Human rights in Turkey - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Human rights in Turkey are theoretically protected by a variety of international law

International law

Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...

treaties, which take precedence over domestic legislation, according to Article 90 of the 1982 Constitution

Constitution of Turkey

This article relates to a current event. See also the Turkish constitutional referendum, 2010The Constitution of the Republic of Turkey is Turkey's fundamental law. It establishes the organization of the government and sets out the principles and rules of the state's conduct along with its...

.

The issue of human rights is of high importance for the negotiations with the European Union

Accession of Turkey to the European Union

Turkey's application to accede to the European Union was made on 14 April 1987. Turkey has been an associate member of the European Union and its predecessors since 1963...

(EU). Acute human rights issues include in particular the status of Kurds in Turkey

Kurds in Turkey

Ethnic Kurds compose a significant portion of the population in Turkey . Unlike the Turks, the Kurds speak an Indo-European language...

. The conflict with the PKK

Turkey-PKK conflict

The Turkey – Kurdistan Workers' Party conflict, also referred to as the Kurdish Conflict in Turkey, the Kurdish Conflict, the Kurdish insurgency, the Kurdish rebellion or PKK-terrorism and has also been described as the latest Kurdish uprising or as a civil war, is an armed conflict between the...

has caused numerous human rights

Human rights

Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...

violations over the years. There is an ongoing debate in the country on the right to life

Right to life

Right to life is a phrase that describes the belief that a human being has an essential right to live, particularly that a human being has the right not to be killed by another human being...

, torture

Torture

Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...

, freedom of expression

Freedom of thought

Freedom of thought is the freedom of an individual to hold or consider a fact, viewpoint, or thought, independent of others' viewpoints....

as well as freedoms of religion

Freedom of religion

Freedom of religion is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance; the concept is generally recognized also to include the freedom to change religion or not to follow any...

, assembly

Freedom of assembly

Freedom of assembly, sometimes used interchangeably with the freedom of association, is the individual right to come together and collectively express, promote, pursue and defend common interests...

and association

Freedom of association

Freedom of association is the individual right to come together with other individuals and collectively express, promote, pursue and defend common interests....

Commitment to international human rights law

The Republic of Turkey has entered various human rights

Human rights

commitments, some of which are expressed in the 1982 Turkish Constitution, Part Two of which guarantees "fundamental rights and freedoms" such as the right to life

Right to life

Right to life is a phrase that describes the belief that a human being has an essential right to live, particularly that a human being has the right not to be killed by another human being...

, security of person

Security of person

Security of the person is a basic entitlement guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations in 1948. It is also a human right explicitly mentioned and protected by the Constitution of Canada, the Constitution of South Africa and other laws around the...

, and right to property

Right to property

The right to property, also known as the right to protection of property, is a human right and is understood to establish an entitlement to private property...

. In addition, Turkey has signed a number of treaties, shown in the tables below:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly . The Declaration arose directly from the experience of the Second World War and represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled...

was signed in 1949.

The European Convention on Human Rights
European Convention on Human Rights
The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms is an international treaty to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by the then newly formed Council of Europe, the convention entered into force on 3 September 1953...

(1954) places Turkey under the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...

(ECtHR). In 1987, Turkey accepted the right to apply individually to the ECtHR (Article 25 of the European Convention on Human Rights = ECHR) and 1990 recognised the compulsory jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights under Article 46 of the ECHR.

In October 2009 the European Commission on Enlargement to the European Union attested Turkey some progress on observance of international human rights law. However, implementation of some ECtHR judgments requiring legislative amendments has been outstanding for several years. Further efforts are needed to strengthening the institutional framework on human rights, in particular as regards the establishment of an independent human rights institution and of an Ombudsman.

European Court of Human Rights judgments

Number of decisions made by the ECtHR European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or... . (Some cases did not find a violation)
Year	Decisions
1995	3
1996	5
1997	8
1998	18
1999	19
2000	39
2001	218
2002	99
2003	123
2004	171
2005	290
2006	334
2007	331
2008	264
2009	356
2010	278

Turkey's human rights record has long continued to attract scrutiny, both internally and externally. According to the Foreign Ministry, Turkey was sentenced to 33 million euros in 567 different cases between 1990—when Turkey effectively allowed individual applications to the European Court of Human Rights

European Court of Human Rights

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...

(ECtHR)—and 2006. Most abuses were done in the South-East

Southeastern Anatolia Region

Southeastern Anatolia Region is one of Turkey's seven census-defined geographical regions . It is bordered by the Mediterranean Region to the west, the Eastern Anatolia Region to the north, Syria to the south, and Iraq to the southeast.-Provinces:...

, in the frame of the conflict with the PKK

Turkey-PKK conflict

.

In 2007, there were 2830 applications lodged against the Republic of Turkey before the ECtHR and consequently 331 judgments on the merits have been issued affirming 319 violations and 9 non-violations. In 2008, Turkey ranked second after Russia

Human rights in Russia

The rights and liberties of the citizens of the Russian Federation are granted by Chapter 2 of the Constitution adopted in 1993.Russia is the signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and has also ratified a number of other international human rights instruments, including the...

in the list of countries with the largest number of human rights violation cases open at the European Court of Human Rights, with 9,000 cases pending as of August 2008.

Between 1 November 1998 and 31 December 2008 the ECtHR received 24,945 applications from Turkey. It declared 2,237 cases admissible and 13,615 inadmissible. During the same time it reached 1,905 judgments finding at least one violation in 1,652 cases. While there are hardly any decision regarding Article 14 of the European Convention of Human Rights (ban of discrimination), many judgments concerning Article 2 (right to life) and Article 3 of the Convention (ban of torture) were taken on procedural grounds rather than testifying an involvement of State agencies. According to the European Commission on Enlargement of the EU Turkey continued to make progress on the execution of ECtHR judgments. All pecuniary
compensation was paid on time, totalling €5.2 million in 2008.

The ECtHR has heard nine cases against Turkey concerning political party bans by the Constitutional Court of Turkey. In all but one case (which concerned the Islamist Welfare Party

Welfare Party

The Welfare Party was an Islamist political party in Turkey. It was founded by Ali Türkmen, Ahmet Tekdal and Necmettin Erbakan in Ankara in 1983 as heir to two earlier parties, Milli Nizam Partisi and Milli Selamet Partisi , which were banned from politics...

), the European Court has ruled against the decision to ban, finding Turkey in violation of articles 10 and 11 of the European Convention (freedom of expression and freedom of association). The ECtHR's decision concerning the Welfare Party has been criticized for lack of consistency with its other decisions, in particular by Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...

.

One ECtHR judgment sentenced Turkey to a 103,000 euros fine for its decisions about the Yüksekova Gang (aka "the gang with uniforms"), related to the JİTEM clandestine gendarmerie intelligence unit. The EHCR also sentenced in 2006 Turkey to a 28,500 Euros fine for the JİTEM murder of 72-years-old Kurdish

Kurds in Turkey

Ethnic Kurds compose a significant portion of the population in Turkey . Unlike the Turks, the Kurds speak an Indo-European language...

writer Musa Anter

Musa Anter

Musa Anter, also known by nickname "Ape Musa" , , was a dissident Kurdish-Turkish writer and activist. He was a nationalist intellectual and murdered in September 1992....

, in 1992 in Diyarbakir. Other cases include the 2000 Akkoç v. Turkey

Akkoç v. Turkey

Akkoç v. Turkey 2000, Nos. 22947 & 8/93, ECHR 2000-X, was a decision by the European Court of Human Rights on the extent of the right to life....

judgment, concerning the assassination of a trade-unionist; or the Loizidou v. Turkey case in 1996, which set a precedent in the Cyprus dispute

Cyprus dispute

The Cyprus dispute is the result of the ongoing conflict between the Republic of Cyprus and Turkey, over the Turkish occupied northern part of Cyprus....

