>From: Press Agency Ozgurluk <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >June 21 2000 > >Mazlum-Der: Political bans increased in 1999 > >According to Mazlum-Der's 1999 report on Turkey's human >rights situation, 489 people were tortured last >year, of whom six died >The report says that in 1999, 35 people were either raped >or became the subject of sexual abuse while in >custody > >Ankara - Turkish Daily News > >According to a recent human rights report issued by the >Association of Human Rights and Solidarity for >Oppressed Peoples (Mazlum-Der), political bans increased in 1999 >compared to previous years. > >The Democratic Mass Party (DKP) was closed in 1999 and the >People's Democracy Party (HADEP) and the Virtue >Party (FP) are currently the subjects of closure cases in the >Constitutional Court. > >The Mazlum-Der report said that the 10 percent threshold, which >is applied during elections enabling a political >party to be represented in Parliament, was causing problems in >the equitable representation of differing political >views. > >Citing other violations experienced in the political arena in >1999, Mazlum-Der said former HADEP leader Murat >Bozlak and his associates and Rebirth Party (YDP) Chairman Hasan >Celal Guzel were sentenced to prison terms >and barred from politics. > >"The system in Turkey is not able to protect human rights and >regularly produces new human rights violations," >Mazlum-Der said. Claiming that Turkey's present Constitution was >the main obstacle standing in the way of >improvement in the human rights arena, the human rights >association claimed that barriers in the way of the >individual's right to take part in the political life of the >country still existed as of 1999. > >Torture and rape while in custody > >Addressing the issue of torture, the Mazlum-Der report claimed >that systematic torture had also continued last >year. A total of 489 torture incidents were reported to the >association, claiming the lives of six people. > >According to Mazlum-Der, the majority of torture victims do not >report it from fear that they might be tortured >again. In this light the association said that the 489 reported >incidents of torture represented only a fraction of the >actual number. > >Mazlum-Der stated that the main reason for a large number of >torture incidents in police custody was the absence >of a prosecutor during the questioning process. > >In 1999, a number of torture scenes were covered by the media. >Television cameras showed the pale faces of >those presently imprisoned in Istanbul's Kartal Prison, Erol >Evcil and outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) >member Cevat Soysal. The pictures showed that they had >apparently been subjected to torture -- they were >hardly able to walk -- and the videos were seen by the public on >television. > >Mazlum-Der said that torture frequently took place in hidden >locations rather than in police offices. In these cases, >as the victim is not aware where the torture took place and as >he cannot see the faces of those who are doing it, >he cannot prove the incident took place. As a result, the >torture and those inflicting it go unpunished. > >Apart from incidents of torture, a total of 35 people were >either raped or sexually abused while in custody, the >Mazlum-Der report stated. > >Naming Turkey as the country which introduced this violation to >the European Court of Human Rights, >Mazlum-Der said rape and sexual abuse are among the most >frequently used torture methods in Turkey. > >The association claimed that there were more rape incidents than >reported. Even those which are reported >cannot be publicized soon after they have due to lengthy >bureaucratic procedures. Taking this into consideration, >the report said, this victim is frequently and easily abused. > > >-- >Press Agency Ozgurluk >In Support of the Peoples Liberation Struggle in Turkey and Kurdistan >http://www.ozgurluk.org > > __________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki - Finland +358-40-7177941, fax +358-9-7591081 e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kominf.pp.fi ___________________________________ [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe/unsubscribe messages mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ___________________________________
