cassation overturned the ‘TRT/Digiturk case’ with 37 cadets, reopening the trial. However, the cadet students were sentenced to life after the Appeal Trial. The judicial process has proven that, in Turkey, lower instance courts do not abide by the higher courts’ decisions but instead act upon government orders. The ‘Sultanbeyli case’, where Ms. Melek Çetinkaya’s children are, is currently under review at the Court of Cassation and will probably be overturned in the coming months. Still, as in the ‘TRT/Digiturk case’, she believes the courts will not abide by this decision, and the detention of the children will continue. She hopes to be wrong and wishes that all the children are released, but the current government’s practices have proved it unlikely.[ix]

Ms. Melek Çetinkaya applied to the United Nations Human Rights Council Arbitrary Detention Working Group on behalf of her son for his case to be examined and decided. The file was indeed reviewed and decided upon, resulting in the immediate release of Taha Çetinkaya. Despite this, the Turkish legal system currently does not recognize either the European Court of Human Rights or any organs of the United Nations. As such, the decision is deemed invalid to the case at hand.

There are approximately 341 imprisoned student cadets. Three of them are female, and three of them passed away.[x]

Murat Tekin and Ragıp Enes Katran were brutally murdered by being lynched on the Bosphorus Bridge during the July 15th bloody coup attempt. They were found in the morgue after 12 days together and were unrecognizable. Their parents recognized the children by their fingernails. The families were not given a funeral vehicle or coffins and were refused to perform prayers. In addition, no funeral ceremonies were held, and they were told to bury the children in silence. The families were not given burial land for the corpses of these students. Still, their respective relatives had bought a family cemetery in advance, and the bodies could be buried there. The third student, Yusuf Kurt, died later. He was incarcerated for nine months, and extreme stress and pressure levels exacerbated a cancer development. Yusuf passed away a year ago with the burden of the pain he endured.[xi]

As mentioned above, three female students are held behind bars for the same reasons. They are detained in the Bakırköy Women’s closed prison. Their names are Nimet Ecem Gönüllü, Nagihan Yavuz and Sena Ogut Alan. These girls were 20 years old when they were arrested. Nagihan lost her father on 1st March 2022, but she could not attend her father’s funeral. Nimet Ecem, on the other hand, is a martyr’s daughter. Her father was martyred when she was three years old while he was serving as a senior lieutenant in the Turkish Air Force (TAF). Albeit a martyr’s daughter, she received a life sentence on a baseless allegation of being a member of a terrorist organization. The father of the other female detainee is an officer who retired from the TAF. Despite this, she was sentenced to life imprisonment for being a ‘traitor’ and a ‘terrorist’.

Melek Çetinkaya became the subject of a European thesis. Helena Vodopija, a graduate of Turcology and Anthropology, met with Çetinkaya for her master’s thesis “on the memories” of military students and their families who were sentenced to life imprisonment within the scope of the European Human Rights and Democratization Master’s Program of Luxembourg University on July 15th and the following period.[xii]

Melek Çetinkaya was a mother of three, living a modest life in Turkey. On the evening of July 15th, 2016, she became a mother seeking justice on the streets. She will continue her rightful struggle until she accomplishes releasing all arbitrarily detained cadets.

 

Written by Berkan Doğan Ünes

Edited by Olga Ruiz Pilato

 

Sources;

[i] https://politurco.com/arrest-of-ms-melek-cetinkaya-is-an-intervention-to-democracy.html [Accessed on 03/04/2022]

[ii] https://politurco.com/melek-cetinkaya-turkish-state-under-erdogan-regime-took-me-out-on-the-street.html [Accessed on 03/04/2022]

[iii] Ibid.

[iv] Ibid.

[v] https://www.duvarenglish.com/human-rights/2020/01/25/my-son-is-not-a-coup-plotter-a-mothers-struggle-to-prove-her-cadet-sons-innocence [Accessed on 03/04/2022]

[vi] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ND5snMwA2JQ [Accessed on 03/04/2022]

[vii] Ibid.

[viii] https://politurco.com/melek-cetinkaya-turkish-state-under-erdogan-regime-took-me-out-on-the-street.html [Accessed on 03/04/2022]

[ix] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HB6cRgf15w [Accessed on 03/04/2022]

[x] https://politurco.com/melek-cetinkaya-turkish-state-under-erdogan-regime-took-me-out-on-the-street.html [Accessed on 03/04/2022]

[xi] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tofQTvdJlqk&t=290s [Accessed on 03/04/2022]

[xii] https://ahvalnews.com/tr/melek-cetinkaya/melek-cetinkaya-avrupada-tez-konusu-oldu [Accessed on 03/04/2022]

 

*Crop image from: https://www.tr724.com/melek-cetinkayanin-ogluna-hucre-cezasi/

Innocent Turkish Teachers Deported from Liberia

On the 20th of April, 2022 about 10 Turkish teachers and their families were deported from Liberia by the local government. The Turkish officials were administrators at Light International School System (LISS) located in Monrovia, Liberia.According to frontpageAfrica the names of some of the staff deported are as follows;the principal and general manager, Roman Mamedov, head of primary section, Mrs. Mamedov; English teacher and accountant, Elvin Rahimov; Mrs. Rahimov; Moral Education Teacher and Vice President for Administration Mehmet Simsek; Mrs. Ramazan. Ceray, Esma, a little girl in 6th grade and Enest, a boy in pre-primary section. It is reported that on wednesday, 20th of April, state security rounded up the schools Turkish staff and their families and deported them the same day.

 

According to sources, the deportation happens to be a request from the president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan(“Erdogan’s Long Arm Reached Liberia: Turkish Teachers Deported – Politurco.com”, 2022).  There has been no comments regarding this matter from both the government of Turkey as well as the government of Liberia. Following a meeting that was held at  Turkish Light International School by parents and other officials to share this saddening news. The parents were simply told that the school’s Turkish administrators had been deported without any reasonable explanation(Writer, 2022). This saddening incident has affected students, local staff as well as parents in connection to Light international school as well as those from other international schools in the country. Although sources have not provided much regarding this matter, nonetheless it breaches human rights of these families as well as limiting the student under their management, the quality of education provided by the Turkish officials in Liberia.

 

The fourth United Nations Sustainable Development Goal, states that “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”(“Goal 4: Quality education”, 2022). The Turkish families who were deported from Liberia, supported this goal and were committed to making this a reality. The school that was under management of the deported family, Light International school brought a different perspective to the education system in Liberia with its high education quality, various programs such as science fairs, cultural festivals, mathematics Olympiads and abroad trips.

 

Despite all this beauty, the government of Liberia and the government of Turkey has not yet responded or taken action towards this incident to stand with the affected families.

 

Written by Ntchindi Chilongozi Theu

 

Bibliography

 

1.Erdogan’s Long Arm Reached Liberia: Turkish Teachers Deported – Politurco.com. (2022). Retrieved 27 April 2022, from https://politurco.com/erdogans-long-arm-reached-liberia-turkish-teachers-deported.html

 

2. Writer, S. (2022). ‘It is so sad for Liberia’ – Ali Kaya decries deportation of Light Int’l School’s Turkish Officials – Heritage Newspaper Liberia. Retrieved 29 April 2022, from https://www.heritagenewslib.com/index.php/component/k2/item/3624-it-is-so-sad-for-liberia-ali-kaya-decries-deportation-of-light-int-l-school-s-turkish-officials

 

3. Goal 4: Quality education. (2022). Retrieved 29 April 2022, from https://www1.undp.org/content/oslo-governance-centre/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-4-quality-education.html?utm_source=EN&utm_medium=GSR&utm_content=US_UNDP_PaidSearch_Brand_English&utm_campaign=CENTRAL&c_src=CENTRAL&c_src2=GSR&gclid=Cj0KCQjwma6TBhDIARIsAOKuANw9AjpTJe5dKGsib3cfL9MvujUxTay2IWDNG6pfDdipG4q5D13PcIMaAq7SEALw_wcB

HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN TURKISH PRISONS

The Turkish government is violating well-established domestic and international law by keeping severely ill prisoners arbitrarily detained. Prisoners in Turkey are struggling with sexual and physical violence such as bare-searching, harassment, and brutal beatings as well as many rights violations such as exorbitantly expensive canteens, midnight raids in the wards, book restrictions, denial of medicine and arbitrary punishments.[1] This article will shed light on some human rights violations cases taking place in Turkish prisons today.

Following the attempted coup in 2016, incarceration numbers have massively risen to the extent that prison overcrowding has become a prevalent issue. However, overcrowding is not the only concerning matter in prisons throughout Turkey, but the ill-treatment and human rights abuses happening to the tens of thousands of prisoners is a serious problem that must be tackled immediately.

 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been targeting followers of the Gülen moment, a faith-based group inspired by the Turkish cleric Fethullah Gülen, since a series of corruption investigations took place in December 2013, implicating Erdogan, his relatives and inner circle.[2] Among the targeted are many opposition politicians, journalists, lawyers, and human rights defenders. Yusuf Bekmezci (82), a gravely ill prisoner who was in custody at Kırıklar F-Type Prison in Izmir, died after 47 days in intensive care.[3] He was arrested in January 2020 as part of investigations into the Fetullah Gülen Movement. Bekmezci was remanded in Izmir Kırıklar F-Type Prison and sentenced to 17 years and 4 months imprisonment on 9 April 2021 on a charge being a “manager of an organisation”.[4] Saadet Aytekin, his granddaughter and lawyer stated that her “grandfather’s case was at the Supreme Court. His sentence had not been ratified. However, the court ruled that ‘he should continue to serve his sentence in hospital’ as if his conviction had been ratified. He had illnesses throughout his two-year detention, but they refused to release a man attached to tubes in intensive care because he was an “escape risk”.”[5] Indeed, the Turkish Council of Forensic Medicine (ATK) issued a medical report stating that Bekmezci was unfit to remain incarcerated, but the court dismissed the report by stating he was at “flight risk”.[6] His daughter, Şeyma Bekmezci, stated her father’s inability to understand court proceedings in light of his advanced Alzheimer’s, which consequently made it impossible for him to defend himself. She suggested that the lack of proper mental health care in prison was one of the factors causing his deterioration: “he completely forgets himself in court and is in a vulnerable position”.[7]

