Turkey Human Rights Promotion Act of 2021
Bill: S.2403 | Sponsor: Sen. Markey, Edward J. (D-MA)
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Turkey Human Rights Promotion Act of 2021
This bill directs the Department of State to provide assistance to civil society organizations in Turkey that (1) work to secure the release of prisoners of conscience and political prisoners in Turkey, or (2) provide support and post-incarceration assistance for such prisoners.

To assist those subject to politically motivated charges in Turkey, and 
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Turkey Human 
Rights Promotion Act of 2021''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
Sec. 4. Statement of policy.
Sec. 5. Sense of Congress on press freedom.
Sec. 6. Sense of Congress on internet freedom.
Sec. 7. Sense of Congress on protecting lawyers and promoting fair 
                            trials.
Sec. 8. Sense of Congress on accountability for human rights 
                            violations.
Sec. 9. Political prisoners assistance.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The United States values its longstanding alliance with 
        the Republic of Turkey and its friendship with the people of 
        Turkey, and seeks to promote their democratic aspirations.
            (2) Actions taken by the Government of Turkey in the 
        aftermath of the attempted coup of July 2016 have significantly 
        expanded the government's crackdown on freedoms of expression, 
        peaceful assembly, and association. Freedom House assessed 
        Turkey to be ``not free'' in its Freedom in the World 2021 
        report.
            (3) Since July 2016, Turkish authorities have detained tens 
        of thousands of people they accused of aiding the coup attempt 
        or supporting terrorism, sweeping up journalists, opposition 
        politicians, dissidents, and others. The end of the state of 
        emergency in 2018 has not led to an improvement in fundamental 
        freedoms in Turkey as the Government of Turkey has codified 
        several provisions from the state of emergency into law.
            (4) The Government of Turkey has used the attempted coup as 
        justification for a broader crackdown.
            (5) The 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: 
        Turkey states, ``Under broad antiterror legislation passed in 
        2018 the government continued to restrict fundamental freedoms 
        and compromised the rule of law. Since the 2016 coup attempt, 
        authorities have dismissed or suspended more than 60,000 police 
        and military personnel and approximately 125,000 civil 
        servants, dismissed one-third of the judiciary, arrested or 
        imprisoned more than 90,000 citizens, and closed more than 
        1,500 nongovernmental organizations on terrorism-related 
        grounds, primarily for alleged ties to the movement of cleric 
        Fethullah Gulen, whom the government accused of masterminding 
        the coup attempt and designated as the leader of the `Fethullah 
        Terrorist Organization'.''.
            (6) A 2020 Reuters investigative press report revealed that 
        the Government of Turkey terminated 4,000 judges and 
        prosecutors since 2016. A 2020 Human Rights Watch report 
        highlighted the continued arbitrary detention of lawyers, which 
        runs contrary to Turkey's obligations under the International 
        Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention for the 
        Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (commonly 
        known as the ``European Convention on Human Rights''), and 
        other human rights obligations.
            (7) Turkey is the world's second worst jailer of 
        journalists, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
            (8) President Recep Tayyip Erdogan began a crackdown on 
        journalism even before the 2016 coup attempt, which he then 
        intensified. The Committee to Protect Journalists estimated 
        that Turkey was holding at least 37 journalists in jail at the 
        end of 2020. According to a September 18, 2019 joint statement 
        by civil society organizations, at least 180 media outlets have 
        been forcibly closed since the coup attempt of which Kurdish-
        language and Kurdish-focused media outlets are especially 
        vulnerable.
            (9) The Government of Turkey has also targeted writers and 
        academics. Of roughly 2,000 academics who signed a January 2016 
        petition calling for a restart to peace negotiations between 
        the government and the armed Kurdistan Workers' Party, more 
        than 700 scholars were criminally charged with supporting 
        propaganda for a terrorist organization.
            (10) The Government of Turkey continues its unjust, 3-year 
        detention of civil society leader Osman Kavala. In 2017, 
        Turkish authorities charged Kavala and 15 others with 
        ``attempting to overthrow the government or to prevent it from 
        performing its duties'' based on ill-founded accusations 
        regarding the group's role in the 2013 protests. In December 
        2019, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that 
        Kavala's detention took place in the absence of sufficient 
        evidence that he had committed an offense, in violation of his 
        right to liberty and security under the European Convention on 
        Human Rights. Turkey responded by acquitting Kavala, but 
        immediately rearrested him under new charges related to the 
        2016 coup attempt, purported espionage, and continues to ignore 
        the binding ECHR ruling.
            (11) In 2017, Turkish police arrested Amnesty International 
        Turkey founding member Taner Kilic and its director, Idil Eser, 
        charging them as supporters of terrorism. In July 2020, a 
        Turkish court unjustly sentenced Kilic to over 6 years in 
        prison and Eser to more than 2 years in prison.
            (12) The Government of Turkey continues its unjust 
        detention of Selhattin Demirtas, a Kurdish politician detained 
