Turkse militaire rechtbank velt bijzonder zwaar vonnis
Op woensdag 10 augustus heeft de militaire rechtbank van Sivas de Turkse dienstweigeraar Mehmet Tarhan tot vier jaar gevangenisstraf veroordeeld. Nadat het proces tegen Tarhan al verschillende keren was uitgesteld, heeft de militaire rechtbank nu een bijzonder zwaar vonnis uitgesproken. Omdat Mehmet twee keer ten overstaan van zijn militaire eenheid geweigerd heeft zijn dienstplicht te vervullen - Mehmet beroept zich hierbij op fundamentele gewetensbezwaren - veroordeelt de militaire rechter hem twee keer voor dezelfde feiten. Volgens het Turkse strafwetboek staat op "ongehoorzaamheid van een dienstplichtige in aanwezigheid van andere militairen" een maximumstraf van twee jaar. Met deze uitspraak gaat de rechter fragrant in tegen het principe dat iemand geen twee keer voor dezelfde feiten kan worden veroordeeld. Volgens Mehmets advocaten zal hij in beroep gaan tegen deze uitspraak. Daarom blijft het belangrijk brieven te schrijven naar de Turkse autoriteiten om de onmiddellijke vrijlating van Mehmet te vragen. Mehmet zelf kan nu zeker solidariteitsbrieven gebruiken.
TURKEY: Conscientious objector Mehmet Tarhan sentenced to 4 years imprisonment On 10 August 2005, Turkish conscientious objector Mehmet Tarhan was sentenced to 4 years imprisonment, on two charges of "insubordination in front of his unit". He received a sentence of two years imprisonment for each of the charges. Tarhan had been arrest in Izmir on 8 April 2005, and has by now been charged twice with "insubordination in front of his unit". At the last trial on 12 July 2005, the two separate cases of insubordination have been joined, and will now be tried together. Tarhan had been on hunger strike from 25 May to 21 June 2005, to protest against maltreatment and the authorities inability to protect him in prison. He ended his hunger strike after 28 days, after the prison authorities accepted his demands. Tarhan had been briefly released from military prison following a trial session on 9 June 2005, but had been brought back to his military unit, where he was again given a military order, which he refused. This lead to the second charge, and a second trial on 12 July, where the decision was taken to join the two cases. It is highly significant that the decision to return Mehmet Tarhan to his unit accompanied by the military, taken after the trial on 9 June, was not taken by the local military recruitment office, but by ASAL, the Central Office for Recruitment in Ankara. This is important, because the second case is in clear breach of Article 14 paragraph 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR): "No one shall be liable to be tried or punished again for an offence for which he has already been finally convicted or acquitted in accordance with the law and penal procedure." In 1999, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention ruled against Turkey in the case of conscientious objector Osman Murat Ülke that every detention following an initial detention is arbitrary, and called on the Government "to take necessary steps to remedy the situation so as to bring it into line with the principles set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights." (Opinion 36/1999) War Resisters' International calls for letters of support to Mehmet Tarhan. • Mehmet Tarhan • 5. Piyade Egitim Tugayi • Askeri Cezaevi • Temeltepe - Sivas • Turkey War Resisters' International calls for urgent protest faxes and emails to: - General Staff of the Turkish Military: Fax +90-312-4250813 - Presidency of the Turkish Republic: Fax +90-312-4271330, email: cumhurbaskanligi@tccb.gov.tr A protest email to the Turkish President Ahmet Nezdet Secer can be sent at http://wri-irg.org/co/alerts/20050812a.html . - Central Office for Recruitment Ankara • MSB ASKERALMA DAIRESI BASKANLIGI • 06100 BAKANLIKLAR/ANKARA • Fax +900-312-4193674 • email msbasal@asal.msb.gov.tr A protest email can be sent at http://wri-irg.org/co/alerts20050616b.htm War Resisters' International calls for the immediate release of Mehmet Tarhan and all other imprisoned conscientious objectors. Andreas Speck War Resisters' International