, as the ECtHR ordered Turkey to give financial compensation to a person expelled from the Turkish-controlled side of Cyprus.

The ECtHR also awarded in 2005 Kurdish deputy Leyla Zana

Leyla Zana

Leyla Zana , is a Kurdish politician, who was imprisoned for 10 years for her political actions which were claimed to be against the unity of Turkey. When she was a member of pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party, she was banned from joining any political party for five years with the Constitutional...

9000 € from the Turkish government, ruling Turkey had violated her rights of free expression. Zana, who had been recognized as prisoner of conscience

Prisoner of conscience

Prisoner of conscience is a term defined in Peter Benenson's 1961 article "The Forgotten Prisoners" often used by the human rights group Amnesty International. It can refer to anyone imprisoned because of their race, religion, or political views...

by Amnesty International

Amnesty International

Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...

and had been awarded the Sakharov Prize

Sakharov Prize

The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, named after Soviet scientist and dissident Andrei Sakharov, was established in December 1988 by the European Parliament as a means to honour individuals or organisations who have dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought...

by the European Parliament

European Parliament

The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...

, had been jailed in 1994, allegedly for being a member of the outlawed PKK, but officiously for having spoken Kurdish in public during her parliamentary oath.

The right to life

The right to life may be threatened by other means than the death penalty. In particular during the 1990s there were many instances of extrajudicial executions, (political) killings by unidentified perpetrators (faili meçhul cinayetler) and cases of "disappearances".

Capital punishment

The death penalty has not been implemented in Turkey since 1984. Turkey abolished the sentence for peace time offences in 2002 and for all offences in 2004. The sentence was replaced by aggravated life imprisonment (ağırlaştırılmış müebbet hapis cezası). According to Article 9 of Law 5275 on the Execution of Sentences these prisoners are held in individual cells

Solitary confinement

Solitary confinement is a special form of imprisonment in which a prisoner is isolated from any human contact, though often with the exception of members of prison staff. It is sometimes employed as a form of punishment beyond incarceration for a prisoner, and has been cited as an additional...

in high security prisons

Supermax

Supermax is the name used to describe "control-unit" prisons, or units within prisons, which represent the most secure levels of custody in the prison systems of certain countries...

and are allowed to exercise in a neighbouring yard one hour per day.

Extra-judicial executions

In 1990 Amnesty International

Amnesty International

published its first report on extrajudicial executions

Extrajudicial punishment

Extrajudicial punishment is punishment by the state or some other official authority without the permission of a court or legal authority. The existence of extrajudicial punishment is considered proof that some governments will break their own legal code if deemed necessary.-Nature:Extrajudicial...

in Turkey. In the following years the problem became more serious. The Human Rights Foundation of Turkey determined the following figures on extrajudicial executions in Turkey for the years 1991 to 2001:

1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001
98	283	189	129	96	129	98	80	63	56	37

In 2001 the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Ms. Asma Jahangir

Asma Jahangir

Asma Jilani Jahangir is a leading Pakistani lawyer, advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, President Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan and human rights activist, who works both in Pakistan and internationally to prevent the persecution of religious minorities, women, and exploitation...

,
presented a report on a visit to Turkey. The report presented details of killings of prisoners (26 September 1999, 10 prisoners killed in a prison in Ankara; 19 December 2000, an operation in 20 prisons launched throughout Turkey resulted in the death of 30 inmates and two gendarmes).

For the years 2000-2008 the Human Rights Association

Human Rights Association (Turkey)

The Human Rights Association is an NGO for advancing Human rights in Turkey, founded in 1986 and headquartered in Ankara.- History :...

(HRA) gives the following figures on doubtful deaths/deaths in
custody/extra judicial execution/torture by paid village guards

2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
173	55	40	44	47	89	130	66	65

In 2008 the human rights organization Mazlum Der counted 25 extrajudicial killings in Turkey.

Unsolved killings

The mass violations of human rights in the mainly Kurdish-populated southeast and eastern regions of Turkey in the 1990s took the form of enforced disappearances and killings by unknown perpetrators which the state authorities showed no willingness to solve. In 2009 the Human Rights Association stated that up to the end of 2008 a total of 2,949 people had been killed by unknown perpetrators and 2,308 people had become victims of extrajudicial executions.

A parliamentary commission to research killings by unknown perpetrators (faili meçhul cinayetleri araştırma komisyonu) was founded in 1993 and worked for about two years. Many members complained that they had not been assisted and their work had been undermined. One member of the commission, Eyüp Aşık, stated that the Turkish Hezbollah had been behind many of these killings and added that the State had had three effective arms in the fight against terrorism: special teams, village guards

Village guard system

Village guards ) are paramilitaries. Originally they were set up and funded by the Turkish state in the mid-1980s under the direction of Turgut Özal. Their stated purpose was to act as a local militia in towns and villages, protecting against attacks and reprisals from the insurgents, terrorists...

and Hezbollah. Although he had witnessed about 80 actions of Hezbollah in Adıyaman province the then Minister for the Interior had said that there was nothing by that name. This in turn had made him believe that the State supported Hezbollah.

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch

(HRW) first called for an investigation of links between Hezbollah and the security forces in 1992. In a separate report HRW stated: "During 1992 there was an extremely disturbing increase in the number of suspicious deaths in southeast Turkey. Hundreds of people were killed by unknown assailants; many of those people were leaders or in positions of responsibility in the Kurdish community -- doctors, lawyers, teachers, political leaders, journalists, human rights activists, businessmen... Human rights activists were among the victims. Thirteen of the suspicious killings since January 1992 were of journalists."

Based on the data of the Interior Ministry, the daily “Zaman” reported that between 1987-2001 a total of 2,914 political killings, 1,334 of the in the responsibility area of the police and 1,580 in area of the gendarmerie, were committed in the Eastern and Southern Eastern Anatolia Regions. 457 of the killings in areas of the police and 1,291 in areas of the gendarmerie had not been clarified.

The following figures were presented in the annual reports of the HRFT between 1990 and 2001

Year	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001
Victims	11	31	362	467	423	166	113	65	45	52	13	24

The Human Rights Association (HRA) presents the following figures for the years 1999 to 2008:

Year	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
Victims	212	145	160	75	50	47	1	20	42	29

The Human Rights Association Mazlumder presented figures on killing by unknown assailants and suspicious death for the years 2005 to 2008:

Year	2005	2006	2007	2008
Incident	170	138	384	315
Victims	203	167	373	343

"Disappearances"

In Turkey, the military campaign against Kurdish secessionists in Eastern Anatolia has been accompanied by numerous enforced disappearances, which also gave rise to judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. There were only a handful of cases of "disappearances"

Forced disappearance

In international human rights law, a forced disappearance occurs when a person is secretly abducted or imprisoned by a state or political organization or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organization, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the...

in Turkey in the 1980s, but a high number of deaths in custody. The opposite was true for the 1990s, when the number of people who "disappeared" after having been abducted by agents of the States rapidly increased.

