TURKEY

CASE N° TK/39 - Leyla Zana CASE N° TK/40 - Sedat Yurtdas CASE N° TK/41 - Hatip Dicle CASE N° TK/42 - Zübeyir Aydar CASE N° TK/43 - Mahmut Alinak CASE N° TK/44 - Ahmet Türk CASE N° TK/48 - Sirri Sakik CASE N° TK/51 - Orhan Dogan

CASE N° TK/52 - Selim Sadak CASE N° TK/53 - Nizamettin Toguç CASE N° TK/55 - Mehmet Sinçar CASE N° TK/57 - Mahmut Kilinç CASE N° TK/58 - Naif Günes CASE N° TK/59 - Ali Yigit CASE N° TK/62 - Remzi Kartal

Resolution adopted without a vote by the Inter-Parliamentary Council
at its 165th session (Berlin, 16 October 1999)

The Inter-Parliamentary Council,

Referring to the outline of the case of the above-mentioned parliamentarians, former members of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, as contained in the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (CL/165/12(b)­R.1), and to the relevant resolution adopted at its 164th session (April 1999),

Taking account of the information and observations supplied by members of the Turkish delegation to the 102nd IPU Conference (October 1999), in addition to information supplied by one of the sources in July 1999,

Recalling the following evidence on file:

• On 2 March 1994, the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) lifted the parliamentary immunity of Ms. Zana, Mr. Dicle; Mr. Türk, Mr. Sakik, Mr. Dogan, Mr. Sadak and Mr. Alinak, leading to their arrest and prosecution for separatism under Article 125 of the Turkish Penal Code; on 16 June 1994 the Constitutional Court dissolved their party, the Democracy Party (DEP), as a result of which all but three MPs belonging to that party lost their parliamentary seats; Mr. Toguç, Mr. Kilinç, Mr. Günes, Mr. Yigit and Mr. Kartal fled abroad and were subsequently also accused of separatism;
• On 8 December 1994, Ankara State Security Court found Ms. Zana, Mr. Dicle, Mr. Türk, Mr. Dogan and Mr. Sadak guilty of membership of an armed organisation and sentenced them to 15 years' imprisonment. Mr. Yurtdas was found guilty of having provided support to an armed organisation and sentenced to 7 years and 6 months' imprisonment. Mr. Alinak and Mr. Sakik were found guilty of separatist propaganda and sentenced to 3 years and 6 months' imprisonment and to a fine of 70 million Turkish Pounds. As a result of the sentence, they are deprived of their political rights for life and Mr. Alinak and Mr. Yurtdas, both lawyers, are debarred for life from exercising their profession;
• The MPs concerned were held for 14 days in police custody before being placed in pre-trial detention; according to their lawyers, witnesses were questioned by the Prosecutor General alone and their statements submitted to Ankara State Security Court, which did not hear a single witness during the trial, with the result that defence counsel were unable to put questions to the witnesses and no defence request was admitted by the Court; the defence thus had no influence at any stage of the trial;
• Ms. Zana, Mr. Dicle, Mr. Dogan and Mr. Sadak, who are currently serving the 15-year prison sentence imposed on them in December 1994, were never accused of any acts of violence or advocacy of violence; the verdict relied heavily on the deputies' public speeches and writings quoted in the indictment (in which they repeatedly assert that the Kurdish minority is a group with a distinct identity but do not advocate violence) as evidence of their membership of the PKK; that the acts relied on in the judgment as evidence of PKK membership include a press statement in connection with the taking of the parliamentary oath; the "wearing of yellow, green and red accessories" while taking the oath; a public statement to the United Nations on 2 April 1992 calling for an investigation into the killing of civilians during disturbances at the time of Newruz, the Kurdish New Year, on 21 March 1992; and a petition of 20 November 1991 to the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe calling for that organisation to appoint a body to monitor human rights in Turkey;
• Contacts which Ms. Zana, Mr. Dicle, Mr. Dogan and Mr. Sadak reportedly had with PKK members, and in particular with Mr. Abdullah Öcalan, were considered by Ankara State Security Court, inter alia, as proof of their membership of the PKK; some of them had indeed admitted having met Mr. Öcalan in Damascus in early 1993, but with the blessing of the then Head of State, Mr. Turgut Özal; on 18 September 1992, Hürriyet published an article entitled "Özal calls for a ceasefire" concerning a meeting between President Özal and Mr. Alinak, Mr. Sakik and Mr. Dogan at which the subject of expected contacts between the HEP deputies and the leader of the PKK had been raised; articles published in June 1999 in the Hürriyet, Sabah and Özgür Politika also refer to the 1993 negotiations between the Turkish Government and the PKK,

