Payday Action Alert 3: Turkish conscientious objector Mehmet Tarhan, held illegally, wins rights in prison, on trial again July 12

Dear sisters and brothers,

We recently sent you Action Alerts urging support for Mehmet Tarhan, a conscientious objector and a gay man, detained since 8 April in the military prison of Sivas (Turkey), where he has been brutally attacked (  http://www.refusingtokill.net/Turkey/ReleaseMehmet.htm ).

When Mr Tarhan appeared before a military court on 9 June, the judge released him – a great victory, including for the international movement that is supporting him. But the military immediately detained him again, in open violation of international law, and sent him back to Sivas military prison. He now faces another trial on 12 July, so your support is urgently needed now, to insist that all the charges against Mr Tarhan be dropped and that he be released immediately from jail. .

Mr Tarhan went on a 28-day hunger-strike in protest against his treatment in prison, and on 21 June won his demands: a cell of his own to protect him from abuse by other prisoners, to receive his mail regularly, access to books, to make his own tea, a TV, and an examination by civilian physicians who visited him and declared him in good health. The necessary treatment following his hunger strike has now begun.1

So far we have received copies of protest letters to the Turkish authorities from Argentina, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Poland, UK and US. Notably, Stephen Funk, a gay man who was the first US soldier to publicly refuse to serve in Iraq, wrote to the Turkish government ( http://www.refusingtokill.net/Turkey/MehmetFunkLetter.htm ). And there have been demonstrations in Frankfurt and Athens.

We and others have lobbied Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), and many have declared their support. Given the negotiations for Turkey’s entry into the European Union, MEPs’ intervention is crucial in securing Mr Tarhan’s safety.

In Turkey there have been marches for Mr Tarhan on Harbiye military and Incirlik air bases; banners, flyers and chanting at May dayrallies in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Antalya and Malatya; readings from his prison letter at the Izmir anti-militarism festival; letter writing campaigns; press conferences/demonstrations; and support in the court itself. Many organizations are involved: antimilitarists, lesbian & gay, women’s and human rights groups, anarchists. We must not forget that behind the persecution of brother Tarhan are the immense, and hidden, number of draft evaders -- 350,000 – many refusing to serve in Turkey’s war against Kurdish people.2

Mehmet Tarhan and his supporters in Turkey need to know that people are organising internationally to protect his life and have his right to conscientious objection upheld. We urge you to write letters or postcards to:

Mehmet Tarhan
5. Piyade Egitim Tugayi
Askeri Cezaevi
Temeltepe - Sivas
Turkey

Finally, we urge you to write (again) to the Turkish authorities, pressing for his immediate and unconditional release. We rely on him continuing his determined campaign against war, free from restriction and persecution.

1 War Resisters International, CO-alert, 22 June 2005
2 Quaker Council for European Affairs: The Right to Conscientious Objection in Europe: A Review of the Current Situation, 2005.


What you can do
· Write to Mehmet Tarhan
· Write letters of protest to the Turkish authorities in Turkey – see model letter below
General Staff fax: (+90) 312 - 425 08 13 email:  gnkur@tsk.mil.tr
Presidency of Turkey Republic fax: (+90) 312 427 13 30 email:  cumhurbaskanligi@tccb.gov.tr
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan fax: +90 312 417 0476 email:  rte@akparti.org.tr
Minister of the Interior Abdulkadir Aksu fax: + 90 312 418 1795 email:  aaksu@icisleri.gov.tr
Minister for Justice Cemil Çiçek fax: +90 312 419 3370 email:  cemilcicek@adalet.gov.tr
Sivas Military Prison fax : (+90) 346- 225 39 15
· Send copies to the Turkish Embassy in your country
Turkish Ambassador to the UK H.E. Mr Akin Alptuna,  turkish.emb@btclick.com
Turkish Ambassador to the USA Dr. Osman Faruk Logoglu,  ambassador@turkishembassy.org
Other Turkish embassies can be found at  http://www.mfa.gov.tr/MFA/Ministry/TurkishRepresentations/
· Send copies to the European Institutions
Mr Trevor Stevens, Executive Secretary, European Committee for the Prevention of Torture
Olli Rehn, Commissioner for Enlargement Policy of the European Union
Alvaro Gil-Robles, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe
Michael Cashman, President of the European Parliament's Intergroup on Gay and Lesbian Rights
And to your MEP – a list of is available at
 http://wwwdb.europarl.eu.int/ep6/owa/p_meps2.repartition?ilg=EN&iorig=home
· Please also send a copy of your letter and messages to Payday,  payday@paydaynet.org and War Resisters International  info@wri-irg.org .