In 1998 the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances issued a Report on the visit to Turkey by two members of the Working Group from 20–26 September 1998. It stated inter alias: "Most of the disappearances concerned persons of Kurdish ethnic origin and occurred in the provinces of Diyarbakir and Siirt, in south-east Anatolia, where the armed and security forces are combating the PKK and where a state of emergency is in force. Some of the reported disappearances took place in Antalya, Izmir and Istanbul. Most of the cases followed the same pattern: the missing persons had allegedly been arrested at their homes on charges of belonging to the PKK and taken to the police station but their detention was later denied by the authorities."
In her report of 18 December 2001 the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Ms. Asma Jahangir

Asma Jahangir

, wrote: While the number of cases of abductions or “disappearances” have decreased over the last few years, at the time of the Special Rapporteur’s visit such incidents still did occur, particularly in the remote areas of south-east Turkey, and there was deep concern at the recent disappearance of two persons.
In some places on the Internet a list attributed to the HRA can be found (but not on the website of the HRA). It is said that the original list contained 839 names, but that adding further names the list covered 1,251 names in the end. In a revised list that covers only the time between 1980 and 1999 Helmut Oberdiek reached a figure of 818 cases of "disappearances" in Turkey.

The so called Saturday Mothers held weekly protests against "disappearances" between May 1995 and 1999. They had to suspend their action on 13 March 1999 after week 200, because of intense pressure, detention and ill-treatment. In March 2009 the Saturday Mothers took their action up again.

Torture

The widespread and systematic use of torture in Turkey was first observed by Amnesty International

Amnesty International

(AI) after the 1971 Turkish coup d'état. Until 2002 the organization continued to speak of systematic torture in Turkey. Günter Verheugen

Günter Verheugen

-Erler:At around the same time, photographs appeared showing him holidaying with Petra Erler, the head of his private office. A Commission spokesman backed him by saying "the private holidays of Vice President Verheugen in Lithuania this summer did not violate the rules applicable to members of the...

, Commissioner for Enlargement of the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

went to Turkey in September 2004 and maintained that torture was no longer systematic practice in Turkey. The Human Rights Association (HRA) protested against this evaluation and pointed at recent figures and definitions of systematic torture by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and the UN Committee against Torture.

Since 2005 incidents of torture seem to be on the rise. According to an October report by the Prime Ministry's Human Rights Presidency (HRP), the number of torture and cruel treatment cases reported in the first six months of the year surpassed the number reported in the first half of 2007. The HRP reported that, in the first half of the year, 178 persons reported cruel treatment and 26 reported torture, up from 79 reports of cruel treatment and 17 reports of torture during the same period in 2007. In the report on progress of November 2008 the European Commission stated, "the number of applications to NGOs in relation to cases of torture and ill-treatment has increased, in particular outside official places of detention, notably during apprehension, transfer, or in the open with no detention registered... There is a lack of prompt, impartial and independent investigation into allegations of human rights violations by members of security forces." In the 2009 annual report Amnesty International

Amnesty International

stated: "Reports of torture and other ill-treatment rose during 2008, especially outside official places of detention but also in police stations and prisons."

Deaths in custody

An important characteristics of the period following the 12 September 1980 military intervention was the disregard to the right to life and the increase in torture cases and deaths due to torture. The HRFT published two reports on Deaths in Custody (14 and 15 years since the military take over) presenting a list of 419 deaths in custody (in 15 years) with a suspicion that torture might have been the reason. Another 15 deaths were attributed to hunger strikes while medical neglect was given as the reason for 26 deaths. On the basis of this list Helmut Oberdiek compiled a revised list for 20 years (12 September 1980 to 12 September 2000) and concluded that in 428 cases torture may have been the reason for the death of prisoners. In 2008 alone the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey reported of 39 deaths in prison. In some cases torture was involved.

Prison conditions

Turkey has repeatedly been criticized for poor prison conditions and in particular for not solving the problem of overcrowding. Following the 1980 Turkish coup d'état political prisoners tried in military courts were held in military prisons and were thus subjected to military discipline. Prisoners were obliged to participate in daily roll-calls, the singing of marches and drills in the open air. In particular, Diyarbakır

Diyarbakır

Diyarbakır is one of the largest cities in southeastern Turkey...

and Mamak Military Prisons (the latter in Ankara

Ankara

Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....

) became notorious for the routine beatings which accompanied attempts to enforce military discipline among civilians. In addition, so-called "inaugural-beatings" had been institutionalized in almost all prisons in Turkey.

In 2008 allegations of ill-treatment in prisons and during transfer continued. Small-group isolation remained a problem across the prison system for people accused or convicted of politically motivated offences. The Human Rights Foundation of Turkey registered 39 deaths in prison.

Freedom of religion

Although its population is overwhelmingly Muslim

Muslim

A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

, Turkey is a secular country per Article 24 of the Turkish Constitution. The two main Islamic streams in Turkey are Sunni

Sunni Islam

Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam. Sunni Muslims are referred to in Arabic as ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah wa āl-Ǧamāʿah or ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah for short; in English, they are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis or Sunnites....

and Alevi

Alevi

The Alevi are a religious and cultural community, primarily in Turkey, constituting probably more than 15 million people....

. In Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

Alevi are the minority, estimated at 17 percent of the Muslim population.

Religious education is compulsory in primary and secondary education (Article 24 of the Constitution). Mainly Sunni theology

Theology

Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...

is taught. The government oversees Muslim religious facilities and education through its Directorate of Religious Affairs

Diyanet Isleri Baskanligi

In Turkey, the Presidency of Religious Affairs is an official institution established in 1924 after the abolition of the caliphate. Founded by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey as a successor to Sheikh ul-Islam, it represents the highest Islamic religious authority in the country...

, which is under the authority of the Prime Ministry. The Directory regulates the operation of the country's 77,777 registered mosques and employs local and provincial imams, who are civil servants. Sunni imams are nominated and paid by the state. The Alevi

Alevi

The Alevi are a religious and cultural community, primarily in Turkey, constituting probably more than 15 million people....

s pray in cemevi
Cemevi
A Cemevi means literally a house of gathering in Turkish, and is a place of fundamental importance for Turkey's Alevi-Bektashi populations and traditions. It is not a place of worship in the strict sense of the term; the accent is laid on its aspect as lieu of assemblage...

s. "Cemevleri" (places of gathering) have no legal status as places of worship in the state. However, Kuşadası

Kusadasi

Kuşadası is a resort town on Turkey's Aegean coast and the center of the seaside district of the same name in Aydın Province. Kuşadası lies at a distance of to the south from the region's largest metropolitan center of İzmir, and from the provincial seat of Aydın situated inland. Its primary...

and Tunceli municipalities ruled in 2008 that Alevi cemevleri are considered places of worship.

Exact figures on the non-Islamic population in Turkey are not available. Some sources estimate the Christian population between three and five percent. Their communities mainly exist in Istanbul

Istanbul

Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...

with Armenian

Armenians in Turkey

Armenians in Turkey have an estimated population of 40,000 to 70,000 . Most are concentrated around Istanbul. The Armenians support their own newspapers and schools...

and Greek-Orthodox Christians; in southeastern Turkey other groups like the Syriacs

Syriac Orthodox Church

The Syriac Orthodox Church; is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church based in the Eastern Mediterranean, with members spread throughout the world. The Syriac Orthodox Church claims to derive its origin from one of the first Christian communities, established in Antioch by the Apostle St....

and Yazidi

Yazidi

The Yazidi are members of a Kurdish religion with ancient Indo-Iranian roots. They are primarily a Kurdish-speaking people living in the Mosul region of northern Iraq, with additional communities in Transcaucasia, Armenia, Turkey, and Syria in decline since the 1990s – their members emigrating to...