 

Human Rights Association (İHD) declared that, as of June 2020, the numbers of sick inmates locked behind bars in Turkey amounted to 1,605, of which approximately 600 were in a critical condition. The government allowed their detainment even though most of them had forensic and medical reports deeming them unfit to remain incarcerated. Authorities refused their release on the basis that they pose a potential danger to society. The failure to release critically ill prisoners in time to receive proper medical treatment resulted in five deaths during the first eight months of 2020. After the pandemic hit, the government released prisoners charged with murder but decided to keep political prisoners in spite of the pandemic’s risks. Mugla died after contracting Covid-19.[8]

Throughout November and December 2021, several prisoners lost their lives while detained in Type T and Type F prisons. Prisoners Garibe Gezer and İlyas Demir were found dead in the padded cells where they had been isolated.[9] Some prisoners, such as 33-year-old Bangin Muhammed and 65-year-old Abdülrezzak Şuyur passed away due to failure of being released in spite of their severe illness and, in the latter case, advanced cancer.[10] Others were suspiciously found dead in their cells, and the administration informed their families that they had committed suicide.[11]

On the 20th of January 2022, 43 bar associations and lawyers as well as human rights organisations nationally and internationally signed an urgent letter for the United Nations special mandate holders to call attention to the imminent risk to health and life of the ill prisoner Aysel Tugluk, detained in Kocaeli Kandira F-Type Prison since December 2016.[12] Tugluk has been diagnosed with dementia and continues imprisoned despite the calls by medical reports demonstrating her precarious state and deteriorating health, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Providing additional information on systemic issues concerning the treatment of prisoners in Turkey, the letter requests that the Special Procedures urge the Turkish government to immediately release Aysel Tugluk and all severely ill prisoners in line with both domestic and international standards with regard to the treatment of prisoners.[13] Despite this, at the beginning

of February 2022, the imprisoned Turgay Deniz (39) suffered lung failure and lost his life while in arbitrary detention. Although medical reports stressed the importance of being cared for throughout hospitalisation, he remained incarcerated.[14] His story is one of eight stories of people that have passed away in Turkish prisons in the last three months.[15] 84-year-old Nusret Mugla was convicted and imprisoned for being a Gulen Movement sympathiser. His arrestment failed to consider his age, heart and kidney diseases, and prostate cancer, and as a result of the neglected assistance, he died incarcerated.

 

The press statement held in the İHD İstanbul Branch noted that the serious violations of rights in prisons are gradually becoming systematic and has reached a stalemate in healthcare, the right to communication, torture, and ill treatment respects.[16] Accessing justice has become hopeless for many prisoners in Turkey. The rights organisations raised concerns that “it is now seen as an ordinary incident in the country that the dead body of a person is taken out of a prison any time.”[17]

Referring to the İHD data, as of March 2021, there were at least 1,605 ill prisoners, 604 of whom were in precarious conditions at the time of the statement’s publishment.[18] Human rights organisations know of at least 38 prisoners who should be released urgently, as their conditions are further deteriorating. However, to date the authorities have not responded to calls either from human rights activists or from the families.

 

On behalf of Broken Chalk, I make an urgent call to all the international communities and organisations to take action against the injustices and inhumane treatments against political prisoners undertaken by Erdogan and his regime, and to assist them in their release from the degrading conditions they are detained in.

 

Written by Olga Ruiz Pilato

 

Sources;

[1] Duvar English, MHP submits social media proposal, seeks penalties for fake accounts, February 2022 <accessible at https://www.duvarenglish.com/mhp-submits-social-media-proposal-seeks-penalties-for-fake-accounts-news-60333>.

[2] Turkish Minute, Turkish court rejects ailing philanthropist’s appeal for release from prison, January 2022 <accessible at  https://www.turkishminute.com/2022/01/12/kish-court-rejects-ailing-philanthropists-appeal-for-release-from-prison/>.

