Support Our Work Mailing list About / Contact

TURKEY: Death sentences demand

01 September 1994

Support our work: become a Friend of Statewatch from as little as £1/€1 per month.

Six Kurdish parliamentarians, members of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Party, who were detained in March and charged with treason, are still being held in custody after six months. The six, Sirri Sakik, Ahmet Turk, Mahamut Alinak, Orhan Dogan, Hatip Dicle and Leyla Zana have been stripped of their parliamentary seats and face the death penalty if convicted. (see Statewatch vol 4 no 2). Shortly after the arrest of the parliamentarians, thirteen journalists from the Kurdish daily Ozgur Gundem were arrested on charges of "separatism" and membership of the Kurdistan Workers' Party. The paper has been shut down by police. During a court appearance in June the journalists accused the police of torture; the State Prosecutor denied this but admitted the existence of non-violent torture. According to Ankara's Human Rights Foundation there are 108 people (including the six MPs) in jail for supporting Kurdish rights in Turkey. Amnesty International has recorded the cases of 24 people who had been "disappeared" by the Turkish security forces in the six months until June. Many more have been abducted and were later found dead.

Journalist August/September 1994 Amnesty International newsletter August 1994

Our work is only possible with your support.
Become a Friend of Statewatch from as little as £1/€1 per month.

 Previous article

GERMANY: Nuclear ploy?

Next article 

NETHERLANDS: Chipcards opposed

 

Spotted an error? If you've spotted a problem with this page, just click once to let us know.

Report error

Statewatch does not have a corporate view, nor does it seek to create one, the views expressed are those of the author. Statewatch is not responsible for the content of external websites and inclusion of a link does not constitute an endorsement. Registered UK charity number: 1154784. Registered UK company number: 08480724. Registered company name: The Libertarian Research & Education Trust. Registered office: MayDay Rooms, 88 Fleet Street, London EC4Y 1DH. © Statewatch ISSN 1756-851X. Personal usage as private individuals "fair dealing" is allowed. We also welcome links to material on our site. Usage by those working for organisations is allowed only if the organisation holds an appropriate licence from the relevant reprographic rights organisation (eg: Copyright Licensing Agency in the UK) with such usage being subject to the terms and conditions of that licence and to local copyright law.

About | Contact | Privacy Policy