(a syncretistic faith) can be found. In the big cities Jewish and other communities such as the Jehovah's Witnesses

Jehovah's Witnesses

Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...

exist. According to the Treaty of Lausanne

Treaty of Lausanne

The Treaty of Lausanne was a peace treaty signed in Lausanne, Switzerland on 24 July 1923, that settled the Anatolian and East Thracian parts of the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire. The treaty of Lausanne was ratified by the Greek government on 11 February 1924, by the Turkish government on 31...

only the Armenian, Greek and Jewish communities are recognized as minorities

Minority group

A minority is a sociological group within a demographic. The demographic could be based on many factors from ethnicity, gender, wealth, power, etc. The term extends to numerous situations, and civilizations within history, despite the misnomer of minorities associated with a numerical statistic...

.

According to the human rights organization Mazlumder

Mazlumder

The Organization of Human Rights and Solidarity for Oppressed People is a Turkish human rights association...

, the military charged individuals with lack of discipline for activities that included performing Muslim prayers or being married to women who wore headscarves. In December 2008 the General Staff issued 24 dismissals, five of which pertained to alleged Islamic fundamentalism. According to the progress report 2008 of the European Union freedom of religion, freedom of worship continued to be generally respected. The Law on foundations adopted in February 2008 addresses, among other things, a number of property issues regarding non-Muslim minorities.

Freedom of expression

Article 26 of the Constitution guarantees freedom of expression

Freedom of speech

Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...

. Articles 27 and 28 of the Constitution guarantee the "freedom of expression" and "unhindered dissemination of thought". Paragraph 2 of Article 27 affirms that "the right to disseminate shall not be exercised for the purpose of changing the provisions of Articles 1, 2 and 3 of [the] Constitution", articles in question referring to the unitary

Unitary state

A unitary state is a state governed as one single unit in which the central government is supreme and any administrative divisions exercise only powers that their central government chooses to delegate...

, secular

Secularism

Secularism is the principle of separation between government institutions and the persons mandated to represent the State from religious institutions and religious dignitaries...

, democratic

Democracy

Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...

and republic

Republic

A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...

an nature of the state.

Law 765 (the old penal code) that entered into force on 1 March 1926 restricted freedom of expression, despite several amendments. Law 5237 that replaced the old penal code on 1 June 2005 preserved several provisions that restrict freedom of thought and expression. A number of special laws such as the Law 5816 (offences against the memory of Atatürk), Press Law and the Law on Political Parties also restrict freedom of expression.

In the 1970s and 1980s the Articles 141 (membership of communist organizations), 142 (communist or separatist propaganda) and 163 (membership of or propaganda for anti-secular organizations) of Law 765 (the Turkish Penal Code, TPC) were most frequently used to punish peaceful opposition. On 12 April 1991 Law 3713 on the Fight against Terrorism (or Anti-Terror Law, ATL) entered into force. It abolished these provisions, but retained part of Article 142 TPC in Article 8 ATL. Journalists, politicians, human rights defenders and trade unionists were convicted under this provision, often simply for having used the word "Kurdistan".

After the European Court of Human Rights had passed more than 100 judgments finding a violation of Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights some changes were made to existing legislation. Article 8 of the ATL was abolished by Law 4928 of 30 July 2003. Another frequently used Article 312/2 of the TPC (incitement to hatred and enmity) was amended by Law 4744 of 9 February 2002. The new version narrowed the use of this Article by introducing the condition if the incitement might endanger public order. The new wording (and sentences) for such an "offence" are now contained in Article 216 of Law 5237. The sentence that mere criticism should not be punishable under Article 159 of Law 765 (denigrating Turkishness, the Republic or the Grand National Assembly of Turkey) was added to the law text, although this had already been established in the case law. The "offence" is now described in Article 301 of Law 5237

Article 301 (Turkish penal code)

Article 301 is a controversial article of the Turkish Penal Code making it illegal to insult Turkey, the Turkish ethnicity, or Turkish government institutions...

.

After severe criticism from NGO

Non-governmental organization

A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...

s and European institutions Article 301 was once again amended on 30 April 2008. The amendments introduced a requirement for permission to be obtained from the Justice Minister in order to launch a criminal investigation.

Following the adoption of the amendments to Article 301, Turkish courts had forwarded, by September 2008, 257 cases to the Minister of Justice for prior authorisation. The Minister had reviewed 163 cases and refused to grant permission to proceed in 126 cases. The Minister of Justice authorised the criminal investigations to continue in 37 cases. This included one case which was initiated following a statement made by a Turkish writer on the Armenian issue shortly after the assassination of the Turkish journalist of Armenian origin, Hrant Dink.

Other legal provisions that restrict freedom of expression include Articles 215, 216 and 217 of the Turkish Criminal Code, that criminalise offences against public order, and the Anti-Terror Law have been applied to prosecute and convict those expressing non-violent opinions on Kurdish issues.

Conscientious objection

There is currently no provision for conscientious objection. Article 72 of the Turkish Constitution

Constitution of Turkey

states: “National service is the right and duty of every Turk. The manner in which this service shall be performed, or considered as performed, either in the Armed Forces or in public service, shall be regulated by law”. This in principle would allow for a non-military alternative. Turkey, Belarus

Belarus

Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...

and Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...

are the only European countries that have not introduced any legislation on conscientious objection.

In January 2006, the European Court of Human Rights

European Court of Human Rights

ruled that Turkey had violated Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights

European Convention on Human Rights

The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms is an international treaty to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by the then newly formed Council of Europe, the convention entered into force on 3 September 1953...

that prohibits degrading treatment in a case relating to Osman Murat Ulke

Osman Murat Ulke

Osman Murat Ulke is a Turkish conscientious objector. He was imprisoned for two and a half years for refusal of military service, and was the subject of a ruling from the European Court of Human Rights.-History of the case:...

, the first conscientious objector to be imprisoned for his objection. Another conscientious objector, Mehmet Tarhan

Mehmet Tarhan

Mehmet Tarhan was imprisoned for refusing military service in Turkey as a conscientious objector. Tarhan had been sentenced to four years in a military prison for disobedience after refusing to wear a military uniform, a sentence that is evidently the longest ever given for such an offense in Turkey...

, was sentenced to four years in prison by a military court in 2005 for refusing to do his military service

Conscription in Turkey

In Turkey, compulsory military service applies to all male citizens from twenty to forty one years of age. Those who are engaged in higher education or vocational training programs prior to their military drafting are allowed to delay service until they have completed the programs or reach a...

, but he was later released in March 2006. However, he is still a convict and shall be arrested on sight. In a related case, journalist Perihan Mağden

Perihan Magden

Perihan Mağden is a Turkish writer, known for her wit. She is currently a columnist for the newspaper Taraf. She was tried and acquitted for calling for opening the possibility of conscientious objection to mandatory military service in Turkey....

was tried and acquitted by a Turkish court for supporting Tarhan and advocating conscientious objection as a human right.

Since 1989, 74 people have refused to perform compulsory military service in Turkey. Only six of them have been tried for being a conscientious objector or sent to the military unit they were assigned to after being captured. COs may be punished under Article 63 of the Turkish Military Penal Code for avoiding military service. COs who attract media attention or publish articles about their refusal to perform military service may also be punished to between six months’ and two years' imprisonment under Article 318 of the Turkish Criminal Code for "alienating the people from the armed forces". In 2004, a new Criminal Code was introduced (Law No 5237). Under the previous Criminal Code, "alienating people from the armed forces" was punishable under Article 155 with a similar term of imprisonment.

Some members of religious denominations who forbid their members to bear arms, in particular Jehovah’s Witnesses, have also refused to perform military service. Members of Jehovah's Witnesses have regularly been sentenced to imprisonment under Article 63 of the Penal Code for avoiding military service. In recent years, Jehovah's Witnesses are reportedly regularly allowed to perform unarmed military service within the armed forces. They have complied with this.

