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Turkey: Conditions in military prisons (1980 - June 2003)

Information on Turkish military prisons is scarce and limited to scattered references often lacking in details about the prisons and the conditions in them. Nonetheless, where any description was found among the sources consulted, the information is provided. Furthermore, several sources approached for information, including Amnesty International, the Association of Solidarity with the Families of Prisoners, The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Human Rights Association of Turkey and War Resisters' International, did not respond within time constraints.

Military Courts

Turkish military courts have jurisdiction over military personnel and "civilians in areas of martial law," which includes offences against military institutions (UN Sept. 2001). According to Country Reports 2002, "[m]ilitary courts, with their own appeals system, hear cases involving military law, for members of the armed forces, and could try civilians who are accused of impugning the honor of the armed forces or undermining compliance with the draft" (31 Mar. 2003, Sec. 1e).

A memo from War Resisters' International to Movimento d'Objeccio de Consciencia (MOC) Valencia, on the MOC Website is as follows:

The military courts in Turkey are by no means independent. The military judges are under military orders and therefore are not free to judge. Also the accused are under military orders during the trial sessions. It often happens that accused are ordered not to have contacts with a lawyer. It is estimated that because of this practice, in 90 per cent of the cases brought before a military court the accused have had no contact with a lawyer and have not been represented by a lawyer at the trial (12 June 1995).

According to the country assessment on Turkey prepared by the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) of the United Kingdom, "[t]he enforcement of final judgments in cases relating to evasion of military service (including desertion) takes place in military prisons if the sentence is six months or less ..." (Apr. 2003, sec. 5.83).

General Conditions in Military Prisons

In correspondence with the Research Directorate, the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (HRFT) stated that it is difficult to obtain information on military prisons and "hence we [HRFT] have so far failed to observe and document the conditions there" (15 May 2003).

In March 2001, the IND went on a fact-finding mission to Turkey and in the section of its report on military service and the treatment of draft evaders stated only that "[m]ilitary prisons are run by the military and the prisoners are treated as soldiers" (17-23 Mar. 2001, 55).

Military Prisons in Turkey

The Research Directorate was able to find references in publicly available documents to 16 military prisons located across Turkey:

(1) Mamak Military Prison in Ankara (Milliyet 5 Mar. 2001; ibid. 3 Oct. 2001; Turkish Daily News 28 May 2002; Hurriyet 15 Feb. 2002; AI 1 Apr. 1997; TAYAD n.d., 11);

(2) in Eskisehir (WRI 1999);

(3) in Adana (ibid. 24 Jan. 2003; FBIS 30 Nov. 2002);

(4) Diyarbakir Military Prison (AKIN Oct. 1989; ibid. 6 Oct. 1997; TAYAD n.d., 12; Zana 1997, 3, 9);

(5) Umraniye Military Prison in Istanbul (Compass Direct 20 Nov. 1998);

(6) Metris Military Prison in Istanbul (Al-Sharq Al-Awsat 20 Dec. 2002; Milliyet 6 Nov. 2002; Turkish Daily News 12 Mar. 1997; TAYAD n.d., 13);

(7) Maltepe Military Prison in Istanbul (Turkish Daily News 4 July 2000; ibid. 3 Apr. 1999; Anatolia 16 June 2000);

(8) Davutpasa Military Prison (TAYAD n.d., 12);

(9) in Izmir (Turkish Daily News 24 Mar. 1999);

(10) Edirne Military Prison (ibid. 27 May 2001);

(11) in Afyon (ibid. 30 Jan. 1999);

(12) Hasdal Military Prison (ibid. 8 Dec. 2001; Anatolia 11 Sept. 2001);

(13) Gelibolu Military Prison (TAYAD n.d., 17);

(14) Kartal Military Prison in Istanbul (ibid., 21; Turkish Daily News 27 Nov. 1996);

(15) Selimiye Military Prison (ibid. 15 Apr. 1997); and

(16) Military Prison (ibid. 30 Jan. 1999).

