Objetor turco nuevamente secuestrado

El juez liberó a Mehmet de la carcel militar porque ya le detuvieron dos meses (la pena minima), pero después le han llevado a la oficina de reclutamiento donde, después de un tiempo, han decidido transferirle a su unidad militar, escoltado por soldados o policia militar.

Esto significa que el ciclo reempezará:
- rechazo de ordenes militares por Mehmet
- nuevas denuncias
- su traslado a la carcel militar de Sivas
- otro juicio

El primer juicio esta aplazado, no terminado. Sigue dentro de 4 semanas.

Mehmet sigue con su huelga de hambre que empezó el dia 26 de mayo.

La IRG y los grupos antimilitaristas turcos) proponen varias actividades:

 protestas por fax y correo a los representantes de Turquia en el extranjero

 protestas por canales diplomaticos (al nivel de Union Europea, la ONU, y tal)

 visitas a la carcel por diputados de otros paises (con permiso del Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores (turcos)

 una vigila permanente por 5-6 antimilitaristas internacionales frente de la carcel militar de Sivas (haciendolo por turnos)

 ayunas (coordinadas internacionalmente) frente de las embajadas turcas en varios paises

Sivas/Istanbul, 9/10 June 2005

Dear all,
a quick report on the delegation to the trial of Mehmet Tarhan in Sivas, and some thoughts about the needs for the future.

The session had started at 9.10am, and lasted only for 15 minutes. The judge announced that the witness statements about Mehmet’s "insubordination in
front of his units" were still not finished, and could therefore not be read out. Mehmet’s lawyers then asked for his release from military prison, and the military prosecutor agreed on grounds that Mehmet had already spent two month’s in prison, which is about the time he would need to serve in prison if sentenced. The judge then ordered Mehmet’s release from military prison.

At first we were quite happy, and everyone expected Mehmet to be out within a few hours. However, it came different. After his release from prison, he was brought to the recruitment office in Sivas. He was kept there for
quite a while, and it was then decided to transfer him to «his» military unit accompanied by soldiers or military police. This means, the cycle will start again: refusal, charge on grounds of insubordination, transfer to the military prison in Sivas, and a new trial.

At the same time, his first trial is not over - it has only been adjourned. A new trial date will be given within the next 4 weeks. This also means it is highly likely that he will be charged and sentenced repeatedly for the same offence, which is in contradiction to
international legal standars, as expressed in Opinion 36/1999 of the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in the case of Osman Murat Ulke.

In addition, it has to be feared that he will again be at danger of illtreatment in the military prison in Sivas.

For the time being, Mehmet continues his hunger strike that he began on 26 May, demanding measures being taken to ensure his safety in prison.

As one result of his hunger strike and local and international support, the prison guard responsible for encouraging the abuse, and the head of the prison have now been removed from their posts. But also, the meeting
time between Mehmet and his lawyers has now been limited to 20minutes (as of 6 June 2005). It remains to be seen how the situation will develop when he «returns» to the military prison in Sivas.

However, another «result» of his hunger strike is that he is visibly weakened after two weeks of not eating, and eight weeks of abuse and threats.

It is clear that now even more international pressure will be needed, both grassroots based, NGO based, governmental, and intergovernmental.

What can be useful:
 letters and faxes (from individuals, parliamentarians, NGOs, and governments) to the Turkish Prime Minister

 visits of EU parliamentarians to Mehmet in prison (this will require
permission from the Turkish Foreign Ministry)
 activities on the diplomatic level - European Union, Council of Europe, United Nations’ bodies, but also individual governments, - - more publicity for Mehmet’s case, and more (and more coordinated) protest activities.

Some ideas here are:
 finding 5-6 people from as many countries for a permanent vigil in front of the military prison in Sivas. These people have a 99.9% chance of getting arrested, and a very high chance of being thrown out of
Turkey. But this all can be used to highlight Mehmet’s situation in the home countries of these activists.
 a coordinated solidarity fast in front of Turkish
embassies/consulates. It could be a week or several days at each place, with rotation of those fasting. But it could also be a day at each place, with rotation between countries, and ongoing as long as Mehmet keeps up his hunger strike, or the next trial, or until he is released...

This is just a start. We will need more ideas, but more activities are important. Let us discuss this in our different groups/organisations, and come to some form of division of tasks, as it won’t make sense that
everyone does everything.