Skip Nav | Home | Mobile | Editorial Guidelines | Mission Statement | About Us | Contact | Help | Security | Support Us

World

Gay Turk jailed and beaten

OutRage! News Service | 01.06.2005 08:53 | Anti-militarism | Gender | Repression | London | World

URGENT ACTION – Email Turkish Prime Minister.
War Resisters' International fears for the safety of imprisoned Turkish conscientious objector Mehmet Tarhan, presently awaiting trial in the Military Prison at Sivas.

"Imprisoned Turkish gay activist and conscientious objector Mehmet Tarhan is being violently abused in the military jail at Sivas in eastern Turkey," reports David Allison of the gay rights group OutRage!.

"There is a serious danger that he will be murdered – either by fellow prisoners or by the Turkish military authorities. The prison guards are encouraging other prisoners to attack Mehmet, by spreading the lie that he is a terrorist.

"Mehmet is now on hunger strike in protest at his detention and maltreatment.

"Following his refusal to cooperate with the military authorities, he is charged with "insubordination in front of the unit", which carries a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment under Article 88 of TACK (Turkish Military Penal Code).

"Mehmet’s trial is scheduled for 9 June. The Turkish legal and military systems are notoriously unfair and harsh. There is no way he will get a fair trial," added Mr Allison.

OutRage is backing an URGENT ACTION campaign by War Resisters International (WRI) to press the Turkish government to halt the violent abuse of Mehmet and to release him from prison.

OutRage! is appealing to friends and supporters to:

1) email the Turkish President, Ahmet Necdet Sezer, at:  cumhurbaskanligi@tccb.gov.tr

2) email the Turkish Ambassador to London, Mr Akin Alptuna, at:  turkish.emb@btclick.com

3) write to The Ambassador, Mr Akin Alptuna, at:
Turkish Embassy, 43 Belgrave Square, London SW1X 8PA.

More info below and at:  http://wri-irg.org/co/turkcampaign-en.htm

----------------

TURKEY: FEAR OF TORTURE & MURDER

News release from War Resisters' International, London, UK

Conscientious objector Mehmet Tarhan abused by other prisoners – at risk of torture and murder

War Resisters' International fears for the safety of imprisoned Turkish conscientious objector Mehmet Tarhan, presently awaiting trial in the Military Prison at Sivas.

His trial is scheduled for 9 June 2005.

Mehmet is now on hunger strike in protest at his detention and maltreatment.

Mehmet Tarhan was arrested on 8 April 2005 early in the morning. He was then brought to a military unit in Tokat, accompanied by military police. Because Mehmet Tarhan is refusing to co-operate in any way, he was then transferred to the military prison in Sivas.

Mehmet Tarhan is a gay and anarchist activist. He declared his conscientious objection on 27 October 2001, and continued anti-war activities in public ever since, without going into hiding.

Mehmet Tarhan is now being charged with Article 88 Turkish Military Penal Code (TACK), "Insubordination in front of the unit". This charge carries a penalty between 3 months and 5 years imprisonment.

A first trial on 28 April 2005 was adjourned to 26 May, to call several soldiers from his unit as witnesses.

Meanwhile, Mehmet Tarhan is imprisoned in the Military Prison at Sivas, where he is facing death threats and abuse. Suna Coskun, Mehmet Tarhan's lawyer, reported on the abuse her client faces today.

On arrival at the Military Prison in Sivas, staff sergeant Mustafa Selvi threatened Mehmet Tarhan with transfer to "Common Cell No 2", where the "wildest"
prisoners are imprisoned.

Later Mehmet Tarhan was ordered to enter "Common Cell No 1" on his own. The cell was dark, and the inmates (who Mehmet Tarhan could not see) ordered him to sit down on a chair next to the door. They started to ask questions. They wanted to know whether he was a terrorist or traitor, in which case they would kill him. Then the inmates started to beat Mehmet Tarhan, and insulted him because of his long hair. Prisoner Ertan Mertoglu showed his weapon to Mehmet Tarhan and threatened to kill him. This attack was ended by other prisoners.