[3] MedyaNews, Turkey: Severely ill octogenarian prisoner dies, January 2022 <accessible at https://medyanews.net/turkey-severely-ill-octogenarian-prisoner-dies/>.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Turkish Minute, Turkish court rejects ailing philanthropist’s appeal for release from prison, January 2022 <accessible at  https://www.turkishminute.com/2022/01/12/kish-court-rejects-ailing-philanthropists-appeal-for-release-from-prison/>.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Politurco, Gulenm sympathisers are dying in prisons under the ruling of the Erdogan regime, February 2022 <accessible at  https://politurco.com/gulen-sympathizers-are-dying-in-prisons-under-the-ruling-of-the-erdogan-regime-84-year-old-nusret-mugla-was-one-of-the-many-and-died-most-recently.html>.

[9] English Bianet, At least 59 ill prisoners lost their lives in Turkey in a year, January 2022 <accessible at  https://m.bianet.org/english/human-rights/256124-at-least-59-ill-prisoners-lost-their-lives-in-turkey-in-a-year>.

[10] Ibid.

[11] Ibid.

[12] International Federation for Human Rights, Turkey must immediately release Aysel Tugluk and other severely ill prisoners, January 2022 <accessible at https://www.fidh.org/en/region/europe-central-asia/turkey/turkey-must-immediately-release-aysel-tugluk-and-other-severely-ill>.

[13] Ibid.

[14] Ibid.

[15] Ibid.

[16] English Bianet, At least 59 ill prisoners lost their lives in Turkey in a year, January 2022 <accessible at  https://m.bianet.org/english/human-rights/256124-at-least-59-ill-prisoners-lost-their-lives-in-turkey-in-a-year>.

[17] Ibid.

[18] Ibid.

Imprisonment of the innocent: Prof Laçiner

Who is Sedat Laçiner?

Sedat Laçiner is a Turkish professor born in Kirkale, Turkey. He is 49 years old and has been imprisoned since the summer of 2016. Professor Laçiner’s educational path began in Turkey where he graduated high school and completed hisbachelor’s degree in Ankara. He started his master’s degree in Political Science in Turkey butafter receiving a scholarship from the Ministry of National Education, he finished his degree in the United Kingdom. Upon completing his master’s degree in 2001, he obtained his Ph.D. at King’s College University of London. In 1994 Sedat Laçiner was appointed as the Prime Minister’s correspondent and has, to date, written multiple articles. He was a member of the Higher Education Council (YÖK), the National Committee of Turkish-Armenian Relations (TEİmK), and was appointed as the director of the Centre for Strategic Studies at Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University in 2003. From 2004 to 2010 he presidedthe International Institute for Strategic Studies (USAK). On March 15, 2011, Laçiner was appointed rector of Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University (ÇOMU) at the age of 38, which made him the youngest rector in Turkey. In 2006 he was awarded the prize “2006 Young Global Leader” and is still the first and only person in Turkey to be nominated for a title in the field “intellectuals”. Professor Laçiner is the author of 26 books in both Turkish and English.

Turkey’s coup attempt

The president of Turkey, Recep Erdogan, has a controversial style of leadership. It is a dubious form of democracy. Upon undertaking the presidency, Erdogan took over the media, dropped the charges of the previously convicted governmental ministers and their families, and has been involved in a huge corruption scandal. In 2014, he charged Fetullah Gulen with organizing a “parallel state structure” which was an act of competitor elimination. His actions have resulted in widespread disapproval and urge for change. In 2016, the inevitable happened – a coup d’état took place. Via a broadcaster, a faction of the army announced that “it had seized power to protect democracy from Recep Erdogan”. Despite its failure and rapid disappearance, sources suggest there were over 1,400 wounded and some dead in the process. The 7,000 people arrested included high-ranking soldiers, judges, and teachers, amongst others. According to various sources, the coup did not succeed because it did not have the needed support from civil citizens, who needed to push the “change”. When Erdogan took control over the situation, he blamed the US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen immediately. The coup is also majorly viewed as an excuse for Turkey’s current president to consolidate his power. Today over 20,000 people remain imprisoned.

Why is Sedat Laçiner in prison?

In 2018, Sedat Laçiner was sentenced to 9 years and 4 months in jail. During the process, some prosecutors wanted life imprisonment and discussions on re-establishing the death penalty arose. In one of Laçiner’s letters to his family, the former rector states: “After eight months there is still no single legal evidence for the accusation, namely attempting to remove the Erdogan government. The indictment even accepts that I have no violent or forceful action, behaviour, or activity.” He also states that he had no access to a lawyer and his file was kept away from him, which amounts to a violation of his right to a fair trial and as such, one of his fundamental human rights. The former rector was accused of being part of the “Gülen” movement and was kept in custody without sufficient evidence proving his liability.