Further instances of imprisonment included

Halil Savda: He was sentenced to 21,5 months' imprisonment
Mehmet Bal: He was repeatedly imprisoned in 2002, 2003 and 2008 He was allegedly beaten in prison.

The Council of Europe

Council of Europe

The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...

and the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

have regularly called upon Turkey to legally recognise the right to conscientious objection. In March 2004, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe stated that: “Despite Turkey’s geostrategic position, the Assembly demands that Turkey recognises the right to conscientious objection and introduce an alternative civilian service”. In September 2009 the Turkish press reported that the Turkish government is considering creating regulations regarding conscientious objectors. According to the amendment planned on the issue, those refusing to perform compulsory military service will no longer be forcibly drafted to the military while they are under detention and will be able to be defended by a lawyer while being tried. They will also be able to benefit from the Probation Law.

Quotes on free opinion in Turkey

Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...

: "Human rights defenders, writers, journalists and others were unjustly prosecuted under unfair laws and subjected to arbitrary decisions by judges and prosecutors. Courts also acted disproportionately when shutting down websites on the basis of posted items. People expressing dissenting views remained at risk, with individuals threatened with violence by unknown individuals or groups. Police bodyguards were provided in a number of cases."
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...

: "Critical and open debate increased, even as restrictions on free speech continue."
US Department of State: The government limited freedom of expression through the use of constitutional restrictions and numerous laws, including articles of the penal code prohibiting insults to the government, the state, the "Turkish nation," or the institution and symbols of the republic. Limitations on freedom of expression applied to the Internet, and courts and an independent board ordered telecommunications providers to block access to Web sites on approximately 1,475 occasions.
European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

: "There has been some progress in the efforts to strengthen the safeguards for freedom of expression, which is a priority of the Accession Partnership. However, only a consistent track record of implementation will show whether or not the revised article is adequate."

Freedom of assembly

Article 34 of the 1982 Constitute (as amended on October 17, 2001) states, "Everyone has the right to hold unarmed and peaceful meetings and demonstration marches without prior permission." Restrictions may only be introduced on the grounds of national security, and public order, or prevention of crime commitment, public health and public morals or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others. Article 3 of Law 2911 on demonstrations and meeting provides, "Everybody has the right to hold unarmed and peaceful assembly without prior permission." Nevertheless Amnesty International stated in 2009 that the right to freedom of peaceful assembly was denied, and law enforcement officials used excessive force to disperse demonstrations.

Deaths due to excessive police force during demonstrations have a long history in Turkey. They include

Taksim Square massacre
Taksim Square massacre
The Taksim Square massacre relates to the incidents on 1 May, 1977, the international Labour Day on Taksim Square in Istanbul, Turkey.-Background:...

of 1 May 1977, death toll varies between 34 and 42
Further casualties on 1 May Labour Day (all in Istanbul):
- 1989: 1 person killed
- 1996: 3 demonstrators killed.
Newroz celebrations; usually on or around 21 March each year
- Newroz 1991: 31 people shot dead The annual report of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (HRFT) reported that one demonstrator was killed in Nusaybin.
- Newroz 1992: The Newroz festivities left at least 91 people dead in three towns of the southeast, Cizre, Sirnak and Nusaybin, and 9 others elsewhere in the region, and according to Helsinki Watch, 'all or nearly all of the casualties resulted from unprovoked, unnecessary and unjustified attacks by Turkish security forces against peaceful Kurdish civilian demonstrators'.
- Newroz 1993: Three people were killed in Adana and Batman.
Different occasions
- Funeral of Vedat Aydin in Diyarbakir in June 1991, 15 people were shot dead The annual report of the HRFT reported that seven demonstrators were killed.
- Demonstration in Digor because of the 9th anniversary of the beginning of the armed fight of the PKK on 15 August 1984. 15 demonstrators were killed.
- 20 people died in Gazi and 1 May quarter of Istanbul during an unrest that started with shots on coffee shop frequented by Alevis.
- Funeral of PKK militants at the end of March 2006: 13 people were killed in Diyarbakir and further places

Freedom of association

The law provides for freedom of association. Under the law persons organizing an association do not need to notify authorities beforehand, but an association must provide notification before interacting with international organizations or receiving financial support from abroad, and must provide detailed documents on such activities.

The Constitution affirms the right of workers to form labor unions "without obtaining permission" and "to possess the right to become a member of a union and to freely withdraw from membership" (Article 51). Articles 53 and 54 affirm the right of workers to bargain collectively

Collective bargaining

Collective bargaining is a process of negotiations between employers and the representatives of a unit of employees aimed at reaching agreements that regulate working conditions...

and to strike

Strike action

Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...

, respectively.

Until March 2008 a total of 26 political parties had been banned, two of them before the Constitutional Court (the place where such decisions are taken) was established on 25 April 1962. This figure does not include the 18 political parties that were banned immediately after the 1980 coup d'état and dissolved on 16 October 1981. The Grand National Assembly of Turkey passed Law 2533 on 19 June 1992 allowing these parties to be opened again.

The Foundation for social, economic and political research (TESAV) has detailed information on the closure of political parties. They list ten political parties (instead of two) that were closed before the Constitutional Court was established. The details are (in collapsible tables)

1. political parties closed before the Constitutional Court was founded:

No.	Name (en)	Name (tr)	founded	closed	HQ
1	Democrat Party	Demokrat Parti	07.01.1946	29.09.1960	Ankara
2	Peasants and Villagers Party	Çiftçi ve Köylü Partisi	24.04.1946	02.06.1946	Bursa
3	Turkey Socialist Party	Türkiye Sosyalist Partisi	14.05.1946	1952	İstanbul
4	Nation Party	Millet Partisi	20.07.1948	27.01.1954	Ankara
5	Democratic Workers' Party	Demokrat İşçi Partisi	26.09.1950	1950	İstanbul
6	Ruling Party	Güden Partisi	14.07.1951	1951	İstanbul
7	Islamic Democrat Party	İslam Demokrat Partisi	01.08.1951	1952	İstanbul
8	Fatherland's Party	Vatan Partisi	22.10.1954	1966	İstanbul
9	Small Party	Ufak Parti	23.05.1957	1957	Erzurum
10	Equality Party	Müsavat Partisi	13.02.1961	1961	İstanbul