        with other members of the People's Democratic Party in 2016. 
        Demirtas was a member of parliament at the time of his arrest 
        for allegedly ``carrying out terrorist propaganda'' by speaking 
        out in support of peace negotiations with the Kurdistan 
        Workers' Party. The European Court of Human Rights ruled in 
        November 2018 that his detention ``had pursued the predominant 
        ulterior purpose of stifling pluralism and limiting freedom of 
        political debate, which was at the very core of the concept of 
        a democratic society''. In December 2020, the ECHR ruled that 
        Turkey must ``immediately release'' Demirtas from prison, which 
        Turkey continues to ignore.
            (13) The Government of Turkey has targeted lawyers, with 
        particular focus on criminal defense lawyers, prosecuting them 
        for discharging their professional duties and associating them, 
        without evidence, with the alleged crimes of their clients. 
        Fair trial rights and protections for lawyers have been 
        restricted just as they are most critically needed given mass 
        detentions and the wider crackdown on dissent. Police have also 
        intimidated lawyers and obstructed their work.
            (14) The Government of Turkey heavily restricts and censors 
        the internet. In 2019, the government blocked more than 408,000 
        websites, 40,000 tweets, 10,000 YouTube videos, and 6,200 
        Facebook shares, and blocked Wikipedia between 2017 and 2020. 
        In early 2021, the government enacted a new social media law, 
        which threatens social media companies that do not obey 
        requests to remove content. Twitter, and its live video-
        streaming services, are currently facing pressure in the form 
        of advertising bans by the Government of Turkey as a result of 
        their unwillingness to appoint local representatives to handle 
        government removal requests.
            (15) Turkey ranks among the countries with the highest 
        number of content removal requests sent to Twitter and 
        Facebook, according to the companies' transparency reports.
            (16) The Government of Turkey has demonstrated a disregard 
        for fundamental freedoms beyond Turkey's borders, including in 
        the United States. In 2016, members of President Erdogan's 
        security detail engaged in violence against journalists 
        reporting on an event at the Brookings Institution. During 
        President Erdogan's May 2017 visit to Washington, DC, 
        individuals from the Turkish Embassy grounds pushed past 
        District of Columbia police officers to brutally attack 
        individuals demonstrating peacefully in opposition to policies 
        of the Government of Turkey.
            (17) The Government of Turkey has abused international 
        institutions to target critics, ``triggering a flood of 
        Interpol `red notice' requests to detain critics abroad'', 
        according to Freedom House. Targets include United States 
        permanent resident Enes Kanter, a professional basketball 
        player, human rights activist, and vocal critic of President 
        Erdogan.
            (18) Since 2014, the Government of Turkey has pursued 
        opponents and critics in more than 30 countries, securing the 
        renditions of at least 58 people without due process in what 
        Freedom House has characterized as a ``campaign of 
        transnational repression'', unrivaled by any other country. In 
        a March 2021 report, the Office of the High Commissioner for 
        Human Rights stated that the increase cases in arbitrary 
        detention ``may constitute crimes against humanity''.
            (19) The Government of Turkey threatens to escalate its 
        targeting of critics internationally, consistent with an overly 
        broad domestic counterterrorism campaign. On October 30, 2019, 
        President Erdogan stated, ``Some countries eliminate terrorists 
        whom they consider as a threat to their national security, 
        wherever they are. Therefore, this means those countries accept 
        Turkey has the same right. This includes the terrorists they 
        shake hands with and praise.''. He added that he hoped to 
        deliver ``good news'' on the matter soon.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Political prisoner.--The term ``political prisoner'' 
        means a person who has been deprived of his or her personal 
        liberty if--
                    (A) the detention has been imposed in violation of 
                one of the fundamental guarantees set out in the 
                European Convention on Human Rights, particularly--
                            (i) freedom of thought, conscience, and 
                        religion;
                            (ii) freedom of expression and information; 
                        and
                            (iii) freedom of assembly and association;
                    (B) the detention has been imposed for purely 
                political reasons without connection to any offense;
                    (C) for political motives, the length of the 
                detention or its conditions are clearly out of 
                proportion to the offense of which the person has been 
                found guilty or is suspected;
                    (D) for political motives, he or she is detained in 
                a discriminatory manner as compared to other persons; 
                or
                    (E) the detention is the result of proceedings 
                which were clearly unfair and appear to be connected 
                with political motives of the authorities.
            (2) Prisoner of conscience.--The term ``prisoner of 
        conscience'' means any person who--
                    (A) is imprisoned or otherwise physically 
                restricted solely for the peaceful exercise of his or 
                her human rights; and
                    (B) has not used violence or advocated violence or 
                hatred.

SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    It is the policy of the United States--
            (1) to support democracy, peace, and prosperity in Turkey;
            (2) to oppose the abuse of counterterrorism authorities, 
        including targeting journalists, political opponents, 
        dissidents, minorities (including Kurds), and others engaged in 
        exercising their right to freedoms of expression, peaceful 
        assembly, or association;
            (3) to consider those unfairly detained or imprisoned under 
        counterterrorism authorities on politically motivated grounds 
        to be prisoners of conscience or political prisoners, as 
        appropriate, unless there is probative evidence of specific 
        criminal misconduct presented in proceedings that comply with 
        international fair trial standards;
            (4) to use all diplomatic tools to advocate that all 
        prisoners of conscience and political prisoners in Turkey 
        should be released;
            (5) to support and pressure the Government of Turkey in the 
        repeal or amendment of--
                    (A) all anti-terrorism laws and regulations that 
                allow the government to unjustly target journalists, 
                political opponents, dissidents, and minorities;
                    (B) all laws and regulations that violate the right 
                to freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, or 
                association in a manner not permitted by international 
                legal standards, including laws and regulations that 
                seek to punish those who insult political figures or 
                denigrate the Turkish nation or state institutions; and
                    (C) all laws and regulations that violate the right 
                to a fair trial; and
            (6) to oppose the export to Turkey by any country of 
        surveillance technologies, including software, that could be 
        used to monitor the activities of journalists, political 
        opponents, dissidents, or minorities.

SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON PRESS FREEDOM.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the Government of Turkey must take steps to 
        significantly improve the dire climate for journalists and 
        those supporting the journalism profession, including--
                    (A) ending the enforcement of draconian laws and 
                regulations that restrict freedom of expression; and
                    (B) releasing all journalists and media workers who 
                have been imprisoned for fulfilling their professional 
                responsibilities;
            (2) the Department of State should provide assistance and 
        warnings of impending politically motivated detention or harm 
        to journalists and media workers in danger in Turkey, 
        regardless of citizenship status, including journalists working 
        for Kurdish media organizations;
            (3) United States Government officials should prioritize 
        demands to release unfairly detained journalists and media 
        workers in their communications with Turkish officials; and
            (4) press freedom and the freedom of expression are 
        fundamental human rights and should be upheld and protected in 
        Turkey and everywhere.

SEC. 6. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON INTERNET FREEDOM.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the Government of Turkey must cease its ongoing 
        crackdown on free expression on the internet, including by 
        repealing or amending laws that allow the government to block a 
        website or remove content from the website if there is 
        sufficient suspicion that the site is insulting political 
        figures;
            (2) the Department of State should support and pressure the 
        Government of Turkey--
                    (A) to halt its frequent requests that social media 
                companies block accounts and content of journalists and 
                media outlets; and
                    (B) to ensure that the Radio and Television Supreme 
                Council does not arbitrarily restrict online streaming 
                services through a costly and opaque licensing regime; 
                and
            (3) escalating controls regulating internet use are an 
        attempt by the Government of Turkey to silence one of the last 
        platforms for independent journalism in the country.