According to Laçiner’s family, he has been charged with terrorism offenses in connection with FETÖ – the Fethullah Gülen Terrorist Organisation, which is the term the Turkish government uses to refer to the Gülen movement. FETÖcomprises of followers of the moderate Islamist preacher Fethullah Gülen and his brother, Vedat, who also an academic, but has been given no details of what they are supposed to have done to warrant being charged. Both are being held at the Çanakkale E Type Closed Prison (Malley, 2017).

The accusations include that the Gülen movement was an “armed terroristic act”, but until this day there is no evidence to back these charges. Despite Erdogan’s views, the world is taking a stance in favour of the ones suffering by his iron-fist regime. Unfortunately, there are over 200,000 innocent people arbitrarily detained – a number that illustrates how the presumption of innocence is not the Turkish government’s concern.

Original text by Ivan Evstatiev

Edited by Olga Ruiz Pilato

Sources

Malley, B. M. (2017, April 6). Is imprisoned academic a victim of a mass witchhunt? University World News. Retrieved February 22, 2022, from https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=2016111800050457

TurkeyPurge. (2017, September 25). Turkish professor Sedat Laciner, under pre-trial detention for 26 months, gets 9 years in jail | Turkey Purge. Turkeypurge.Com. Retrieved February 22, 2022, from https://turkeypurge.com/turkish-professor-sedat-laciner-under-pre-trial-detention-for-26-months-gets-9-years-in-jail

www.sabah.com.tr. (2016, July 23). Eski rektör Sedat Laçiner tutuklandı. Sabah. Retrieved February 18, 2022, from https://www.sabah.com.tr/gundem/2016/07/23/eski-rektor-sedat-laciner-tutuklandi

President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, visits Albania: Brotherhood or Strategic Instrument?

On January 17, 2022, the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Albania with an agenda that included the inauguration of infrastructural works, specifically the apartment complex built in Lac with the funds of the Turkish government, to shelter families affected by the 2019 earthquake that hit Albania, resulting in 51 people dead, over 1000 wounded and 17.000 others displaced. Turkish-funded works included the restoration of 2 schools and a square that, as a sign of gratitude, was named “Recep Tayyip Erdogan”. The “Honorary Citizen” title was awarded to the President of Turkey.

 

In addition, the Turkish President inaugurated the Ethem Bey Mosque in the center of Tirana, a valuable and unique monument of the Ottoman Era in Albania, restored by TIKA (Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency).

 

The plan included strengthening bilateral ties, which was finalized by signing seven cooperation agreements. During the meeting, Turkish President Erdogan and Prime Minister Edi Rama praised the close cooperation between the two countries, especially in economics, culture, law enforcement, etc. According to the latest report on Foreign Trade in Albania, Turkey ranks second after Italy in terms of the value of exchanges, thus making Turkey an important strategic partner.

 

It is worth noting that the meeting was discussed in terms of ‘brotherhood between the countries’. “What I want to emphasize is the principle-belief that the sign of brotherhood is not to come when called, but to come when the brother is in need. Therefore, we will continue to stand by you”, President Erdogan stated.

 

But does this brotherhood come unconditionally? 

 

If we see the continuation of the meeting and the words of the President himself: “It deeply harms our nation that FETO can still operate in … Albania. In the coming period, our sincerest expectation is that more concrete, persistent and swift steps will be taken against FETO structures in Albania,” we can say that the brotherhood comes with a request, if not with a condition.

 

“FETO” is the so-called organization of supporters of the exiled Turkish preacher Fethullah Gülen that Erdogan and his government accused of being a terrorist organization as well as of orchestrating the failed 2016 putsch that killed over 270 people.

“It wounds our nation that had its children martyred that FETO can still find areas of activity in friend and sibling Albania,” Erdogan said.

 

The beginnings of Gülen’s investments started in Albania in 1992 with the opening of the “Mehmet Akif” college for boys, and now it controls the traditional Islamic schools in Albania, known as Turkish madrasas and colleges, as well as operates in different other organizations.

taken from: https://www.facebook.com/MACGraduates

The organization has a significant impact in the Balkans. According to data published by the Turkish Anadolu News Agency, it operates in about 40 schools, including 15 schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 12 in Albania, 7 in Macedonia, 5 in Kosovo, and one in Serbia.

 

The pressure of the Turk government on the Balkan countries in this regard began in 2016. The government stopped the Turkish-owned schools from using Turkey’s flag and other symbols. Since then, Albania has officially refused to act with the Turkish authorities for the hand of most members of the Gülen movement.

 

Moreover, since 2016 Albania has not allowed the takeover of the Gülen-affiliated educational institutions by the Turkish-state-run Maarif Foundation, but the Albanian Government gave permission to Maarif Foundation to open their own schools.

 

About the condition set on January 17, the head of the Albanian government said that Albania owes nothing to Erdogan or Turkey, just as neither Turkey nor Erdogan owe Albania anything. “There are no debts between friends and brothers,” Rama said, thus responding again to Erdogan’s request against the Gülen Movement with refusal. 

 

This meeting was widely discussed in local and foreign media. The local press commented that the conference coincided with the 554th anniversary of the national hero, Gjergj Kastrioti (Skanderbeg), the symbol of Albanian resistance to the occupation of the Ottoman Empire in Albanian territories and beyond throughout the Balkans. Through a lengthy article posted on social networks, Prime Minister Edi Rama reacted by listing some points that, according to him, show that there is no connection between the two events.

 

Opinion leaders and politics analysts in Albanian saw this meeting not as a brotherhood but as a “vassal”. According to them, his expressed brotherhood makes Albania fewer Western-oriented, values ​​that Albania has embraced. This was also commented in the Greek media where earlier, the Penta Postagma had viewed the visit’s purpose to allow Erdogan to unify Greater Albania, which according to the article, he saw as a province of the Great Empire.

 

In conclusion, we can say that Turkey’s involvement in Albania and the Balkans, in general, is part of its larger strategy: It seeks to improve its image as an honest partner through economic and humanitarian aid in the Balkans and draw away attention from the EU. As a medium-long term objective, Turkey aims to increase its influence in Europe, strengthening its hand and presence through continuous debates with the EU.

 

By Xhina Cekani

 

 

Turkish leader Erdogan visits Albania to boost ties – ABC News (go.com)

Turkey’s Erdogan in Albania to boost bilateral ties | The Independent

Erdogan Opens Apartment Complex in Albania for Quake Victims | Balkan Insight

What Did Erdoğan Do In Albania? — Greek City Times

Turkish President Recep Erdogan visits Albania | Foreign Brief

Vizita e Erdogan, Nesho: Rama sillet si vasal, Shq – Syri | Lajmi i fundit

Vizita e Erdogan në Shqipëri, si u komentua në mediat greke – Opinion.al

Turkish President Recep Erdogan visits Albania | Foreign Brief

Rama i përgjigjet ultimatumit të Erdoganit për sulm ndaj Lëvizjes Gulen – Gazeta Express

The decision of the International Labor Organization (ILO) following the failed 2016 coup in Turkey

On 15 July 2016, a failed coup d’état took place in Turkey against President Tayyip Erdogan and state institutions. The disintegration of democratic rule, the threat to human rights, and secularism were among the reasons cited for the coup. The coup attempt was carried out by a small section of the Turkish Armed Forces, who referred to themselves as the ‘Peace at Home Council’. The Turkish government linked the coup plotters to the Gulen movement, which is deemed a terrorist organization by the Turkish government. Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish Islamic scholar, preacher, and one-time opinion leader currently residing in Pennsylvania after a self-imposed exile, led the Gulen movement. Gulen has denied any link to the coup attack. Mass arrests have occurred following the event.

 

A group of Government Workers known as “Yuksel Direniscileri” asking to the Turkish Government to get their work back. from: https://gercekhaberajansi.org/fotograflarla-yuksel-direnisi/

At least 20,000 Turkish citizens were detained due to alleged links with the Gulen movement. Turkish officials wanted Gulen’s repatriation; however, the Justice Department and State department found the evidence presented by their Turkish counterparts to be incoherent and non-credible. The detainees included 5,000 members of the educational sector and 21,000 teachers whose licenses were revoked, and national security numbers were added to the Turkish database to restrict future employment. However, evidence to suggest the loyalty of 20,000 citizens to Gulen was weak. Moreover, theories suggested that the coup was staged. After the coup’s first week, thousands of public servants and soldiers were purged. Nonetheless, ‘the list of alleged coup plotters was so extensive that it was impossible to put it together in the hours after the coup’.[1] Individuals who had passed away weeks and months before the coup were part of this list. Suspicion on the quality and honesty of the investigation grew. The United States, German intelligence, and the British Government have doubted the official Turkish narrative.

 

According to the Turkish Government, over 135,000 public servants, including around 40,000 teachers, have been dismissed or suspended since the government resorted to repression after the failed coup in July. No source of income and allegation of connection with a terrorist organization not only entails financial losses but poses threats of ostracism from the Turkish society altogether. The International Labor Organization has denounced the detaining of these individuals and has maintained that this was done without any supervision from the judicial bodies, without proper investigation, and without the ‘principle of presumption of innocence and rights’ accorded by ILO Conventions.[2]

The Turkish government states that the dissolution of the Action Workers’ Union Confederation (Aksiyon-Is), and its associated trade union was due to their connection with the so-called Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ/PDY), which the Turkish government claims were responsible for the attempted coup. The government maintains that no application was filed to the Inquiry Commission by Aksiyon-Is and its affiliated trade unions, failing to use all available domestic channels and remedies.