Considering that, at its hearing with the Committee, the Turkish delegation made ample reference to the alleged visits to and training of the MPs concerned, in particular Ms. Zana, in PKK camps; recalling in this connection that, according to the defence lawyers, that accusation was based on testimony given by so-called "confessors", former members of the PKK captured by the security forces who repented and, in exchange for information about the PKK and its members, received shorter sentences; that, moreover, the Court refused to check the alibis of the MPs accused of having visited such camps,

Considering that Ms. Zana, Mr. Dicle, Mr. Dogan and Mr. Sadak have now served 5 years of the 15-year prison sentence imposed on them; that, according to their lawyers, had they been sentenced by an ordinary court, they would be granted a remission of sentence and be released after 6 years; however, having been sentenced by a State Security Court, they will have to serve at least 12 years,

Noting in this connection that, following a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that courts comprising military judges do not meet the criteria of an independent and impartial tribunal as required under Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the Turkish Constitution was amended on 1 January 1999 to comply with the ruling of the Court so that armed forces members no longer sit on Turkish courts,

Considering that in 1998 Ms. Zana was sentenced to a further one-year prison term, reportedly for an article she published in late 1997 in a HADEP Party paper; that the Court reportedly held that using the word "Kurds" constituted incitement to hatred,

Further considering that Mr. Hatip Dicle was sentenced to an additional 10 years in prison for articles he published while in prison; that 14 proceedings under Section 8 of the Anti-Terrorism Law or Article 312 of the Penal Code were still pending against him, each of which carries a prison sentence ranging from 1 to 3 years,

Considering that, on 8 February 1999, the Turkish Grand National Assembly voted an amnesty law which suspends the execution of these additional sentences handed down on Mr. Dicle and Ms. Zana so long as they do not repeat any such statements; considering also that, according to the delegation, the amnesty law does not cover the sentences handed down on the deputies concerned in December 1994, so that Ms. Zana, Mr. Dicle, Mr. Dogan and Mr. Sadak will not only remain in prison but will also remain deprived of their political rights for life, while Mr. Alinak and Mr. Yurtdas, both lawyers, remain debarred for life from exercising their profession,

Considering that, according to lawyers of the former MPs concerned, their conditions of detention are adequate, although for the past year they have no longer been allowed to meet their families in "open" meetings; that, however, the state of health of Ms. Zana, who suffers from a serious illness, is worsening on account of her imprisonment and the fact that she is unable to receive the medical treatment she needs,

Considering that, subsequent to the visit of a US congressman to Ms. Zana, the authorities offered her an amnesty which she refused, stating that she would not leave the prison without her imprisoned colleagues,

Recalling also that the case of Ms. Zana, Mr. Dicle, Mr. Dogan and Mr. Sadak is still pending before the European Court of Human Rights,

Mindful of the construction placed on the right to freedom of expression by that Court, in particular in Handyside v. UK (1976), whereby this right is applicable not only to "information" or "ideas" that are favourably received or regarded as inoffensive but also to those that offend, shock or disturb the State or any sector of the population; that such are the demands of that pluralism, tolerance and broadmindedness without which there can be no "democratic society",

1. Thanks the Turkish delegation for the information and observations it supplied;
2. Is profoundly dismayed that the Turkish Grand National Assembly fails to take into consideration the constant appeals the IPU has made to it in favour of an amnesty for these former MPs;
3. Remains convinced, in the light of the evidence on file, that they were found guilty and sentenced on account of having exercised their freedom of expression in advocating a political solution to the conflict in south-eastern Turkey;
4. Notes that, as a result of the amnesty law, the sentences handed down on Mr. Dicle and Ms. Zana for articles they published while in prison were suspended;
5. Notes with concern that those sentences will nevertheless be reapplied in the event of any repetition of such statements, which it considers tantamount to an unwarranted restriction of their freedom of expression;
6. Solemnly reiterates its appeal to grant these former MPs, including those in exile, an amnesty, which, it is convinced, would clearly exemplify the stated will of the Turkish authorities to promote and respect human rights;
7. Requests the Secretary General to bring this decision to the attention of the Turkish parliamentary authorities;
8. Requests the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session (April-May 2000).

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