DİYARBAKIR - İHD's (Humar Rights Association) "Human Rights Violations Report of 2019" emphasized the increasing systematic torture and the spread of torture in the cities of the Kurdish region as well as the 31 municipalities which are assigned a trustee. Report announces that 2,987 people have been taken into custody, 511 have been arrested during the year 2019 in the region. Among the total number of 2,987 custodies, 50 of them reported to be children.

Human Rights Association (İHD) Vice President Rehşan Betaray, İHD Diyarbakır Branch President Abdullah Zeytun and İHD East and Southeast Region Representative Abdulselam İnceören announced the "Human and Human Rights Violations Report for the Year 2019 in Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia Region". Association provided information about human rights violations as Batalay states that"human rights violations in Turkey continues in a common way, One of the most important reasons of continuing human rights violations is the centralized and security oriented policies of government".

OPPRESSION AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL

Stating that 2019 was a year in which human rights violations increased intensively, Bataray emphasized that despite of the fact that State of Emergency (OHAL) has ended, which was announced after the coup attempt, state of emergency applications have turned out to be completely permanent.  Batalay stated, “This situation is clearly visible through the interventions of freedom of expression and organization. Any opposing views that do not support the actions and discourses of the government are tried to be suppressed and silenced by the hand of justification. In the recent period, the decision of the ECHR stating the violations regarding the application of Osman Kavala and the insistence of the local court  on not applying the ECHR decision, and the methods used by the courts and judicial units in the file of Selahattin Demirtaş to not give the decision of release shows this clearly. During this period, the oppression on human rights supporters reached to its highest level via the detentions, arrests, trials and punishments.

Batalay also mentioned the trustees  assigned by the government for the municipalities won by the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) after the elections and said, “There are the prohibitory applications that do not comply with the law against the right to vote and stand for election.”

SERIOUS HARRASMENT

Portraying human rights violations in the region with the words "Torture and ill-treatment continued to exist widely and systematically outside detention centers as well as in the places of detention" Bataray pointed out that that the claims of torture were not investigated at the TEM (Anti-terror) Branch of Urfa Police Department.

Among the torture claims, Baalay lists of the cases as follows: the villagers were beaten at their homes in Çınar district of Diyarbakır, the villagers in Ağrı’s Tutak district were laid down on the ground by soldiers, the torture and ill-treatment at the Mardin Gendarmerie Station aimed at citizens detained in Mardin Derik district. Bataray continued his statements, “The officers who applied torture do not even need to hide their identity; It is only a few of the dozens of examples that shows the systematic and widespread torture. The claims of torture and harassment of women are especially very serious. However, the lack of an effective investigation on perpetrators of torture and those who are responsible for torture is a sign of the policies of impunity. It has also been observed that there has been a significant increase in applications and violations related to the methods of taking testimonies under pressure and threat, special interviews, trying to make people secret agents and kidnapping".

6 PRISONERS LOST THEIR LIVES

Bataray emphasized that another field that the torture has become widespread and systematic is the prisons as he said, “Violations of rights such as exiles, violations of rights related to health, torture and ill-treatment, disciplinary investigations, isolation, restriction of communication and restriction of family visits are among the prominent violations in prisons. In particular, we want to express that the violation of the right for health is a subject of serious complaints. While the number of prisoners, who are not able to survive alone under the conditions of prison, go back and forth between the prison and the hospital, have fatal diseases and cannot be treated. Many of the sick prisoners have come to the final stage of illnesses in prisons. In 2019, 6 prisoners died, only in the regional prisons. According to the data determined by our association, there are a total number of 1334 sick prisoners in prisons, 458 of which are heavily sick.”

‘ISOLATION SHOULD END IMMEDIATELY’

"While addressing the violations in the prisons, we would also like to draw attention to the practices and violations in İmralı High Security Prison. Abdullah Öcalan and the prisoners in the same prison do not have any contact with their lawyers and family and this application does not comply with the law" said Batalay and continued," The heavy isolation imposed on the İmralı is not acceptable for human rights defenders and must be terminated immediately".

