The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

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/175/11(a)-R.1), and to the resolution adopted at its 174th session (April 2004),

Recalling that Mr. Sinçar was assassinated in September 1993; Mr. Yurtdas, Mr. Alinak, Mr. Sakik and Mr. Türk were found guilty of separatist propaganda and sentenced to a fine and 14 months' imprisonment, which they served; as a result of that judgment, Mr. Alinak and Mr. Yurtdas were barred from practising their profession as lawyers; Mr. Toguç, Mr. Kilinç, Mr. Günes, Mr. Yigit and Mr. Kartal, all of whom fled abroad in 1994, were subsequently also accused of separatism and would be arrested and prosecuted should they return to Turkey,

Recalling that Ms. Zana, Mr. Dicle, Mr. Dogan and Mr. Sadak were sentenced in December 1994 to a 15 year prison term for membership of an armed organisation; on 26 June 2001, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that they had not enjoyed a fair trial and granted them just satisfaction; a retrial started in March 2003 before the Ankara State Security Court, which, on 21 April 2004, at the end of proceedings, upheld the conviction and the sentence again without respecting fair trial guarantees,

Considering that on 9 June and 14 July 2004, the Cassation Court (Yargitay) ruled that they had not received a fair trial and ordered their release and retrial; that the retrial proceedings will start on 22 October 2004,

Noting that on 9 July 2004 one of the sources reported that criminal action was being taken against the four persons concerned for making speeches in Kurdish,

1. Is highly satisfied at the release of Ms. Zana, Mr. Dicle, Mr. Sadak and Mr. Dogan;

2. Expresses nevertheless deep regret that the four former parliamentarians, as recognised by the European Court of Human Rights and the Turkish Cassation Court (Yargitay), did not enjoy a fair trial in the course of both the original and the retrial proceedings;

3. Notes that the persons concerned are now subjected to a third trial on the original charges brought against them ten years ago;

4. Trusts that, given the gross miscarriage of justice in this case and the significant lapse of time since Ms. Zana, Mr. Dicle, Mr. Sadak and Mr. Dogan were first charged, the court will in this case proceed as a matter of urgency and enable them finally to present their full defence and to question the evidence produced by the prosecution; would appreciate being kept informed of progress in the proceedings;

5. Expresses concern at the alleged criminal action recently brought against the four former members of Parliament; wishes to ascertain whether they have been charged and, if so, on what legal grounds;

6. Reaffirms its conviction that, in common with these four former parliamentarians, Mr. Alinak, Mr. Yurtdas, Mr. Türk and Mr. Sakik were prosecuted and sentenced on account of having exercised their right to freedom of expression and that, for the same reason, charges of separatism were laid against Mr. Aydar, Mr. Toguç, Mr. Kilinç, Mr. Günes, Mr. Yigit and Mr. Kartal, all of whom went into exile for fear of arrest;

7. Wishes to ascertain:
   1. whether the charges brought in 1994 against the aforesaid six former members of Parliament have meanwhile been dropped and, if not, what the prospects are for the charges being dropped;
   2. whether Mr. Alinak, Mr. Yurtdas, Mr. Türk and Mr. Sakik have fully recovered their civil and political rights, and in particular whether Mr. Alinak and Mr. Yurtdas are exercising their profession as lawyers;
   3. whether the authorities have been able to identify and prosecute Mr. Sinçar's murderers;

8. Requests the Secretary General to convey this resolution to the authorities, inviting them to provide the requested information;

9. Requests the Committee to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session, to be held on the occasion of the 112^th Assembly (April 2005).

* The Turkish delegation took the floor to comment on the resolution. Its observations may be found in the Summary Records of the 175^th session of the Governing Council.

 

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