2. Political parties closed by the Constitutional Court

No.	Name (en)	Name (tr)	founded	closed
1	Turkey Workers' Party Workers Party of Turkey Workers Party of Turkey was a Turkish political party, founded in 1961. It became the first socialist party in Turkey to win representation in the national parliament. It was banned twice and eventually merged with the Communist Party of Turkey in 1988.TİP was founded by a group of labor union...	Türkiye İşçi Partisi	13.02.1961	20.07.1971
2	Workers – Peasants Party	İşçi - Çiftçi Partisi	30.03.1961	15.10.1968
3	Turkey Progressive Ideal Party	Türkiye İleri Ülkü Partisi	06.05.1969	29.06.1971
4	Great Anatolia Party	Büyük Anadolu Partisi	05.11.1969	19.12.1972
5	National Order Party National Order Party National Order Party was a Islamist political party in Turkey, which adopted the National View ideology. It was founded on 26 January 1970 by Necmettin Erbakan...	Milli Nizam Partisi	26.01.1970	20.05.1971
6	Turkey Labourer Party	Türkiye Emekçi Partisi	12.02.1975	08.05.1980
7	Welfare Party Welfare Party The Welfare Party was an Islamist political party in Turkey. It was founded by Ali Türkmen, Ahmet Tekdal and Necmettin Erbakan in Ankara in 1983 as heir to two earlier parties, Milli Nizam Partisi and Milli Selamet Partisi , which were banned from politics...	Refah Partisi	19.07.1983	16.01.1998
8	Turkey Comfort Party	Türkiye Huzur Partisi	22.07.1983	25.10.1983
9	Socialist Party	Sosyalist Parti	01.02.1988	10.07.1992
10	Green Party	Yeşiller Partisi	06.06.1988	10.02.1994
11	People Party	Halk Partisi	20.12.1989	24.09.1991
12	Revival Party	Diriliş Partisi	26.03.1990	18.02.1997
13	Turkey United Communist Party United Communist Party of Turkey United Communist Party of Turkey was a political party in Turkey. The leadership of two banned parties Communist Party of Turkey and Workers Party of Turkey announced in 1987 that they had decided to merge and form TBKP...	Türkiye Birleşik Komünist Partisi	04.06.1990	16.07.1991
14	People's Labour Party	Halkın Emek Partisi	07.06.1990	14.07.1993
15	Socialist Union Party	Sosyalist Birlik Partisi	15.01.1991	19.07.1995
16	Freedom and Democracy Party	Özgürlük ve Demokrasi Partisi	19.10.1992	23.11.1993
17	Socialist Turkey Party	Sosyalist Türkiye Partisi	06.11.1992	30.11.1993
18	Democrat Party	Demokrat Parti	12.12.1992	13.09.1994
19	Democracy Party	Demokrasi Partisi	07.05.1993	16.06.1994
20	Democracy and Change Party	Demokrasi ve Değişim Partisi	03.04.1995	19.03.1996
21	Labour Party	Emek Partisi	25.03.1996	14.02.1997
22	Democratic Mass Party	Demokratik Kitle Partisi	03.01.1997	26.02.1999
23	Virtue Party Virtue Party Virtue Party was an Islamist political party established in December 1998 in Turkey. It was found unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court and then banned in June 2001, for violating the secularist articles of the Constitution...	Fazilet Partisi	18.12.1997	22.06.2001
24	People's Democracy Party	Halkın Demokrasi Partisi	11.05.1994	13.03.2003

For the number of associations, trade unions, political parties and cultural centres that were closed down or raided the Human Rights Association presented the following figure for the years 1999 to 2008:

	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
Closure	169	130	146	127	47	13	5	6	13	11
Raids	266	156	216	83	88	35	7	48	36	103

Ethnic rights

Though Turkey is a land of vast ethnic, linguistic and religious diversity – home not only to Turks, Kurds and Armenians, but also, among others, Alevi

Alevi

The Alevi are a religious and cultural community, primarily in Turkey, constituting probably more than 15 million people....

s, Ezidis

Yazidi

, Assyrians, Laz

Laz people

The Laz are an ethnic group native to the Black Sea coastal regions of Turkey and Georgia...

, Caferis, Roma, Greeks

Greeks in Turkey

The Greeks in Turkey constitute a population of Greek and Greek-speaking Eastern Orthodox Christians who mostly live in Istanbul, including its district Princes' Islands, as well as on the two islands of the western entrance to the Dardanelles: Imbros and Tenedos .They are the remnants of the...

, Caucasians and Jews, the history of the state is one of severe repression of minorities in the name of nationalism. (See Demographics of Turkey
Demographics of Turkey
This article is about the demographic features of the population of Turkey, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population....

).

According to Article 66 of the Turkish Constitution, "everyone bound to the Turkish state through the bond of citizenship is a Turk". The Constitution affirms the principle of the indivisibility of the Turkish Nation and of constitutional citizenship

Citizenship

Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...

that is not based on ethnicity. Consequently, the word "Turkish" legally refers to all citizens of Turkey, though individual interpretation can be more limited. According to the constitution, there are no minority rights

Minority rights

The term Minority Rights embodies two separate concepts: first, normal individual rights as applied to members of racial, ethnic, class, religious, linguistic or sexual minorities, and second, collective rights accorded to minority groups...

since all citizens are equal before the law. Although the Treaty of Lausanne, before the proclamation of the Republic, guarantees some rights to non-Muslim minorities, in practise Turkey has recognised only Armenians, Greeks and Jews as minorities and excluded other non-Muslim groups, such as Assyrians and Yazidis, from the minority status and these rights. Advocacy for protection of minorities' rights can lead to legal prosecutions as a number of provisions in Turkish law prohibits creation of minorities or alleging existence of minorites, such as Article 81 of the Law on Political Parties.

Kurdish people

Due to the large population of Turkish Kurds, successive governments have viewed the expression of a Kurdish identity as a potential threat to Turkish unity, a feeling that has been compounded since the armed rebellion initiated by the PKK in 1984. One of the main accusations of cultural assimilation comes from the state's historic suppression of the Kurdish language. Kurdish publications created throughout the 1960s and 1970s were shut down under various legal pretexts. Following the military coup of 1980, the Kurdish language was officially prohibited from government institutions. The Kurdish alphabet

Kurdish language

Kurdish is a dialect continuum spoken by the Kurds in western Asia. It is part of the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian group of Indo-European languages....

is not recognized.

Since 2002, as part of its reforms aimed at European Union integration and under pressure to further the rights of Kurds, Turkey passed laws allowing Kurdish radio and television broadcasts as well the option of private Kurdish education.In 2010 a master level and in 2011 a graduate level university program were started and a Kurdish Language and Literature Department was established in the state-owned Mardin Artuklu University.

In August 2009, Turkish government begun restoring names of Kurdish villages, as well as considering allowing religious sermons to be made in Kurdish as part of reforms to answer the grievances of the ethnic minority and advance its EU candidacy.

Minority languages

Until reforms that started in 2002, there were legal restrictions on publishing in minority languages except for Greek

Greek language

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

, Armenian

Armenian language

The Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora...

and Hebrew

Hebrew language

Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...

which are the languages of minorities officially recognized by the Lausanne Treaty. Since September 2002, those minorities, too, have the right to operate private courses that teach any language spoken in Turkey. Some of the Kurdish courses were closed down by their owners in 2005 due to a lack of interest. However, as of 2010, there were active Kurdish language courses with increasing number of students. In 2008, privately owned Istanbul Bilgi University started to give Kurdish courses. In 2009, Turkish Higher Education Council (Yüksek Öğretim Kurulu) announced that there were no legal obstacles for teaching Kurdish language in universities. In 2010, state-owned Mardin Artuklu University started a master-level Kurdish language and literature ("Kurdology")program. Dicle University, another Turkish state university in Diyarbakır, started to give Kurdish courses in June 2011. In September 2011, the first undergraduate level Kurdish Language and Literature Department in Turkey was opened in the Mardin Artuklu University. According to the deputy rector of the university, this was not only the first university department on this subject in Turkey, but also the first one of the whole world.

NGOs have called on Turkey to adopt the definitions of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages

European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages

The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages is a European treaty adopted in 1992 under the auspices of the Council of Europe to protect and promote historical regional and minority languages in Europe...

. If Turkey were to become a signatory to this treaty, it would have to accept and subsidise the education of minorities in their own first language

First language

A first language is the language a person has learned from birth or within the critical period, or that a person speaks the best and so is often the basis for sociolinguistic identity...

s, and that for at least all the period of mandatory education. To this day 21 member states of the Council of Europe

Council of Europe

out of 49 have proceeded with ratification.