To send your letter, you can copy and paste all these addresses in the recipient boxes of your message:
to:  gnkur@tsk.mil.tr;  cumhurbaskanligi@tccb.gov.tr;  rte@akparti.org.tr;  aaksu@icisleri.gov.tr;  cemilcicek@adalet.gov.tr
cc:  aadamou@europarl.eu.int;  vagnoletto@europarl.eu.int;  segreteria@vittorioagnoletto.it;  gberlinguer@europarl.eu.int;  fbertinotti@europarl.eu.int;  ebonino@europarl.eu.int;  pcasaca@europarl.eu.int;  deputado@paulocasaca.net;  mcashman@europarl.eu.int;  gchiesa@europarl.eu.int;  dcohnbendit@europarl.eu.int;  d.massimo@dol.it;  adipietro@europarl.eu.int;  asistent@falbr.cz;  mfrassoni@europarl.eu.int;  lgruber@europarl.eu.int;  jeanlambert@greenmeps.org.uk;  eletta@europarl.eu.int;  carolinelucas@greenmeps.org.uk;  emeijer@sp.nl;  hflautre@europarl.eu.int;  lmorgantini@europarl.eu.int;  rmusacchio@europarl.eu.int;  mpannella@europarl.eu.int;  tpflueger@europarl.eu.int;  MPortas@europarl.eu.int;  ransdorf@kscm.cz;  rromeva@europarl.eu.int;  hruehle@europarl.eu.int;  heide.ruehle@gmx.de;  e-b.svensson@bredband.net;  zimmer.zimmer@t-online.de;  cab-rehn-web-feedback@cec.eu.int;  CommissionerHR.Communication@coe.int;  cptdoc@coe.int;  payday@paydaynet.org;  info@wri-irg.org.
cc: Turkish embassy UK  turkish.emb@btclick.com
Turkish embassy USA  ambassador@turkishembassy.org


MODEL LETTER

To:
General Staff
Presidency of Turkey Republic
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Minister of the Interior Abdulkadir Aksu
Minister for Justice Cemil Çiçek
Sivas Military Prison

Re: Conscientious Objector Mehmet Tarhan, illegally detained by Turkish army

We write to you about Mehmet Tarhan, a gay man and conscientious objector, detained since 8 April in the military prison of Sivas, Turkey. Encouraged by prison staff, other prisoners have repeatedly beaten, humiliated and threatened Mr Tarhan with death, even in front of his lawyer.
When Mr Tarhan went before the military court on June 9, he could not walk properly and his body was covered in bruises.

As you know, the judge released Mr Tarhan because he had ”already spent two months in prison, which is about the time he would have to serve in prison if finally sentenced”1. However, he was returned to detention, first to Sivas military hospital, and then to Sivas military prison.

Mr Tarhan should never have been jailed in the first place. It is a scandal that he had to go on hunger strike for 28 days in order to win elementary human rights like equal treatment with, and protection from, other prisoners, and examination and treatment by independent doctors.

The Turkish military and civilian authorities must guarantee his safety. An independent inquiry must establish who is responsible for inciting and perpetrating violent acts against Mr Tarhan while in detention, and they must be brought to justice.

We are outraged to hear that Mr Tarhan, having again refused to serve, is to be put on trial a second time, on 12 July.

The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, in the case of another Turkish conscientious objector, Osman Murat Ulke, stated that any detention of a conscientious objector after an initial detention following a first act of refusal is "arbitrary, being contrary to article 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights"2.

Mr Tarhan is exercising his right to conscientious objection under Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Turkey is a party. And the Committee of Ministers to Member States of the Council of Europe Regarding Conscientious Objection to Compulsory Military Service states that, "Anyone liable to conscription for military service who, for compelling reasons of conscience, refuses to be involved in the use of arms, shall have the right to be released from the obligation to perform such service”3.

This cycle of detention, torture, trial, mock release and detention is illegal and must be stopped. The judge’s ruling of 9 June must be upheld.

Mr Olli Rehn, Commissioner for Enlargement Policy of the European Union, has pledged to take up Mr Tarhan’s case with the Turkish authorities. Other MEPs, including Michael Cashman, the President of the European Parliament's Intergroup on Gay and Lesbian Rights, Caroline Lucas from the Greens and Vittorio Agnoletto from the United Left have already made representations to the Turkish government. Amnesty International considers Mehmet Tarhan to be a prisoner of conscience.

We demand the immediate recognition of conscientious objector status and unconditional release for Mehmet Tarhan and all other Turkish conscientious objectors, including Ersan Ugur Gor, Erdem Yalcinkaya, Mustafa Seyhoglu and Hasan Cimen who were arrested following Mr Tarhan’s trial.

Yours in refusing to kill,

Dean Kendall Michael Kalmanovitz
Payday US Payday UK

1 War Resisters International, CO-alert, 10 June 2005
2 Opinion 36/1999
3 Recommendation No. R (87) 8

Olli Rehn, Commissioner for enlargement policy of the European Union
Alvaro Gil-Robles, Commissioner for Human Rights, Council of Europe
Trevor Stevens, Executive Secretary, Committee for the Prevention of Torture, Council of Europe
Michael Cashman MEP, President of the European Parliament's Intergroup on Gay and Lesbian Rights
Adamos Adamou MEP
Vittorio Agnoletto MEP
Giovanni Berlinguer MEP
Fausto Bertinotti MEP
Emma Bonino MEP
Paulo Casaca MEP
Giulietto Chiesa MEP
Daniel Cohn-Bendit MEP
Richard Falbr MEP
Massimo D’Alema MEP
Antonio Di Pietro MEP
Hélène Flautre MEP
Monica Frassoni MEP
Lili Gruber MEP
Jean Lambert MEP
Enrico Letta MEP
Caroline Lucas MEP
Helmuth Markov MEP
Erik Meijer MEP
Luisa Morgantini MEP
Roberto Musacchio MEP
Marco Pannella MEP
Dimitris Papadimoulis MEP
Miguel Portas MEP
Tobias Pflüger MEP
Miloslav Ransdorf MEP
Raul Romeva MEP
Heide Ruehle MEP
Eva-Britt Svensson MEP
Kyriacos Triantaphyllides MEP
Gabi Zimmer MEP