Mamak Military Prison in Ankara

Amnesty International (AI) reported that, on 14 October 1996, conscientious objector Osman Murat Ülke "refused to put on a military uniform and to obey military orders" while in Mamak (1 Apr. 1997). For his "insubordination" he was placed in solitary confinement for five days (AI 1 Apr. 1997). Following the conclusion of his trial in late January 1997, in which he was convicted of "'alienating the public from the institution of military service' by publicly declaring his conscientious objection to military service and [of] burning his call-up papers in September 1995," Ülke was returned to Mamak, "where he could be visited by his lawyers the following day" (ibid.).

Nonviolent Activist is a magazine published by the War Resisters' League (WRL), an organization established in 1923 that educates and takes action to create a culture of non-violence, while emphasizing resistance to war and individual conscience (WRL n.d.). In its November-December 1996 issue, the magazine reported that Ülke was also the president of Izmir War Resisters' Association (ISKD) and that, while in solitary confinement, he was separated from other prisoners and kept in a dark, two-metre square cell that did not have a bed and was reportedly "rodent-infested" (Nonviolent Activist Nov.-Dec. 1996). In addition, water, sugar and salt "ordinarily provided [to] hunger strikers" was withheld from him (ibid.). After his solitary confinement Ülke was reportedly later moved into a rodent-free isolation room, equipped with a bed and light (ibid.).

Additional and more recent information on Mamak Military Prison in Ankara could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

Eskisehir Military Prison

Osman Murat Ülke also served time in Eskisehir Military Prison (WRI 1999). He first arrived there in November 1997 and was made to live "in a small room full of people" (ibid.). In his own letter to Peace News magazine, Ülke wrote about having had discussions in a "relaxed way" on ethics, religion, anthropology, history, nationalism, psychology and "so on" with another prisoner (ibid.). In addition, he made mention of books that his friends from outside the prison had brought him (ibid.).

In a November 1997 open letter, a member of the Izmir War Resisters' Association (ISKD), Serdar Tekin, stated that, while Ülke had suffered "inhuman treatment" en route to Eskisehir from the prison in Bilecik, he did not suffer any "inhuman treatment" in Eskisehir (28 Nov. 1997). Tekin went on to say that the detention conditions in Eskisehir are "bad" and predicted that Ülke "will be punished in the prison because of his refusal to wear [a military] uniform. His time of open air will be limited or visitors will not be allowed, etc." (ibid.).

Additional and more recent information on Eskisehir Military Prison could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

Military Prison in Adana

On 24 October 2002, Mehmet Bal, another conscientious objector, was arrested and taken to the military prison in Adana (HRFT Nov. 2002). According to his lawyer, Saun Coskun,

When he refused to wear prison clothes he had forcibly been dressed in uniform. ... "His hands were cuffed on the back, his hair was forcibly cut and someone beat him 5 to 6 times on his head with a hard tool. He was thrown into the cell with the handcuffs on. On 25 October my client started a hunger strike. On 30 October the prison director Durdu Solak attacked my client causing a 10 to 12 centimeter long wound to his leg. In addition, the director chained my client to the wall. During my first meeting with Mehmet Bal I saw that his hands were still handcuffed" (ibid.).

On 22 January 2003, Mehmet Bal was arrested again and the following day was transported to the military prison in Adana (WRI 24 Jan. 2003). The day he was transported his lawyers "were not allowed to see him" (ibid.).

Additional or more recent information on the military prison in Adana could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

Diyarbakir Military Prison

According to Kani Xulam, the director of the American Kurdish Information Network (AKIN), Diyarbakir Military Prison "has a very somber, a very sad place in the history of the Kurdish struggle for civil rights, for political rights" (6 Oct. 1997). Information describing the methods of torture used at Diyarbakir on AKIN's Website states the following:

After the military coup of September 12, 1980 in Turkey and Kurdistan, thousands of Kurdish political activists were arrested and put in the Military Prison of Diyarbakir. Between 1980 and 1984, torture methods, much like those used by the Gestapo, were practiced upon them. During the period mentioned, 57 prisoners were killed by means of torture and hundreds of others were seriously crippled (Oct. 1989).

Please refer to the attachment entitled "'Moments/Methods of Torture': The Military Prison of Diyarbakir" for drawings sketched by a prisoner affiliated with the Kurdish liberation struggle and smuggled out of the prison, depicting the methods of torture used by officials at Diyarbakir during the early period following the September 1980 military coup.

Mehdi Zana, a "prominent figure in the Kurdish community" (AI Oct. 1996) and former mayor of the principal city of Turkish Kurdistan, Diyarbakir, was arrested on 24 September 1980, twelve days after the military coup in Turkey (Zana 1997, 3, 8-9). According to Zana, "I was imprisoned for ten years and eight months, under conditions that Europeans would find hard to imagine. ... My imprisonment was due to my having repeatedly taken positions in favor of ... the rights of Kurds" (ibid., 3). In the preface to the book entitled Prison No. 5: Eleven Years in Turkish Jails, which Zana wrote to share his experience, Elie Wiesel summarizes the treatment of prisoners by Diyarbakir Military Prison's authorities in the following terms: "[s]olitary confinement, guards' insults, the obligation to salute the captain's dog, the beatings, the sleep deprivation, the falaka, the fainting, the trampling, the electrodes attached to genitals, German shepherds trained to bite the private parts of naked prisoners" (Wiesel 1997, x-xi). Zana was able to relate the conditions he experienced over his long term of imprisonment because, as he put it, "[s]tarting in 1987, the regime became less severe. I was allowed writing paper. I kept a journal and tried to remember everything that we had endured" (ibid., 36). (For a detailed account of the treatment of prisoners by the authorities while in Diyarbakir Military Prison from 1980 to 1991, please refer to the attached excerpt from Zana's book.)

Additional or more recent information on Diyarbakir Military Prison could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

Umraniye Military Prison

In October 2001, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) found admissible, three claims made against the Turkish government by Soner Onder, a Syrian Catholic in Turkey who alleged that he was wrongly convicted of helping "Kurdish extremists firebomb an Istanbul department store on December 25, 1991" (Compass Direct 9 Oct. 2001). One of Onder's claims was that he had suffered ill-treatment while in detention (ibid.). Onder had been incarcerated in Istanbul's "high-security" Umraniye Military Prison since his conviction (ibid.). According to Compass Direct, at the time of its report,

[Onder] is currently being allowed visits from his family every 15 days. During the initial months of this year [2001], the jail was closed to visitation in the wake of massive prison riots last December that left 30 prisoners and two guards dead and Onder's own barracks destroyed by fire (ibid.).

Information on whether the Turkish government responded to the ECHR's judicial review or what decision had been taken by the European court could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

Additional or more recent information on Umraniye Military Prison could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

Military Prison in Izmir

The Turkish Daily News reported the Anatolia news agency as saying that in March 1999, the military prison in Izmir had been awarded the ISO 9002, "an international quality standardization measure" (Turkish Daily News 24 Mar. 1999). Anatolia, the national news agency in Turkey, was founded in 1920 by Turkey's first leader, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (AP 27 Mar. 2003). Today it is partially funded by the government and "serves most of the country's media" (ibid.).

In the same article, the Turkish Daily News described the prison saying that

The prison hosts military inmates and civilians sentenced by military courts. The Anatolia stated that the prison offers the comforts of a five-star hotel and the inmates receive a high level of care.

The prison is equipped with various facilities, including a reading room, a conference hall, a fitness room and teaching accommodations. They receive monthly medical checkups and can visit the prison's psychiatrist every week. Inmates also benefit from sports facilities situation outside the prison and are given job training at various workshops (ibid.).

Corroborating, additional or more recent information on the military prison in Izmir could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

Edirne Military Prison

According to a report published in the Turkish Daily News,

Inmates at Edirne Military Prison are being given courses in arts and crafts. Among the courses being taught are oil painting, charcoal sketching, pottery and the theater. A spokesman for the inmates told reporters there was nothing to do in prison and so they were trying to find constructive ways of serving their time (27 May 2001).

Corroborating, additional or more recent information on Edirne Military Prison could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

Information on Metris Military Prison, Maltepe Military Prison and Kartal Military Prison in Istanbul, and Davutpasa Military Prision, the military prison in Afyon, Hasdal Military Prison, Gelibolu Military Prison, Selimiye Military Prison and Van Military Prison could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

For information on deaths in military prisons and the circumstances surrounding them between 1980 and 2000, please refer to the excerpted attachment taken from The Terror Report of Turkey 1980 -2000, which was prepared by the Turkish-based Association of Solidarity with the Families of Prisoners (Tutuklu ve Hukumlu Aileieri Yardimlasma Dernegi; TAYAD).

Prosecution of Military Personnel for Torture

According to Country Reports 1999, from 1995 to 1999, two military personnel had been prosecuted for torture, one of whom was acquitted (23 Feb. 2000, sec. 1c). In 2000, "[n]o military personnel were prosecuted for torture" (Country Reports 2000 23 Feb. 2001, sec. 1c). There is no data on the prosecution of military personnel for torture in Country Reports 2001 (4 Mar. 2002, sec. 1c), and, in 2002, "court proceedings were opened against 21 military personnel accused of torture. The case against two officers was dismissed; the other cases were ongoing at year's end" (31 Mar. 2003, sec. 1c). It should be noted that this data does not distinguish between military personnel employed in military prisons and those employed outside military prisons.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Al-Sharq Al-Awsat [London, in Arabic]. 20 December 2002. "Turkish Prime Minister on His Cabinet, EU Membership, Secularism, Other Matters." (FBIS-NES-2002-1220 23 Dec. 2002/WNC)

American Kurdish Information Network (AKIN). 6 October 1997. "Amy Goodman Interviews Kani Xulam." <http://kurdistan.org/Washington/pacifica.html> [Accessed 9 June 2003]
_____. October 1989. "'Moments/Methods of Torture': The Military Prison of Diyarbakir." <http://kurdistan.org/Prisons/tak.html> [Accessed 5 June 2003]

Amnesty International (AI). 1 April 1997. "Turkey: Osman Murat Ülke - Conscientious Objector Jailed." (AI Index: EUR44/025/1997) <http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/ENGEUR440251997> [Accessed 5 June 2003]
_____. October 1996. Turkey: No Security Without Human Rights. (AI Index: EUR/44/84/96) <http://www.amnesty.org/ailib/intcam/turkey/turk1.htm> [Accessed 12 June 2003]

Anatolia News Agency [Ankara, in English]. 11 September 2001. "Turkey: Criminal Court Arrests Businessman Garih's Suspected Murderer Yermez." (FBIS-WEU-2001-0911 12 Sept. 2001/WNC)
_____. 16 June 2000. "Turkey: Anatolia Reports on Charges Filed Against Agca in 1984." (FBIS-WEU-2000-0616 19 June 2000/WNC)

Associated Press (AP). 27 March 2003. "Turkish National News Agency Gets New General Director." (NEXIS)

Compass Direct. 9 October 2001. Barbara G. Baker. "Strasbourg Court Reviews Soner Onder's Case: Turkish Government's Defense Due on Thursday." (Human Rights Without Frontiers 10 Oct. 2001) <http://www.hrwf.net/newhrwf/html/turkey2001.html> [Accessed 12 June 2003]
_____. 20 November 1998. "Turkey: Syrian Christian Prisoner's Case Goes to Strasbourg." (Human Rights Without Frontiers 9 Dec. 1998/NEXIS)

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2002. 31 March 2003. United States Department of State. Washington, DC. <http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2002/18396.htm> [Accessed 10 June 2003]

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2001. 4 March 2002. United States Department of State. Washington, DC. <http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/eur/8358.htm> [Accessed 10 June 2003]

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2000. 23 February 2001. United States Department of State. Washington, DC. <http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2000/844.htm> [Accessed 10 June 2003]

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1999. 23 February 2000. United States Department of State. Washington, DC. <http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/1999/365.htm> [Accessed 10 June 2003]

Foreign Broadcast Information Services (FBIS). 30 November 2002. "Turkish Social Issues Report 16-30 Nov 02." (FBIS-WEU-2002-1206 11 Dec. 2002/WNC)

Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (HRFT). 15 May 2003. Correspondence received from the President.
_____. November 2002. "6. Freedom of Expression and Communication." Monthly Report.(Google Cache) <http://tihv.org.tr/report/2002_11/novfrecomm.html> [Accessed 12 June 2003]

Hurriyet [Istanbul, Ankara Edition, in Turkish]. 15 February 2002. Nurettin Kurt. "Turkey: Col Seckin Arrested for Corruption, Abuse of Authority." (FBIS-WEU-2002-0215 19 Feb. 2002/WNC)

Milliyet [Istanbul, Internet Version, in Turkish]. 6 November 2002. Abdullah Karakus. "Turkey's Erodogan Said Planning to Propose Gul as New Prime Minister." (FBIS-WEU-2002-1106 7 Nov. 2002/WNC)
_____. 3 October 2001. Utku Cakirozer. "More Details of Turkish Naval Officer's Arrest Given." (FBIS-WEU-2001-1007 9 Oct. 2001/WNC)
_____. 5 March 2001. Utku Cakirozer. "Officers Arrested in Turkish Arms Purchase Irregularity Inquiry." (FBIS-WEU-2001-0308 12 Mar. 2001/WNC)

Nonviolent Activist: The Magazine of the War Resisters League. November-December 1996. "Turkish C.O. on Hunger Strike." <http://www.warresisters.org/nva116-5.htm> [Accessed 11 June 2003]

Tekin, Serdar. 28 November 1997. "Osman's Situation." (Campaign Against Forced Military Service in Turkey/Struggle) <http://struggle.ws/turkey/osmon.html> [Accessed 5 June 2003]

Turkish Daily News [Ankara, in English]. 28 May 2002. Erol Manisali. "Those Who Set Turkey's Direction ..." <http://www.turkishdailynews.com/old_editions/05_28_02/scn_head.htm> [Accessed 10 June 2003]
_____. 8 December 2001. "Trial of Uzeyir Garih's Murder Suspect Continues." <http://www.turkishdailynews.com/old_editions/12_08_01/dom.htm> [Accessed 10 June 2003]
_____. 27 May 2001. "Putting the Art in Artillery." <http://www.turkishdailynews.com/old_editions/05_27_01/for.htm> [Accessed 10 June 2003]
_____. 4 July 2000. "'Agca Spirited Away from Prison by Officers.'" <http://www.turkishdailynews.com/old_editions/07_04_00/scanner.htm> [Accessed 10 June 2003]
_____. 3 April 1999. "Dormitory System Is the Primary Cause of Escape from Jails." <http://www.turkishdailynews.com/old_editions/04_03_99/dom.htm> [Accessed 10 June 2003]
_____. 24 March 1999. "First ISO 9002 Jail in Turkey." <http://www.turkishdailynews.com/old_editions/03_24_99/dom.htm> [Accessed 10 June 2003]
_____. 30 January 1999. "Armed Men Among Trial Spectators Causes Uproar in Goktepe Case." <http://www.turkishdailynews.com/old_editions/01_30_99/dom2.htm> [Accessed 10 June 2003]
_____. 15 April 1997. M. Akif Beki. "The War of TV Channels and Press Ethics." <http://www.turkishdailynews.com/old_editions/04_15_97/feature.htm> [Accessed 10 June 2003]
_____. 12 March 1997.Metin Demirsar. "Fugitive Policeman Ibrahim Sahin Turns Himself in." <http://www.turkishdailynews.com/old_editions/03_12_97/dom.htm> [Accessed 10 June 2003]
_____. 27 November 1996. "Pope's Would-be Killer Agca Comes Out with New Revelations." <http://www.turkishdailynews.com/old_editions/11_27_96/dom.htm> [Accessed 10 June 2003]

Tutuklu ve Hukumlu Aileieri Yardimlasma Dernegi (TAYAD). n.d. TAYAD Solidarity Committee. The Terror Report of Turkey 1980-2000. <http://www.ozgurluk.org/english.pdf> [Accessed 9 June 2003]

United Kingdom (UK). April 2003. Immigration and Nationality Directorate, Home Office. "Turkey." Country Assessments. <http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/default.asp?PageId=2832> [Accessed 4 June 2003]
_____. 17-23 March 2001. "Military Service." Report of Fact-Finding Mission to Turkey. <http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/filestore/TURKEY%20military%20service.pdf> [Accessed 4 June 2003]

United Nations (UN). September 2001. United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR). Background Paper on Refugees and Asylum Seekers from Turkey. <http://www.unhcr.org/research/coi.htm> [Accessed 13 June 2003]

War Resisters' International (WRI). 24 January 2003. "Turkey: Conscientious Objector Mehmet Bal on His Way to Adana." (TK12718-240103) <http://www.wri-irg.org/news/htdocs/24012003.html> [Accessed 5 June 2003]
_____. 1999. Osman Murat Ülke. "'To Live Is to Resist' - Letter from Ossi." <http://wri-irg.org/news/1999/pfp99oss.htm> [Accessed 5 June 2003]
_____. 12 June 1995. Bart Horeman. "Turkey: 20 June Trial of War Resisters." <http://www.uv.es/~alminyan?turtrial.html> [Accessed 5 June 2003]

War Resisters League (WRL). n.d. "About WRL." <http://www.warresisters.org/about_wrl.htm> [Accessed 11 June 2003]

Wiesel, Elie. 1997. "Preface." Prison No. 5: Eleven Years in Turkish Jails. Watertown, MA: Blue Crane Books.

Zana, Mehdi. 1997. Prison No. 5: Eleven Years in Turkish Jails. As Told to André Vauqueline.Translated by Sarah Hughes. Watertown, MA: Blue Crane Books.

Attachments

American Kurdish Information Network (AKIN). October 1989. "'Moments/Methods of Torture': The Military Prison of Diyarbakir." <http://kurdistan.org/Prisons/tak.html> [Accessed 5 June 2003], 5 pages.

Tutuklu ve Hukumlu Aileieri Yardimlasma Dernegi (TAYAD). n.d. TAYAD Solidarity Committee. The Terror Report of Turkey 1980-2000. <http://www.ozgurluk.org/english.pdf> [Accessed 9 June 2003], pp. 9-13, 15-17, 19, 21-33, 40-41, 46-47, 54-56, 60-61, 63, 66-74, 77, 79-81.

Zana, Mehdi. 1997. Prison No. 5: Eleven Years in Turkish Jails. As Told to André Vauqueline.Translated by Sarah Hughes. Watertown, MA: Blue Crane Books. pp.15-37.

Additional Sources Consulted

Amnesty International did not respond to a request for information within time constraints.

The Association of Solidarity with the Families of Prisoners did not respond to a letter requesting information within time constraints.

The Embassy of Turkey, in Ottawa, did not respond to a letter requesting information within time constraints.

The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT), in Strasbourg, France, did not respond to a letter requesting information within time constraints.

The Human Rights Association of Turkey did not respond to a letter requesting information within time constraints.

IRB Databases

The Organization of Human Rights and Solidarity for Oppressed People (MAZLUMDER) did not respond to a letter requesting information within time constraints.

War Resisters' International did not respond to a letter requesting information within time constraints.

Internet sites, including:

Al-Bawaba

Asylum Aid

BBC

European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT)

European Country of Origin Information Network

European Court of Human Rights

Human Rights Association of Turkey

Human Rights Watch

International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights

Middle East Times

Organization of Human Rights and Solidarity for Oppressed People (MAZLUMDER)

Relief Web

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR)

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