Turkey: UN Report Details Extensive Human Rights Violations During Protracted State of Emergency
GENEVA (20 March 2018) – Routine extensions of the state of emergency in Turkey have led to profound human rights
violations against hundreds of thousands of people – from arbitrary deprivation of the right to work and to freedom of
movement, to torture and other ill-treatment, arbitrary detentions and infringements of the rights to freedom of
association and expression, according to a report* issued by the UN Human Rights Office on Tuesday.
The report, which covers the period between 1 January and 31 December 2017, warns that the state of emergency has
facilitated the deterioration of the human rights situation and the erosion of the rule of law in Turkey, and may “have
long-lasting implications on the institutional and socio-economic fabric of Turkey.”
While the UN Human Rights Office recognizes the complex challenges Turkey has faced in addressing the 15 July 2016
attempted coup and a number of terrorist attacks, the report says, “the sheer number, frequency and lack of connection
of several [emergency] decrees to any national threat seem to…point to the use of emergency powers to stifle any form of
criticism or dissent vis-à-vis the Government.”
“The numbers are just staggering: nearly 160,000 people arrested during an 18-month state of emergency; 152,000 civil
servants dismissed, many totally arbitrarily; teachers, judges and lawyers dismissed or prosecuted; journalists
arrested, media outlets shut down and websites blocked – clearly the successive states of emergency declared in Turkey
have been used to severely and arbitrarily curtail the human rights of a very large number of people,” UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said.
“One of the most alarming findings of the report,” he added, “is how Turkish authorities reportedly detained some 100
women who were pregnant or had just given birth, mostly on the grounds that they were ‘associates’ of their husbands,
who are suspected of being connected to terrorist organizations. Some were detained with their children and others
violently separated from them. This is simply outrageous, utterly cruel, and surely cannot have anything whatsoever to
do with making the country safer.”
The report cites the April 2017 referendum that extended the President’s executive powers into both the legislature and
the judiciary as seriously problematic, resulting in interference with the work of the judiciary and curtailment of
parliamentary oversight over the executive branch. Twenty-two emergency decrees were promulgated by the end of 2017 (and
two more since the cut-off date of the report), with many regulating matters unrelated to the state of emergency and
used to limit various legitimate activities by civil society actors. The decrees also foster impunity, affording
immunity to administrative authorities acting within the framework of the decrees, the report notes.
The report contains accounts from several individuals who were dismissed from their jobs for perceived links with
Gulenist networks, for using specific messaging applications or through analysis of their social media contacts. “The
decrees broadly refer to ‘link or connection’ with ‘terrorist organisations’ without describing the nature of such
links, giving large discretion of interpretation to the authorities,” the report states, adding there were serious due
process violations. “Many individuals arrested…were not provided with specific evidence against them and were unaware of
investigations against them.”
The report also documents the use of torture and ill-treatment in custody, including severe beatings, threats of sexual
assault and actual sexual assault, electric shocks and waterboarding by police, gendarmerie, military police and
security forces.
Those dismissed from their jobs lost their income, social benefits, medical insurance and even their homes, as various
decrees stipulate that public servants “shall be evicted from publicly-owned houses or houses owned by a foundation in
which they live within 15 days.”
“Since the stated purpose of the emergency regime was to restore the normal functioning of the democratic institutions,
it is unclear how measures such as the eviction of families of civil servants from publicly-owned housing may contribute
to this goal,” the report states.
The report also states that about 300 journalists have been arrested on the grounds that their publications contained
“apologist sentiments regarding terrorism” or other “verbal act offences” or for “membership” in terrorist
organisations. Over 100,000 websites were reportedly blocked in 2017, including a high number of pro-Kurdish websites
and satellite TV channels.
The report stresses that measures restricting rights during a state of emergency must be “limited to the extent strictly
required by the exigencies of the situation, meaning they must be proportional and limited to what is necessary, in
terms of duration, geographic coverage and material scope.”
The report recommends that Turkey promptly end the state of emergency, restore the normal functioning of its
institutions, revise and repeal all legislation that is not compliant with Turkey’s international human rights
obligations, including the emergency decrees. It also stresses the need toensure independent, individualized reviews and
compensation for victims of arbitrary detentions and dismissals.
The report also noted continued allegations of human rights violations specific to South-East Turkey, confirming the
patterns of violations highlighted in the March 2017 UN Human Rights Office report** on the situation in the region.
This included killings, torture, violence against women, the excessive use of force, destruction of housing and cultural
heritage, prevention of access to emergency medical care, safe water and livelihoods, and severe restrictions of the
right to freedom of expression. Turkey has consistently failed to conduct credible criminal investigations into the
civilian deaths that occurred in the context of the 2015-2016 security operations in the South-East, the report states.
According to the Ministry of Defence, between July 2015 and June 2017, 10,657 “terrorists were neutralized.” Lack of
clarity over the meaning of the word “neutralized” is cause for deep concern, High Commissioner Zeid said, calling on
the authorities to provide detailed information about the fate of these individuals.
“I urge the Government of Turkey to ensure that these allegations of serious human rights violations are investigated
and the perpetrators are brought to justice,” the High Commissioner said. “I again call on the Government to grant my
Office full and unfettered access to be able to directly, independently and objectively assess the human rights
situation in the South-East of the country.”
The report is based on information gathered and verified through interviews with 104 victims, witnesses and relatives of
victims; analysis of Government information; as well as open source documents, satellite images and audio-visual
material, among other relevant and reliable materials. The report is not an exhaustive account of the human rights
situation in Turkey, but illustrates patterns of rights violations in the country. The confidentiality of sources is
strictly protected, to prevent reprisals.
ENDS
*Full report here:
**2017 report here: http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/TR/OHCHR_South-East_TurkeyReport_10March2017.pdf
2018 is the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN on 10 December 1948. The
Universal Declaration – translated into a world record 500 languages – is rooted in the principle that “all human beings
are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” It remains relevant to everyone, every day. In honour of the
70thanniversary of this extraordinarily influential document, and to prevent its vital principles from being eroded, we
are urging people everywhere to Stand Up for Human Rights: www.standup4humanrights.org.
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