 

However, the ILO committee’s findings note that the decision and power to declare a state of emergency for the dissolution of these unions was granted to the Council of Ministers when the decision-making power should rest with the parliament. This authorization allowed the executive body to issue Decrees with the force of law in place of the parliament’s ordinary legislative procedures. Therefore, all domestic channels for seeking legal amends have now lapsed.

 

The ILO stated that individuals having membership of trade unions associated with FETÖ/PDY was entirely lawful under Article 2 of Convention No. 87. They maintained that these trade unions had been constituted and operated lawfully until the state of emergency was declared. Therefore, it is unlawful to punish workers for simply having membership in a trade union without proof of involvement, a specific action, or even knowledge that they may have had possible affiliations with a terrorist organization. Aksiyon-Is maintains that all these dismissals took place before any investigations and in the absence of due process. Aksiyon-Is further argues that none of the detainees were allowed to contest the decision of their dismissal to a neutral body, which violates Article 8 of the Convention.

United Nations International Labor Organization (ILO) Executive Board dated 24 March 2021, numbered GB.341/INS/13/5/, concludes that the dismissals made with the Statutory Decrees and the closure of institutions in Turkey are contrary to the International Conventions No. 158 and No. 87 and therefore illegal.

 

Erdogan’s AKP Government is asked to rectify this unlawfulness. Although it has been over ten months since the decision, the AKP Government has not fulfilled its requirements, nor has it shown any interest in implementing it. The ILO must uphold its decision and put pressure on the AKP Government, considering the unlikelihood of implementing the decision by themselves if left unsupervised.

 

Fulfillment of the decision taken by the ILO Executive Board is obligatory both in terms of International Law and Turkish Law. The following petition provides an in-depth course of action to rectify its unfairness.

The petition asks the ILO to uphold its decision and act in favor of the implementation of the Board of Directors’ decision please take a moment to read through the cause and support. Contribute to the ILO and AKP Government officials’ action by signing.

 

Written by Mahnoor Tariq

 

References

Michael Rubin, (2017), ‘Did Erdogan stage the coup?’,  AEIdeas
David Lepeska, (2020), The ‘gift from god’ that crushed Turkish democracy, Retrieved from http://ahval.co/en-84353

Source URL: https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_norm/—relconf/documents/meetingdocument/wcms_775695.pdf
Source URL: Human Rights Watch, https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/07/18/turkey-protect-rights-law-after-coup-attempt

 

[1] (Rubin, 2017)

[2] https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_norm/—relconf/documents/meetingdocument/wcms_775695.pdf

CASE OF TURAN AND OTHERS v. TURKEY – a summary of the case

The case highlighted applications mainly concern the arrest and pre-trial detention of the applicants – all of whom were sitting as judges or prosecutors at different types and/or levels of court.

Background to the case were as follows:

  1. During the night of 15 to 16 July 2016 a group of members of the Turkish armed forces calling themselves the “Peace at Home Council” attempted to carry out a military coup aimed at overthrowing the democratically installed National Assembly, government and President of Turkey.
  2. The day after the attempted military coup, the national authorities blamed the attempt on the network linked to Fetullah Gülen, a Turkish citizen living in Pennsylvania (United States of America) and considered to be the leader of FETÖ/PDY.

 

  1. On 16 July 2016 the Bureau for Crimes against the Constitutional Order at the Ankara public prosecutor’s office initiated a criminal investigation ex proprio motu into, inter alios, the suspected members of FETÖ/PDY within the judiciary. According to the information provided by the Government, this investigation against judges and prosecutors, including members of high courts, was initiated in accordance with the provisions of the ordinary law, on the ground that there had been a case of discovery in flagrante delicto falling with the jurisdiction of the assize courts.

 

 

  1. instructions issued to the Directorate General of Security on the same day, the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor noted that the offence of attempting to overthrow the government and the constitutional order by force was still ongoing and that there was a risk that members of the FETÖ/PDY terrorist organisation who were suspected of committing the offence in question might flee the country. He asked the Directorate General of Security to contact all the regional authorities with a view to taking into police custody all the judges and public prosecutors whose names were listed in the appendix to the instructions – including some of the applicants –, and to ensure that they were brought before a public prosecutor to be placed in pre-trial detention under Article 309 of the Criminal Code.
  2. On 20 July 2016 the Government declared a state of emergency for a period of three months as from 21 July 2016; the state of emergency was subsequently extended for further periods of three months by the Council of Ministers.

 

  1. During the state of emergency, the Council of Ministers passed several legislative decrees under Article 121 of the Constitution (see Baş, cited above, § 52). One of them, Legislative Decree no. 667, published in the Official Gazette on 23 July 2016, provided in its Article 3 that the High Council of Judges and Prosecutors (Hakimler ve Savcılar Yüksek Kurulu ‑“the HSYK”) was authorised to dismiss any judges or prosecutors who were considered to belong or to be affiliated or linked to terrorist organisations or organisations, structures or groups found by the National Security Council to have engaged in activities harmful to national security.

