From: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu (Rich Winkel)
Subject: Turkey: AI fear of torture
Followup-To: alt.activism.d
Originator: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
Organization: PACH
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 1992 03:45:36 GMT

/** mideast.action: 25.0 **/
** Topic: EXTRA UA 65/92 Turkey: Torture **
** Written 11:25 pm  Jul 20, 1992 by pnmideast in cdp:mideast.action **
From: <pnmideast>
Subject: EXTRA UA 65/92 Turkey: Torture

/* Written 11:45 am  Jul 19, 1992 by hrcoord in cdp:ai.uan */
/* ---------- "EXTRA UA 65/92 Turkey: Torture" ---------- */
EXTRA 65/92       Fear of Torture             16 July 1992
TURKEY:           Asiye Bikim (female)

On the night of 14 July, shortly after midnight, nine or 10
plainclothes police officers from the First [Political]
Branch of Istanbul Police Headquarters came to the home of
the Bikim family, who belong to Turkey's Kurdish minority.
They cordoned off the house, searched it, confiscated some
cassettes with Kurdish music, and detained Asiye Bikim and
her sister-in-law Sevgi Bikim. When their father asked why
they were being detained, the police officers reportedly
replied that somebody had informed on them and that they
would be taken to Istanbul Police Headquarters for
questioning. The two young women are said to have been
involved in Kurdish cultural activities at the Mesopotamia
Cultural Centre in Istanbul. Sevgi Bikim was released from
police custody on 16 July while Asiye Bikim continues
to be held and questioned. It is feared that she may be
subjected to torture while being interrogated in detention.

In recent months police have made frequent arrests among the
Kurdish community in major cities in western Turkey. Those
arrested are suspected of supporting the Kurdish Workers'
Party (PKK) which is fighting a guerrilla war in the
southeastern provinces for an independent Kurdish state.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Turkey has a Kurdish ethnic minority which is estimated to
number some 10 million people, living mainly in southeastern
Turkey. Since August 1984, when guerrillas of the Kurdish
Workers' Party (PKK) started armed attacks on the security
forces, an alarming number of reports of ill-treatment of
detainees by the security forces have come from the
eastern and southeastern provinces. More than 4,000 lives
have so far been lost on both sides and among the civilian
population in the context of the continuing fighting.
Emergency legislation is in force in 10 provinces in the
region and the Emergency Legislation Governor in Diyarbakir
has extraordinary powers over three additional provinces.

Turkey ratified the European Convention for the Prevention
of Torture on 25 February 1988 and the UN Convention Against
Torture on 2 August 1988. However, all information available
to Amnesty International indicates that torture is still
widespread and systematic in Turkey. Most allegations relate
to ill-treatment of detainees in police custody during their
initial interrogation when they are usually denied access
to relatives or a lawyer. In August 1990, the government
derogated from Articles 5, 6, 8, 10, 11 and 13 of the
European Convention on Human Rights, all of which contain
important safeguards for human rights. Under current
legislation the maximum period a detainee may be held
before being formally charged or released is 24 hours; in
cases involving three or more suspects or due to the 'nature
of the crime' it may be extended to 15 days. This period may
be extended to 30 days in areas under emergency legislation
or martial law.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Telegrams/telexes/faxes/express &
airmail letters:
- appealing that Asiye Bikim  may be allowed to see her
family and lawyer and that she is not subjected to any ill-
treatment while being held;
- asking to be informed whether she has been charged and if
so, what the charges are.

APPEALS TO:                              [Salutation]
Istanbul Chief of Police:
[Dear Sir]

Mr Necdet Menzir
Istanbul Emniyet Muduru
Istanbul, Turkey
(Telegrams:  Emniyet Muduru, Istanbul, Turkey)
(Telexes: 821 30811 IEHM TR  or 821 30812 EMMH TR or 821
   26177 IEMT TR)

Minister of the Interior:
[Dear Minister]

Mr Ismet Sezgin
Icisleri Bakanligi
06644 Ankara, Turkey
(Telegrams: Interior Minister, Ankara, Turkey)
(Telex: 821 46369 ICSL TR)
(Fax: 011 90 4 418 1795)

COPIES TO:
President of the Parliamentary Human Rights Commission:

Insan Haklari Arastirma Komisyonu Baskani
TBMM
Ankara, Turkey

Ambassador Nuzhet Kandemir
Embassy of the Republic of Turkey
1714 Massachusetts Ave NW
Washington DC 20036

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the Colorado
office between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm, Mountain Time, weekdays
only, if sending appeals after July 29, 1992.



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