SEC. 7. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON PROTECTING LAWYERS AND PROMOTING FAIR 
              TRIALS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the Government of Turkey must--
                    (A) halt its indiscriminate detention and 
                prosecution of lawyers, judges, prosecutors, and court 
                officials, and its targeting of lawyers' associations;
                    (B) repeal laws restricting the right of lawyers to 
                discharge their professional duties, the rights of 
                suspects to legal counsel, and the right of lawyer-
                client privileged communication;
                    (C) ensure that lawyers can visit detainees in 
                police custody, and remind police and prosecutors of 
                the protected role of lawyers under Article 14 of the 
                International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 
                Articles 5 and 6 of the European Convention on Human 
                Rights, and the United Nations Basic Principles on the 
                Role of Lawyers; and
                    (D) end the practice of prosecuting lawyers based 
                on whom they have represented as clients;
            (2) the Department of State should pressure the Government 
        of Turkey--
                    (A) to abolish extended pretrial detention, 
                consistent with Turkey's Judicial Reform Strategy;
                    (B) to reverse the April 2017 amendment to Article 
                159 of the Constitution, which allows for political 
                control over the nomination procedures to the Council 
                of Judges and Prosecutors; and
                    (C) to ensure the independence of judges and of the 
                judiciary system, with particular focus on the Ministry 
                of Justice; and
            (3) the independence of any country's judicial system 
        suffers when lawyers--
                    (A) are subject to intimidation and harassment in 
                their work; and
                    (B) are identified with the causes of their 
                clients.

SEC. 8. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON ACCOUNTABILITY FOR HUMAN RIGHTS 
              VIOLATIONS.

    It is the sense of Congress that if the Government of Turkey does 
not promptly take effective steps to address the human rights 
violations described in this Act--
            (1) the President of the United States should impose 
        sanctions pursuant to the Global Magnitsky Human Rights 
        Accountability Act (subtitle F of title XII of Public Law 114-
        328; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note) with respect to officials of the 
        Government of Turkey found responsible for--
                    (A) the detention of prisoners of conscience and 
                political prisoners;
                    (B) the politically motivated detention of 
                journalists;
                    (C) restricting of freedom of free expression 
                through social media; and
                    (D) other gross violations of internationally 
                recognized human rights;
            (2) the President should confirm that United States 
        security assistance provided to the Government of Turkey is 
        fully consistent with the conditions mandated in section 36 of 
        the Arms Export Control Act ((22 U.S.C. 2776)) and the human 
        rights provisions contained in section 620M of the Foreign 
        Assistance Act of 1961, (22 U.S.C. 2378d);
            (3) the Secretary of the Treasury should instruct the 
        United States executive director of each international 
        financial institution to oppose any loan, grant, policy, or 
        strategy determined to be directly enabling the Government of 
        Turkey to violate the human rights of its citizens; and
            (4) the Secretary of State should impose visa restrictions 
        under the announced ``Khashoggi Ban'', pursuant to section 
        212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
        1182(a)(3)(C)) on--
                    (A) individuals who, acting on behalf of the 
                government, are believed to have been directly engaged 
                in serious, extraterritorial counter-dissident 
                activities, including those who--
                            (i) suppress, harass, surveil, threaten, or 
                        harm journalists, activists, or other persons 
                        perceived to be dissidents for their work; or
                            (ii) engage in such activities with respect 
                        to the families or other close associates of 
                        such persons; and
                    (B) family members of individuals described in 
                subparagraph (A), as appropriate.

SEC. 9. POLITICAL PRISONERS ASSISTANCE.

    The Secretary of State shall provide assistance to civil society 
organizations in Turkey that work to secure the release of prisoners of 
conscience and political prisoners in Turkey, and to current and former 
prisoners of conscience and political prisoners in Turkey, including--
            (1) support for the documentation of human rights 
        violations with respect to prisoners of conscience and 
        politically motivated prisoners;
            (2) support for advocacy in Turkey to raise awareness of 
        issues relating to prisoners of conscience and political 
        prisoners;
            (3) support for efforts to repeal or amend laws or 
        regulations that are used to imprison individuals as prisoners 
        of conscience or political prisoners;
            (4) support, including travel costs, and legal fees, for 
        families of prisoners of conscience and political prisoners;
            (5) support for health, including mental health, and post-
        incarceration assistance in gaining access to education and 
        employment opportunities or other forms of reparation to enable 
        former prisoners of conscience and political prisoners to 
        resume a normal life; and
            (6) the delegation of specific United States mission staff 
        who will observe trials in politically motivated cases, 
        including in Southeast Turkey.
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