The state-owned TRT

Turkish Radio and Television Corporation

The Turkish Radio and Television Corporation, also known as TRT , is the national public broadcaster of Turkey and was founded in 1964. Around 70% of TRT's funding comes from a tax levied on electricity bills and a sales tax on television and radio receivers...

has been broadcasting short programmes in a number of minority languages, including Bosnian

Bosnian language

Bosnian is a South Slavic language, spoken by Bosniaks. As a standardized form of the Shtokavian dialect, it is one of the three official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina....

, Arabic

Arabic language

Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...

, Kabardian

Kabardian language

The Kabardian language, also known as East Circassian , is a Northwest Caucasian language, closely related to the Adyghe language. It is spoken mainly in the Russian republics of Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia and in Turkey and the Middle East...

and Kurdish

Kurdish language

Kurdish is a dialect continuum spoken by the Kurds in western Asia. It is part of the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian group of Indo-European languages....

, since July 2003. The legal basis were the Regulation on the Language of Radio and Television Broadcasts of December 2002 In the beginning TV programs were restricted to 45 minutes per day; radio programs had a limit of 60 minutes per day. In June 2006 the restrictions were lifted for music and film programs in minority languages.

Since January 2006 the official TV channel TRT has established an additional channel TRT 6

TRT 6

TRT 6, part of the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation, is Turkey's first national Kurdish language television station.It broadcasts in the Kurmanji and Sorani dialects of the Kurdish language and in the Zaza language, offering programs aimed at all ages and promoting the perspective of the...

that is broadcasting in the Kurmanji, Sorani

Soranî

Soranî is the name of a Kurdish language that is spoken in Iran and Iraq. Soranî is one of the main Kurdish languages, which are a branch of the Iranian languages.- Name :...

dialects of Kurdish and also in the Zaza language. There were plans to broadcast in Armenian

Armenian language

as well.

Women

In the 1930s, Turkey became one of the first countries in the world to give full political rights to women, including the right to elect and be elected locally (in 1930) and nationwide (in 1934). Therefore, the Constitution

Constitution of Turkey

was amended.

Article 10 of the Turkish Constitution

Constitution of Turkey

bans any discrimination

Discrimination

Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...

, state or private, on the grounds of sex

Sex

In biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...

. Turkey elected a female prime minister

Prime minister

A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...

, Tansu Çiller

Tansu Çiller

Tansu Penbe Çiller is a Turkish economist and politician. She was Turkey's first and only female Prime Minister.- Early career :She is the daughter of a Turkish governor of Bilecik province during the 1950s. She graduated from the School of Economics at Robert College after finishing the American...

in 1995. It is also the first country which had a woman as the President of its Constitutional Court

Turkish Constitutional Court

The Constitutional Court of Turkey is the highest legal body for constitutional review in Turkey. It "examines the constitutionality, in respect of both form and substance, of laws, decrees having the force of law, and the Rules of Procedure of the Turkish Grand National Assembly"...

, Tülay Tuğcu

Tülay Tugcu

Tülay Tuğcu is a retired Turkish judge. She was the President of the Constitutional Court of Turkey, Chief Justice of Turkey. She retired on June 12, 2007.-Biography:...

. In addition, Turkish Council of State

Turkish Council of State

The Turkish Council of State is the highest administrative court in the Republic of Turkey and is based in Ankara. Its role and tasks are prescribed by the Constitution of Turkey within the articles on the supreme courts....

, the supreme court for administrative cases

Administrative law

Administrative law is the body of law that governs the activities of administrative agencies of government. Government agency action can include rulemaking, adjudication, or the enforcement of a specific regulatory agenda. Administrative law is considered a branch of public law...

, also has a woman judge Sumru Çörtoğlu

Sumru Çörtoglu

Sumru Çörtoğlu is a high ranked Turkish judge and currently Chief Justice of the Turkish Council of State.On May 3, 2006, Sumru Çörtoğlu, who was the Head of the 4th Department of the Council of State since February 12, 2001, was elected as the new Chief Justice after winning the 68th round of...

as its President. However, representation of women in political and decision making bodies is low. In the Grand National Assembly of Turkey

Grand National Assembly of Turkey

The Grand National Assembly of Turkey , usually referred to simply as the Meclis , is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Constitution. It was founded in Ankara on 23 April 1920 in the midst of the Turkish War of Independence...

the percentage of women is 9.1 (17.3 percent is the average in the world). In 1975 the percentage was 10.9 and in 2006 it was 16.3. Only 5.58 percent of mayors are women and in the whole of Turkey there is one governor (among 81) and 14 local governors.

Since 1985, Turkish women have the right to freely exercise abortion

Abortion

Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...

s in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy and the right to contraceptive medicine

Contraception

Contraception is the prevention of the fusion of gametes during or after sexual activity. The term contraception is a contraction of contra, which means against, and the word conception, meaning fertilization...

paid for by the Social Security. Modifications to the Civil Code in 1926 gave the right to women to initiate and obtain a divorce

Divorce

Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...

; a right still not recognized in Malta, an EU country.

Nevertheless, in Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia regions, older attitudes prevail among the local Kurdish

Kurdish people

The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...

, Turkish

Turkish people

Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...

and Arab populations, where women still face domestic violence

Domestic violence

Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...

, forced marriages, and so-called honor killing

Honor killing

An honor killing or honour killing is the homicide of a member of a family or social group by other members, due to the belief of the perpetrators that the victim has brought dishonor upon the family or community...

s. To combat this, the government and various other foundations are engaged in education campaigns in Southeastern Anatolia

Anatolia

Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...

to improve the rate of literacy

Literacy

Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material.Literacy represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from print...

and education levels of women.

In 2008, critics have pointed out that Turkey has become a major market for foreign women who are coaxed and forcibly brought to the country by international mafia to work as sex slaves

Sexual slavery

Sexual slavery is when unwilling people are coerced into slavery for sexual exploitation. The incidence of sexual slavery by country has been studied and tabulated by UNESCO, with the cooperation of various international agencies...

, especially in big and touristic cities.

A 2008 poll by the Women Entrepreneurs Association of Turkey showed that almost half of urban Turkish women believe economic independence for women is unnecessary reflecting, in the view of psychologist Leyla Navaro, a heritage of patriarchy.

Sexuality

Homosexual sexual relationships between consenting adults in private is not a crime in Turkey. The age of consent

Age of consent

While the phrase age of consent typically does not appear in legal statutes, when used in relation to sexual activity, the age of consent is the minimum age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to sexual acts. The European Union calls it the legal age for sexual...

for both heterosexual and homosexual sex is eighteen. On the other hand, the criminal code has vaguely worded prohibitions on "public exhibitionism" and "offenses against public morality" that are sometimes used to discriminate against the LGBT

LGBT

LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...

community. As of 2006, Turkey neither has a law permitting homosexuals to get married, nor does it have a law against the discrimination of Turkey's LGBT community. Lambda Istanbul

Lambda Istanbul

Lambda Istanbul is a Turkish LGBT organization. It was founded in 1993 as a cultural space for the LGBT community, and became an official organization in 1996. Clandestine Pride events were held in Turkey starting in 1993, and with Lambda Istanbul participation, they became public marches.The...

, a LGBT organization founded in 1996, was dissolved in May 2008 following a court decision. The prosecution argued that its objectives went against "the law and morality", but Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch

has criticized the decision, claiming it had been closed only on procedural grounds. On 28 November 2008, the Supreme Court of Appeals overturned an Istanbul court's decision ordering the closure of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender solidarity organization, Lambda Istanbul.

Homosexuals

Sexual orientation and military service

The military forces of the world have differing approaches to the enlistment of homosexual and bisexual individuals. The armed forces of most developed countries have now removed policies excluding non-heterosexual individuals...

have the right to exemption from military service, if they so request, only if their "condition" is verified by medical and psychological tests, which often involves presenting humiliating, graphic proof of homosexuality, and anal examination.