Op woensdag 10 augustus heeft de militaire rechtbank van Sivas de Turkse dienstweigeraar Mehmet Tarhan tot vier jaar gevangenisstraf veroordeeld. Nadat het proces tegen Tarhan al verschillende keren was uitgesteld, heeft de militaire rechtbank nu een bijzonder zwaar vonnis uitgesproken. Omdat Mehmet twee keer ten overstaan van zijn militaire eenheid geweigerd heeft zijn dienstplicht te vervullen - Mehmet beroept zich hierbij op fundamentele gewetensbezwaren - veroordeelt de militaire rechter hem twee keer voor dezelfde feiten. Volgens het Turkse strafwetboek staat op "ongehoorzaamheid van een dienstplichtige in aanwezigheid van andere militairen" een maximumstraf van twee jaar. Met deze uitspraak gaat de rechter fragrant in tegen het principe dat iemand geen twee keer voor dezelfde feiten kan worden veroordeeld. Volgens Mehmets advocaten zal hij in beroep gaan tegen deze uitspraak. Daarom blijft het belangrijk brieven te schrijven naar de Turkse autoriteiten om de onmiddellijke vrijlating van Mehmet te vragen. Mehmet zelf kan nu zeker solidariteitsbrieven gebruiken.
TURKEY: Conscientious objector Mehmet Tarhan sentenced to 4 years imprisonment On 10 August 2005, Turkish conscientious objector Mehmet Tarhan was sentenced to 4 years imprisonment, on two charges of "insubordination in front of his unit". He received a sentence of two years imprisonment for each of the charges. Tarhan had been arrest in Izmir on 8 April 2005, and has by now been charged twice with "insubordination in front of his unit". At the last trial on 12 July 2005, the two separate cases of insubordination have been joined, and will now be tried together. Tarhan had been on hunger strike from 25 May to 21 June 2005, to protest against maltreatment and the authorities inability to protect him in prison. He ended his hunger strike after 28 days, after the prison authorities accepted his demands. Tarhan had been briefly released from military prison following a trial session on 9 June 2005, but had been brought back to his military unit, where he was again given a military order, which he refused. This lead to the second charge, and a second trial on 12 July, where the decision was taken to join the two cases. It is highly significant that the decision to return Mehmet Tarhan to his unit accompanied by the military, taken after the trial on 9 June, was not taken by the local military recruitment office, but by ASAL, the Central Office for Recruitment in Ankara. This is important, because the second case is in clear breach of Article 14 paragraph 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR): "No one shall be liable to be tried or punished again for an offence for which he has already been finally convicted or acquitted in accordance with the law and penal procedure." In 1999, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention ruled against Turkey in the case of conscientious objector Osman Murat Ülke that every detention following an initial detention is arbitrary, and called on the Government "to take necessary steps to remedy the situation so as to bring it into line with the principles set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights." (Opinion 36/1999) War Resisters' International calls for letters of support to Mehmet Tarhan. • Mehmet Tarhan • 5. Piyade Egitim Tugayi • Askeri Cezaevi • Temeltepe - Sivas • Turkey War Resisters' International calls for urgent protest faxes and emails to: - General Staff of the Turkish Military: Fax +90-312-4250813 - Presidency of the Turkish Republic: Fax +90-312-4271330, email: cumhurbaskanligi@tccb.gov.tr A protest email to the Turkish President Ahmet Nezdet Secer can be sent at http://wri-irg.org/co/alerts/20050812a.html . - Central Office for Recruitment Ankara • MSB ASKERALMA DAIRESI BASKANLIGI • 06100 BAKANLIKLAR/ANKARA • Fax +900-312-4193674 • email msbasal@asal.msb.gov.tr A protest email can be sent at http://wri-irg.org/co/alerts20050616b.htm War Resisters' International calls for the immediate release of Mehmet Tarhan and all other imprisoned conscientious objectors. Andreas Speck War Resisters' International