‘THE POLICY OF IMPUNITY SHOULD BE ABANDONED’

Batalay emphasized the violence against women and said, “In our region, many women were killed by the violence of men. The violations of the women’s rights in Turkey have increased, which show the judicial regulations have not been put into practice in the necessary level and are not able to protect women. State should take all the measure in order to stop the violence against women. Policies should be developed to popularize the gender equality among all the levels of the society. Gender discrimination should be terminated. The perpetrators of violence against women should be effectively punished and the policy of impunity to those should be abandoned.”

Bataray continued to read the statement of IHD, “Violence and sexual harassment against children as well as child labour and child deaths, marriage at the childhood age, the lack of education in the mother language and the general lack in the education system appear in the agenda as categorically the most popular violations of children rights.”

'SOLUTION IS NECESSARY'

Reminding that Kurdish question needs a solution in a peaceful and democratic way order to democratize Turkey and to depart from the circumstance of conflict and chaos, Bataray stated that in addition to a  real solution to the Kurdish problem, Turkey needs a new and democratic constitution.

Some of the violations against right to live are listed as follows:

VIOLATİONS AGAINST RIGHT TO LIVE

Arbitrary, killings due to the ground of not obeying the stop command. 5 people were killed by the armed forces. 1 person was injured with the fire of guards. 10 prisoners have died in prisones, 4 of them have committed suicide. 4 people have died due to the official errors and neglect. 4 citizens have lost their lives, 1 of them being a child, due to being hit by armored vehicle.

1 political party administrator and 2 lawyers died in 2019. 4 political party administrators, 6 teachers, 1 journalist, 2 lawyer and 1 health worker have injured in the attacks.

In the armed conflicts through the Kurdish region, 50 security forces have died as 319 armed organizations militants have lost their lives. 12 civilians lost their lives and 23 civilians were injured as thy stuck between the armed conflicts.

5 children, 24 women and 18 men; in total of 47 people found dead in a suspicious way.

THE VIOLATIONS AGAINST WOMEN’S LIVES

16 women have suicided and 33 women were killed as a result domestic violence. 41 women were injured due to domestic violence. 15 women were killed in the attacks in social life as 21 women were injured in the social sphere. 14 women were exposed to sexual attack, 7 women were forced for prostitution.

VIOLATIONS AGAINST CHILDREN’S LIVES

3 children committed suicide. 2 children were killed as a result of domestic violence. Total of 1526 children were exposed to sexual harassment. 2 children were kidnapped and 3 children were forced for prostitution.

VIOLATIONS AGAINST THE BAN OF TORTURE

At least 67 people have been subjected to torture and ill-treatment in custody. 125 people were subjected to torture and ill-treatment outside the places of detention (in the street or in the house raids). 150 prisoners were tortured and ill-treated in prison. Sixteen were threatened while 16 were subjected to security forces' imposition to make them agents. 167 people were injured in interventions against social demonstrations.

VIOLATIONS AGAINST PERSONAL FREEDOM AND SECURITY

2, 987 people, 50 of them children, were detained. 511 people, 3 of them children, were arrested. About 17 people were given house imprisonment. Total number of house-raids and workplace-raids is counted to be  2,081.

VIOLATIONS OF RIGHT IN PRISONS

103 prisoners were exiled / dispatched without justification. 64 prisoners suffered violations of the right to remain healthy. Communication between 4 prisoners and their families were blocked. At least 39 prisoners have been subjected to isolation and heavy isolation. Investigations have been launched against at least 12 prisoners. At least 6 prisoners have been blocked for their right to communicate. Disciplinary penalties were imposed on at least 20 prisoners.

VIOLATIONS AGAINST ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL RIGHTS

In the work accidents caused by unsecure working conditions; 11 workers lost their lives, 14 workers were injured. 492 people were fired and 147 people were dismissed. 1 person was exported. 140 workers were not paid.

TRUSTEES APPOINTED FOR THE PLACES OF THE ELECTED IN MUNICIPALITIES

In 2019, trustees were appointed to HDP municipalities. 6 municipal co-mayors, 51 council members and 4 provincial council members were not given their mandates.  27 of 47 municipal co-mayors detained and 16 of 54 municipal council members were arrested. 32 mayors and 61 municipal council members were dismissed.