The killing of Ebru Soykan, a prominent transgender human rights activist, on March 10, 2009, shows a continuing climate of violence based on gender identity that authorities should urgently take steps to combat, Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch

said on 13 March 2009. News reports and members of a Turkish human rights group said that an assailant stabbed and killed Ebru, 28, in her home in the center of Istanbul. Members of Lambda Istanbul, which works for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and transsexual (LGBTT) people, told Human Rights Watch that in the last month Ebru had asked the Prosecutor's Office for protection from the man who had beaten her on several occasions and threatened to kill her. Lambda Istanbul was told that a few weeks ago police detained the man but released him two hours later. The same man is under police custody as the murder suspect.

On 21 May 2008 Human Rights Watch published a 123-page report documenting a long and continuing history of violence and abuse based on sexual orientation and gender identity in Turkey. Human Rights Watch conducted more than 70 interviews over a three-year period, documenting how gay men and transgender people face beatings, robberies, police harassment, and the threat of murder. The interviews also exposed the physical and psychological violence lesbian and bisexual women and girls confront within their families. Human Rights Watch found that, in most cases, the response by the authorities is inadequate if not nonexistent.

Disabled citizens

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was signed by the Turkish Republic on 30 March 2007. The convention was discussed in TBMM (Turkish Grand National Assembly) on 8 May 2008 and it was ratified on 3 December 2008. In July 2005 Law 5378 on Disabled People was enacted.

In one particular case, an advocacy group for people with mental disabilities called Mental Disability Rights International

Mental Disability Rights International

Disability Rights International , is a Washington, DC based human rights advocacy organization that documents conditions, publishes reports, and promotes international oversight of the rights of mentally disabled people...

criticized the treatment of the mentally ill in a report called "Behind Closed Doors: Human Rights Abuses in the Psychiatric Facilities, Orphanages and Rehabilitation Centers of Turkey". As a result of this criticism, Turkey's largest psychiatric hospital, the Bakırköy

Bakirköy

This article is about a neighbourhood in IstanbulBakırköy is a neighborhood, municipality and district on the European side of İstanbul, Turkey. The quarter is densely populated, has a residential character and is inhabited by a middle class population...

state hospital in Istanbul

Istanbul

, abolished the use of "unmodified" ECT

Electroconvulsive therapy

Electroconvulsive therapy , formerly known as electroshock, is a psychiatric treatment in which seizures are electrically induced in anesthetized patients for therapeutic effect. Its mode of action is unknown...

procedures.

Racism

Analysts pointed (in 2010) to racism

Racism

Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...

and hate speech on the rise in Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

, including against Armenians

Armenians

Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....

and against Jews

Jews

The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...

. The report says "If one goes through the press in Turkey, one would easily find cases of racism and hate speech, particularly in response to the deplorable carnage and suffering in Gaza. These are the cases in which there is no longer a distinction between criticizing and condemning Israel's acts and placing Jews on the firing line."

Hate crimes

During 2008 there has been an increase in "hate crimes" in Turkey originating from racism, nationalism and intolerance. Despite provisions in the Constitution and the laws there have been no convictions for a hate crime so far, from either racism or discrimination. Since the beginning of 2006 a number of killings were committed in Turkey against people of ethnic or religious minorities or different sexual orientation or social sexual identity. Article 216 of the Turkish Penal Code provides for a general ban of publicly inciting people to hatred and disgust.

Turkey does not appear to be the scene of large-scale or overt expressions of racism against individuals in the strictest sense of term. However, one of the main challenges facing Turkey in the field of ECRI's (European Commission against Racism and Intolerance

European Commission against Racism and Intolerance

European Commission against Racism and Intolerance is the Council of Europe’s independent human rights monitoring body specialised in combating racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, antisemitism and intolerance. It consists of 47 experts, one from every CoE member state. ECRI publishes...

) concerns would appear to be the need to reconcile the strong sense of national identity and the wish to preserve the unity and integrity of the State with the right of different minority groups within Turkey to express their own sense of ethnic identity, for example through the maintenance and development of linguistic and cultural aspects of that identity.

See also: Hate Crimes in Turkey; Documentation prepared by the Democratic Turkey Forum, cases between 2007–2009

Internally displaced people

Around a million people became displaced from towns and villages in south-eastern Turkey during the 1980s and 1990s as a result of the insurgent actions of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the counter-insurgency policies of the Turkish government.

The Migrants’ Association for Social Cooperation and Culture (GÖÇ-DER) was founded in Istanbul in 1997. Branches were later established in Diyarbakir, Van and Hakkari. GÖÇ-DER has been sued five times for its activities. Four of them ended in acquittal. One case demanding the closure of GÖÇ-DER Diyarbakir is still pending after the Court of Cassation cancelled the decision of Diyarbakir Judicial Court No. 1 not to band the association. This court has to hear the case again and scheduled the next hearing for 2 February 2010.

In July 2008 Beşir Atalay, Minister of the Interior, answered a request by CHP for Adıyaman province, Şevket Köse. He said that 314,000 people had applied for aid in order to return to their village. As of May 2008 151,469 people had returned to their villages in 14 provinces. They had been paid about 530 million Turkish pounds.

On 12 April 2006, Human Rights Watch researcher Jonathan Sugden was detained by police in Bingöl, while he was carrying out research in the predominately Kurdish southeast of the country into the possibilities for IDPs to return and abuses allegedly involving the Turkish gendarmerie and government-armed local defense units called “village guards.” He was deported to London the next day.

Workers' rights

The Constitution affirms the right of workers to form labor unions "without obtaining permission" and "to possess the right to become a member of a union and to freely withdraw from membership" (Article 51). Articles 53 and 54 affirm the right of workers to bargain collectively

Collective bargaining

Collective bargaining is a process of negotiations between employers and the representatives of a unit of employees aimed at reaching agreements that regulate working conditions...

and to strike

Strike action

, respectively. The law prohibits strikes by civil servants, public workers engaged in the safeguarding of life and property, workers in the coal mining and petroleum industries, sanitation services, national defense, banking, and education; however, many workers in these sectors conducted strikes in violation of these restrictions with general impunity. The law requires that, in order to become a bargaining agent, a union must represent 50 percent plus one of the employees at a given work site and 10 percent of all the workers in that particular industry. Labor law prohibits union leaders from becoming officers of or otherwise performing duties for political parties and from working for or being involved in the operation of any profit-making enterprise

Most labor experts in the country estimated that approximately 20 percent of the wage and salary workers in the labor force were unionized. Turkey has had a standard state-run pensions system based on European models since the 1930s. Furthermore, since 1999, Turkey has a state-run unemployment insurance system

Unemployment benefit

Unemployment benefits are payments made by the state or other authorized bodies to unemployed people. Benefits may be based on a compulsory para-governmental insurance system...

, introduced by Law 4447 obligatory for all declared workers.

External links

US Department of State: Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (country reports)
European Commission for Enlargement
- Progress Reports on Turkey (1998 - 2005)
- Progress Report 2009
Turkey Press Freedom Website covering press freedom situation in Turkey by SEEMO
Human Rights Watch Reports on Turkey
Amnesty International Library you can search for Reports on Turkey
http://www.mazlumderistanbul.orgReports and Investigations of Mazlumder
Mazlumder
The Organization of Human Rights and Solidarity for Oppressed People is a Turkish human rights association...

about Turkish Human Rights]
Questions and Answers; Human Rights in Turkey, Human Rights Agenda Association
Database on Refugee Rights in Turkey

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