Turkey Regional Action Network
June 2011
(1) Turkey Blog
Amnesty International USA website has
recently featured two new blog articles on
updated Turkey’s human rights issues: a)
violence against women and b) freedom of
speech.
a) Turkish Women Desperately Need
Access to Women’s Shelters
(http://blog.amnestyusa.org/women/turkish
-women-desperately-need-access-to-
womens-shelters/)
This article highlights serious concerns for
women’s rights in Turkey. Although Turkey
has become the first signatory state for a
new European convention to prevent and
combat violence against women, female
Turkish citizens continue to face violence
and death threats.
Despite an increase in reported incidences
of violence against women, the Turkish
government still has not provided anywhere
close to an adequate number of shelters for
women escaping from family violence and
honor killings.
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b) Books, Bombs and Banners:
Freedom of Expression in Turkey
(http://blog.amnestyusa.org/iar/books-
bombs-and-banners-freedom-of-expression-
in-turkey/)
This article features serious restrictions on
freedom of expression in Turkey. The high
number of criminal cases has been initiated
against journalists, publishers, and even
students. Many of them have been accused
of engaging in acts that could be defined as
terrorism because “they had criticized the
armed forces, the position of Armenians and
Kurds in Turkey.”
tvw tvwtvw tvw
2) Updates on Halil Savda:
Letter Writing Actions &
Solidarity Action
As the previous newsletter reported, Halil
Savda, a human rights defender, has had
his sentencing under Article 318 of the
Turkish Penal Code for ‘alienating the public
from military service’ confirmed by the
Supreme Court of Appeals. This is the end
of the process in Turkey and he will serve
100 days in prison.
According to the Turkish law, Halil Savda
has the right to apply for a postponement
for the sentence for up to six months. His
lawyer requested a postponement March
16; thus the exact date on which he will
begin to serve his prison term is still not set.
However, Amnesty International continues
to monitor and call on the Turkish
government not to imprison Halil Savda. If
he is imprisoned, Amnesty International will
consider him a prisoner of conscience and
will be calling for his immediate and
unconditional release.
Until he was declared “unfit” for military
service in 2008, Halil Savda was repeatedly
prosecuted and detained in military prisons
for his refusal to perform military service in
Turkey. Savda still faces ongoing
harassment and imprisonment by the
Turkish authorities for his activities
defending the rights of other conscientious
objectors in Turkey.
AI has long been concerned with the
increasing pattern of judicial harassment of
human rights defenders and journalists,
amongst others. Amnesty International
considers Article 318 a direct and unlawful
limitation of the right to freedom of
expression resulting in unfair prosecutions
in cases such as Savda’s, and continues to
call for its immediate repeal.
Furthermore, Article 318 is in breach of
Article 10 of the European Convention of
Human Rights (ECHR) and Article 19 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights (ICCPR), which provide the right to
freedom of expression, conscience and
religion. Turkey is a signatory to both of
these.
Amnesty International needs your help with
a petition writing campaign to call on the
Turkish government not to imprison Halil
Savda and to protect his right to freedom of
expression.
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tvw tvwtvw tvw
Letter Writing Actions to
Turkish Authority
PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in
Turkish or your own language:
• Asking the authorities to ensure that
Halil Savda is free to continue publishing
articles and making public speeches in
support of conscientious objectors,
without fear of prosecution or
intimidation.
• Expressing concern that in the past Halil
Savda has been repeatedly arrested,
charged and imprisoned for being a
conscientious objector.
• Stating that if Halil Savda is imprisoned
for publicly supporting the conscientious
objectors Enver Aydemir, Itzik Shabbat
and Amir Paster, Amnesty International
will consider him a prisoner of
conscience and will call for his
immediate and unconditional release.
• Noting that Halil Savda's two convictions
under Article 318 of the Turkish Penal
Code for allegedly ‘alienating the people
from the institution of military service’,
represent a violation of Article 10 of the
European Convention of Human Rights
(ECHR) and Article 19 of the
International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights (ICCPR), which provide
for the right to freedom of expression.
• Urging the authorities to immediately
repeal Article 318 of the Turkish Penal
Code because it is in breach of the
European Convention on Human Rights
and the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights, to which Turkey is a
signatory
• Urging the authorities to stop
immediately the prosecutions of
conscientious objectors and to introduce
an alternative civilian service for
conscientious objectors, in line with
European and international standards
and recommendations.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS TO:
making a statement in support of two
Israeli conscientious objectors in 2006 and
the recent prosecution against you and 18
others for making a statement in support of
Enver Aydemir. I believe your right to free
peaceful expression has been curtailed.
I wish you all the best and hope that the
recent case against you and 18 others will
be dropped, as I firmly believe it should be.

Ministry of Justice Best wishes

Sadullah Ergin
Minister of Justice
Adalet Bakanligi
06659 Ankara, Turkey TURKISH:
Fax: +90 312 419 3370
Salutation: Dear Minister Sayin Savda,
2006 yılında iki Israilli vicdani retçiye destek
Send copies to: olmak amacıyla yaptığın basın açıklaması
sonucu hakkında açılan dava ile ve yakın
Turkish Ambassador to the U.S. zamanda sana ve 18 ayrı kişiye Enver
Ambassador Namik Tan Aydemir’e verdiğiniz destek nedeniyle açılan
Embassy of the Republic of Turkey yeni dava ile ilgili kaygılarımı Türkiye
2525 Massachusetts Ave. yetkililerine bildirdiğimi haber vermek için
Washington, DC 20008 yazıyorum. Bu davalar ile barışcıl ve özgür
Fax: 202-612-6744 ifade hakkının adil olmayan bir sekilde
kısıtlandığını düsünüyorum.

Umarım herşey gönlünce olur, temyiz

tvw tvwtvw tvw başvurun olması gerektiği gibi olumlu
sonuçlanır ve sana ve diğer 18 kişiye açılan
dava devam etmez,
Solidarity Action
Messages of Support and Solidarity Saygılarımla,
to Halil Savda
Mail to:
You can show support for Halil. Letters Halil Savda
may be written in Turkish, English, or your Kocapınar köyü
own language. However, Turkish is Cizre/ ŞIRNAK
preferred. Sample letters are shown TURKEY
below:

ENGLISH:

Dear Halil Savda tvw tvwtvw tvw

I am writing to let you know that I have
written to the authorities in Turkey
expressing my concern at you conviction for

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Other resources:

Public Statement. Turkey: Human Rights

Defender Halil Savda Faces Imprisonment
Again in Turkey (March 14, 2011. AI Index:
EUR44/002/2011)
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/EU
R44/002/2011/en

Public Statement. Peaceful Protesters

Convicted for ‘Alienating the Public from
Military Service’ in Turkey (June 21, 2010.
AI Index: EUR 44/016/2010)
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/EU
R44/016/2010/en

Public Statement. Conscientious Objection is

a Human Right not a Personal Disorder
(June 10, 2010. AI Index: EUR
44/013/2010)
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/EU
R44/013/2010/en

Public Statement. Enver Aydemir released

(June 10, 2010. AI Index EUR44/012/2010)
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/EU
R44/012/2010/en

A Conscientious Objector in Turkey (April

16, 2009. The Guardian)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/
16/turkey-human-rights

Public Statement. Alleged ill-treatment of

conscientious objector by military personnel
must be investigated (February 8, 2007. AI
Index: EUR 44/004/2007)
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/E
UR44/004/2007/en/5d8fe1ae-d3b3-11dd-
a329-2f46302a8cc6/eur440042007en.pdf

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