Title: Turkey Human Rights Promotion Act of 2019
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Turkey Human Rights Promotion Act of 2019
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.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2832 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2832

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 12, 2019

 Mr. Markey (for himself and Mr. Wyden) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
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.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Turkey Human Rights Promotion Act of 
2019''.

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 2019 
        report.
            (3) Since July 2016, Turkish authorities have detained tens 
        of thousands of people they accuse of aiding the coup attempt 
        or being affiliated with a militant group, sweeping up 
        journalists, opposition politicians, dissidents, and others. A 
        two-year state of emergency restricted the exercise of 
        fundamental freedoms, and laws and decrees then codified some 
        provisions from the state of emergency.
            (4) The Ministry of Justice reported that, between July 
        2016 and July 2018, ``investigations have been opened into 
        612,347 persons alleged to be founders, executives, or members 
        of armed organizations''. A majority of these were reportedly 
        detained, often with little due process or access to the 
        evidence underlying the accusations against them.
            (5) By the end of 2018, according to the Department of 
        State's 2018 Human Rights Report, ``authorities had dismissed 
        or suspended more than 130,000 civil servants from their jobs, 
        arrested or imprisoned more than 80,000 citizens, and closed 
        more than 1,500 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) on 
        terrorism-related grounds since the coup attempt, primarily for 
        alleged ties to cleric Fethullah Gulen and his movement, 
        accused by the government of masterminding the coup attempt.''
            (6) The United Nations Human Rights Council's Working Group 
        on Arbitrary Detention, in its Opinion of August 16, 2019, 
        found the Government of Turkey's detention of judges Melike 
        Goksan and Mehmet Fatih Goksan to be arbitrary and ``note[d] a 
        significant increase in the number of cases brought to it in 
        the last two years concerning arbitrary detention in Turkey.'' 
        The Working Group stated that ``it appears that a pattern is 
        emerging whereby those with alleged links to the Gulen movement 
        are being targeted on the basis of their political or other 
        opinion.''
            (7) Turkey remains the world's worst jailer of journalists, 
        according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
            (8) President Recep Tayyip Erdogan began a crackdown on 
        journalism before the 2016 coup attempt, which he then 
        intensified. The Committee to Protect Journalists estimated 
        that Turkey was holding at least 68 journalists in jail at the 
        end of 2018. 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. Kurdish-language 
        and Kurdish-focused media outlets are especially vulnerable. An 
        unknown number of journalists remain outside the country due to 
        fear of arrest.
            (9) The release of employees of the Cumhuriyet newspaper is 
        a welcome yet insufficient step towards ending the persecution 
        of the press in Turkey.
            (10) 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 (PKK), 
        more than 700 scholars were criminally charged with making 
        propaganda for a terrorist organization.
            (11) The Government of Turkey continues its unjust, two-
        year detention of civil society leader Osman Kavala. Turkish 
        authorities have 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 2013 protests.
            (12) In 2017, Turkish police arrested Amnesty International 
        Turkey's board chair, Taner Kilic, and its director, Idil Eser, 
        charging them as members of a terrorist organization. The 
        charges against Kilic were based on the mere allegation, later 
        found to be false, that he had downloaded a messaging 
        application.
            (13) The Government of Turkey continues its unjust 
        detention of Selhattin Demirtas, a Kurdish politician detained 
        with other members of the People's Democratic Party (HDP) on 
        November 4, 2016. He was a member of parliament at the time of 
        his arrest for allegedly ``carrying out terrorist propaganda'' 
        by speaking 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''.
            (14) 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. 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. 
        Police have also intimidated lawyers and obstructed their work.
            (15) The Government of Turkey heavily restricts and censors 
        the internet. The government has blocked over 220,000 websites, 
        has temporarily blocked Twitter and YouTube, has blocked 
        Wikipedia since 2017, and is now pressuring Netflix and other 
        online streaming platforms to censor content according to rules 
        set by the Radio and Television Supreme Council.
            (16) Turkey ranks among the countries with the highest 
        number of content removal requests sent to Twitter and 
        Facebook, according to the companies' transparency reports.
            (17) 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 unwarranted 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.
            (18) The Government of Turkey has abused international 
        institutions to target dissenters, ``triggering a flood of 
        Interpol `red notice' requests to detain critics abroad,'' 
        according to Freedom House. Targets include Enes Kanter, a 
        professional basketball player and vocal critic of President 
        Erdogan who currently resides in the United States.
            (19) On October 14, 2019, the Government of Cambodia 
        reportedly arrested educator Osman Karaca at the behest of the 
        Government of Turkey. On October 19, 2019, Amnesty 
        International warned that ``[i]f he is forcibly returned to 
        Turkey, he faces a very real risk of ill-treatment and further 
        human rights abuses. Cambodia has an obligation to protect him 
        from persecution, not collude in his abuse.'' Karaca is now 
        reportedly in Turkish custody.
            (20) The Government of Turkey threatens to escalate 
        internationally its targeting of critics 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'' 
        applies to a person who has been detained or imprisoned on 
        politically motivated grounds. Political prisoners may have 
        used or advocated violence or hatred, or in some cases they may 
        have committed some minor offense, which is a pretext for a 
        politically motivated imprisonment.
            (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 to target 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 ensure that all 
        prisoners of conscience and political prisoners in Turkey are 
        released;
            (5) to support and pressure the Government of Turkey in the 
        repeal or amendment of all anti-terrorism laws and regulations 
        that allow the government to unjustly target journalists, 
        political opponents, dissidents, and minorities;
            (6) to support and pressure the Government of Turkey in the 
        repeal or amendment of 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;
            (7) to support and pressure the Government of Turkey in the 
        repeal or amendment of all laws and regulations that violate 
        the right to a fair trial; and
            (8) to oppose the export to Turkey by any country of 
        surveillance technologies, including software, that can be used 
        to monitor the activities of journalists, political opponents, 
        dissidents, or minorities.

SEC. 5. 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. Assistance 
shall include the following activities:
            (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 either 
        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.
            (6) The delegation of specific United States mission staff 
        who will observe trials in politically motivated cases, 
        including in Southeast Turkey.

SEC. 6. 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 ending 
        the enforcement of draconian laws and regulations that restrict 
        freedom of expression and releasing all journalists and media 
        workers 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 is a fundamental human right and should 
        be upheld and protected in Turkey and everywhere.

SEC. 7. 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 if there is sufficient suspicion that 
        a site is insulting political figures;
            (2) the Department of State should support and pressure the 
        Government of Turkey in halting its frequent requests that 
        social media companies block accounts and content of 
        journalists and media outlets, ending its blocking of 
        Wikipedia, and ensuring 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 the one of the 
        last platforms for independent journalism in the country.

SEC. 8. 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, as well as 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 Court of 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 support and pressure the 
        Government of Turkey in the abolition of extended pretrial 
        detention, consistent with Turkey's Judicial Reform Strategy, 
        and in the reversal of 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;
            (3) the Department of State should support and pressure the 
        Government of Turkey in ensuring the independence of judges and 
        of the judiciary system, with particular focus on the Ministry 
        of Justice; and
            (4) the independence of any country's judicial system 
        suffers when lawyers are subject to intimidation and harassment 
        in their work and when lawyers are identified with the causes 
        of their clients.
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