 

  1. On 18 July 2018 the state of emergency was lifted.

 

 

Actions against judges/prosecutors by the Turkish state:

Laws under which the Turkish state took action:

The following laws were used to take action against the prosecutors / judges by the Turkish state.

Investigation

Section 76

  1. The initial investigation in respect of offences committed by the President, the Chief Public Prosecutor, the deputy presidents, the chamber presidents and the members of the Supreme Administrative Court in connection with or in the course of their official duties shall be conducted by a committee composed of a chamber president and two members selected by the President of the Supreme Administrative Court.

 

The procedure for the prosecution of personal offences

Section 82

  1. The proceedings regarding the personal offences committed by the President, the Chief Public Prosecutor, the deputy presidents, the chamber presidents and the members of the Supreme Administrative Court shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions concerning the personal offences committed by the President, the Chief Public Prosecutor and the members of the Court of Cassation.

 

Outcome of the Judicial action by the Turkish state against prosecutors/ judges:

The Turkish state has taken judicial action against prosecutors/judges concerning the arrest and pre-trial detention of the applicants.

 

In the case Turan vs The State of Turkey the court noted the following:

 

  1. Decides, unanimously, to join the applications;
  2. Declares, unanimously, the complaint under Article 5 § 1 of the Convention concerning the lawfulness of the applicants’ initial pre-trial detention admissible;
  3. Holds, unanimously, that there has been a violation of Article 5 § 1 of the Convention on account of the unlawfulness of the initial pre-trial detention of the applicants who were ordinary judges and prosecutors at the time of their detention;
  4. Holds, unanimously, that there has been a violation of Article 5 § 1 of the Convention on account of the unlawfulness of the initial pre-trial detention of the applicants who were members of the Court of Cassation or the Supreme Administrative Court at the time of their detention;
  5. Holds, by six votes to one, that there is no need to examine the admissibility and merits of the applicants’ remaining complaints under Article 5 of the Convention;
  6. Holds, unanimously,

(a) that the respondent State is to pay each of the applicants, within three months from the date on which the judgment becomes final in accordance with Article 44 § 2 of the Convention, EUR 5,000 (five thousand euros) in respect of non-pecuniary damage and costs and TURAN AND OTHERS v. TURKEY JUDGMENT 29 expenses, plus any tax that may be chargeable on these amounts, which are to be converted into the currency of the respondent State at the rate applicable at the date of settlement;

(b) that from the expiry of the above-mentioned three months until settlement simple interest shall be payable on the above amount at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points;

  1. Dismisses, unanimously, the remainder of the applicants’ claim for just satisfaction. Done in English, and notified in writing on 23 November 2021, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.

 

The state of judges/prosecutors in Turkey – a summary:

 

The actions by the Turkish state shows that its actions to initiate actions against Judges/prosecutors was arbitrary. This is why the court decided to impose fines on such actions. While, military coup is definitely hostile action against the executive, the arrest of judges and prosecutors were broad and arbitrary in its scope. Judges and Prosecutors are representatives of the critical third pillar of a country that is the Judiciary. Judiciary often acts as a check against overreach by the executive and legislature. In this way it ensures that people’s fundamental rights do not get trampled due to the actions of legislature/ executive whether knowingly/unknowingly.

 

The state of judges/ prosecutors in Turkey can be seen as vulnerable. The judges are vulnerable to actions by the Turkish state which believes in detention, arrest of judges without verifiable reason. This may be of significant concern because it leads to chilling stifling of judicial independence. The fundamental fact is that after the 2016 coup the arrest of prosecutors/ judges were based on suspicions of being a part of a movement that was allegedly responsible for a coup overthrowing the executive. While, overthrowing of a democratically elected government cannot be justified, the arrest of all judges who a part of a particular list shows a lack of respect for established forms. The Turkish government decided to ask the Directorate General of Security to contact all the regional authorities with a view to taking into police custody all the judges and public prosecutors whose names were listed in the appendix to the instructions – including some of the applicants –, and to ensure that they were brought before a public prosecutor to be placed in pre-trial detention under Article 309 of the Criminal Code. This is a complete violation of a proper process of prosecution in which there should have been investigation, enquiry, evidence gathering. After this there should have been arrest and then placing the evidence in court. None of this happened.

 

The Turkish authorities have shown complete lack of respect either for judges as individuals who have fundamental freedoms nor have they considered the impact it will have on the ability of judiciary to restrain harmful government action. In summary this is what the case and its verdict as well as Turkish govt’s actions highlight after a coup. While, coup against the state is unjustifiable detention of judges without proof of involvement in coup is also unjustifiable.

 

Retrieved from:

CASE OF TURAN AND OTHERS v. TURKEY (European Court of Human Rights) 75805/16 and 426 others