The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Referring to the case of the above-mentioned parliamentarians, former members of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, as outlined in the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (CL/176/13(b)-R.1), and to the resolution adopted at its 175^th session (October 2004),

Taking account of a letter from the President of the Turkish Inter-Parliamentary Group dated 24 March 2005,

Recalling that the former parliamentarians concerned were all members of the Democracy Party, which was dissolved in June 1994, and that all of them were prosecuted on charges of separatism,

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 opened in March 2003 before the Ankara State Security Court, which on 21 April 2004 upheld the conviction and the sentence, again without respecting fair trial guarantees; on 9 June and 14 July 2004, the Cassation Court (Yargitay) ruled that Ms. Zana, Mr. Dicle, Mr. Dogan and Mr. Sadak had not received a fair trial, and ordered their release and retrial, and that the retrial proceedings were set to open on 22 October 2004; considering that, on 25 February 2005, the four former parliamentarians pleaded innocent in court and asked for a fair hearing and for more time to present their views on how the retrial should be conducted; the court has set the next hearing for 22 April 2005,

Recalling that 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, and that as a result of that judgement Mr. Alinak and Mr. Yurtdas were barred from practising their profession as lawyers; that 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 considering in this respect that during the presentation of its public report at the 175^th session of the Governing Council (October 2004), the Turkish delegation stated that the former parliamentarians who had gone into exile for fear of arrest were free to return to Turkey, where they would receive a fair trial,

Noting that, on 22 January 2005, Mr. Remzi Kartal was arrested in Germany on the basis of an international arrest warrant issued at the request of the Turkish authorities to prosecute him on account of membership in a terrorist organisation; he was released on 1 March 2005 after the court rejected the extradition request, having found it fundamentally flawed,

Recalling that Mr. Sinçar was assassinated in September 1993 and that the sources had pointed to circumstances of the murder which indicated possible police involvement; on the occasion of the Committee’s second on-site mission to Turkey (April 1996), the Minister of Justice stated that the identity of the murderer had been established; however, the suspect, a "Hezbollah" member, had absconded and was living in Iran; considering in this respect that, according to the President of the Turkish IPU Group, several persons have been brought to justice in connection with Mr. Sinçar's murder and the relevant proceedings are under way,

Bearing in mind that, as stated in the letter from the President of the Turkish IPU Group, Turkey has undergone a substantial reform process to strengthen democracy and human rights and align relevant standards on international and European norms, and that this process is being pursued,

1. Thanks the President of the Turkish Inter-Parliamentary Group for his letter;

2. Notes that the second retrial proceedings of Ms. Zana, Mr. Dicle, Mr. Sadak and Mr. Dogan have opened, and wishes to be kept informed of their progress;

3. Reaffirms its conviction that, as in the cases of these four former parliamentarians, Mr. Alinak, Mr. Yurtdas, Mr. Türk and Mr. Sakik were also prosecuted and sentenced on account of having exercised their right to freedom of expression;

4. Reiterates therefore its wish to ascertain:

   • whether there are any prospects, especially in the light of the reform process under way in Turkey, that the charges against the six former members of parliament currently in exile will be dropped;

   • 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;

5. Is pleased to note that proceedings against those suspected of Mr. Sinçar's murder are finally under way, and would appreciate receiving more detailed information in this respect;

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

7. Requests the Committee to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session, to be held on the occasion of the 113^th IPU Assembly (October 2005).

* The Turkish delegation took the floor to state that the reform undertaken in Turkey since October 2001 to bring the country's legislation into line with international human rights standards had resulted in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe closing its monitoring procedure with respect to Turkey.

 

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