Mehmet Tarhan was then transferred to the dormitory, where a few moments later the same prisoners attacked him again. The beat him everywhere and pulled on his hair. The attack turned into an act of near-lynching. After 20 minutes, other prisoners again stopped the attack. Following the attack in Common Cell No 2, the light bulbs in the cell were tightened again, so that the normal light in the cells was made to work again. This indicates that the attack had been prepared.

Later, the prisoners who beat Mehmet Tarhan came to him and told him that staff sergeant Mustafa Selvi had told them that he was a terrorist, and "you know how you have to deal with him". They said that this was the reason they beat him.

Mehmet Tarhan was then transferred to a single cell, but during each time Mehmet Tarhan left the cell, the prisoners Ertan Mertoglu, Hakki Dincel, Ersoy Özbulduk, and Ercan Kizilboga threatened him. They told him: "We could have killed you on the first day if we wanted. But we still can do it." Mehmet Tarhan was fearing of his life, and therefore did not tell anyone. But then the prisoners demanded first money, and later clothes, and telephone cards.

On 29 April, the prisoners Hakki Dincel, Ersoy Özbulduk, and Ertan Mertoglu demanded 500YTL (about 290EUROs) and added he would know what to expect, if he would not pay. Mehmet Tarhan answered that he is unable to pay such an amount. One week later he submitted to the threats and handed over 300YTL to Ercan Kizilboga and Ertan Mertoglu. Then, his extortioners demanded clothers.

On 9 May 2005 they demanded three black suits. To guarantee that he would deliver, they forced him to call his sister and listened during the phone conversation. On 11 May 2005, Emine Tarhan brought two black suits, shoes, tyes, and shirts to the prison, which were handed over to Ertan Mertoglu by the prison authorities. Mehmet Tarhan's upper lip and the right side of his lower lip cracked as a result of these attacks. He is suffering ecchymosis at the chin, the neck, and other parts of his body. As a result of being beaten on his chest he suffered from breathing problems until 30 April. In the following days, he contiunously lost hair. Because of being beaten on his knee, legs, and feet he suffered from ecchymosis there, and for a long time had difficulties standing up.

Mehmet Tarhan informed the prison authorities about the abuse on his first day. As the report above shows, the prison authorities did do nothing to stop the abuse, and actively encouraged other prisoners to abuse Mehmet Tarhan. After her visit on 19 May, Mehmet Tarhan's lawyer Suna Coskun alerted the prison authorities, and demanded an examination of Mehmet Tarhan, and a new lock for Mehmet Tarhan's cell. On 20 May, the prison authorities recorded the abuse, and promised to ensure his safety. However, War Resisters' International and Mehmet Tarhans friends and lawyers still fear for his safety.

War Resisters' International urgently calls for letters of protest to the Turkish authorities, and Turkish embassies, demanding from the Turkish government to ensure the safety of Mehmet Tarhan. Letters should be addressed to the Turkish President, Ahmet Necdet Sezer, email  cumhurbaskanligi@tccb.gov.tr. A protest email can be sent at  http://wri-irg.org/co/alerts/20050524a.html

War Resisters' International appeals to international organisations to pressure Turkey to ensure the safety of Mehmet Tarhan.

Andreas Speck
War Resisters' International

Support War Resisters' International! Donate today!
Online:  http://wri-irg.org/en/donate-en.htm

ENDS

OutRage! News Service
- e-mail: media[at]outrage.org.uk
- Homepage: http://www.outrage.org.uk

Publish

Publish your news

Do you need help with publishing?

/regional publish include --> /regional search include -->

World Topics

Afghanistan
Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-Nuclear
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Fracking
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Policing
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista

Kollektives

Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World

Other UK IMCs
Bristol/South West
London
Northern Indymedia
Scotland

Server Appeal Radio Page Video Page Indymedia Cinema Offline Newsheet

secure Encrypted Page

You are viewing this page using an encrypted connection. If you bookmark this page or send its address in an email you might want to use the un-encrypted address of this page.

If you recieved a warning about an untrusted root certificate please install the CAcert root certificate, for more information see the security page.

IMCs


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech