|
MODEL LETTER
TO:
·
Sivas Military Prison
fax : (+90) 346- 225 39 15
·
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
We are outraged to
learn that once again, Mr Mehmet Tarhan, total conscientious
objector, was assaulted by prison guards in Sivas military prison on
Friday 30 September.
Despite significant
injuries, Mr Tarhan was seen only by military doctors who “examined”
him for 10 minutes and decided there was nothing wrong with him. He
is now on hunger strike, demanding to be seen by civilian doctors
and that the guards who assaulted him be prosecuted. We understand
that Mr Tarhan’s solicitor has begun legal proceedings against these
guards. Mr Tarhan’s friend, Mr Ali Düler,
who came to his defence, was also beaten and injured.
We demand that
you urgently allow civilian doctors to visit Mr Tarhan, and that the
guards who committed these illegal acts of violence against him and
Mr Düler be prosecuted. We hold the
military and civilian authorities responsible for the safety and
welfare of both Mehmet Tarhan and Ali Düler.
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. 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”.
Mr Tarhan
is a prisoner of conscience. He has committed no crime and should
be released immediately.
cc
·
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,
·
MEPs:
Adamos Adamou,
Vittorio Agnoletto,
Giovanni Berlinguer, Fausto
Bertinotti, Emma Bonino,
Paulo Casaca,
Giulietto Chiesa,
Daniel Cohn-Bendit,
Richard Falbr,
Antonio Di Pietro, Hélène Flautre, Monica Frassoni, Lili Gruber,
Jean Lambert,
Enrico Letta,
Caroline Lucas,
Helmuth
Markov, Erik Meijer, Luisa Morgantini,
Roberto Musacchio, Marco
Pannella,
Dimitris
Papadimoulis,
Tobias Pflüger,
Miguel Portas,
Miloslav Ransdorf,
Raul Romeva,
Heide Ruehle,
Eva-Britt Svensson, Kyriacos Triantaphyllides,
Sahra
Wagenknecht,
Gabi Zimmer
·
Senate of
Italy: Fiorello Cortiana, Tana de Zulueta
·
Parliament
of Spain: Begoña Lasagabster
·
And to your MEP – a list
of is available at
http://wwwdb.europarl.eu.int/ep6/owa/p_meps2.repartition?ilg=EN&iorig=home
·
Send copies to the
Turkish Embassy in your country
Turkish embassies can be found at
http://www.mfa.gov.tr/MFA/Ministry/TurkishRepresentations/
·
Please also send a copy
of your letter and messages to Payday
payday@paydaynet.org. We'll pass them onto Mehmet
Tarhan.
|
