Europe and Central Asia Summary of Amnesty International’s Concerns in the Region, January-June 2007 Conscientious objectors (update to AI Index: EUR 01/001/2007) On 26 January, following his release from detention pending his continuing trial, conscientious objector Halil Savda alleged he was ill-treated by military personnel in the military barracks in Tekirdağ where he had originally been summoned to perform military service. Halil Savda reported that he was pushed against a wall, kicked in the legs and hit by an officer and two guards until he fell to the floor. The kicking reportedly continued while he was lying on the floor, with the perpetrators shouting, “you are a traitor, you are a terrorist”. Apparently as a result of the incident, Halil Savda’s face was swollen and he was left with a split and bleeding lip. He reported that he was subsequently taken to a room with no chair or bed where he stayed for three days, sleeping on the cement floor without a blanket. On 12 April Halil Savda, a conscientious objector since 2004, was sentenced to six months in prison for “insubordination”. AI considered him a prisoner of conscience. Torture and ill-treatment The non-governmental organization, the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey reported that the number of allegations of torture and ill-treatment outside official detention facilities showed an increase during the period under review. Excessive force by police against individuals arrested for ordinary crimes remained a problem and impunity for law enforcement officials remained a fundamental concern. Mustafa Kükçe was arrested on 13 June on suspicion of theft and taken first to Dudullu then to Acarlar police station in Istanbul. He was seen appearing healthy by family members when leaving the police station to be transferred to Çakmak police station. Family members wanting to see Mustafa Kükçe at Çakmak police station were reportedly abused by police officers Amnesty International 123 shouting “dirty gypsies, dirty alevis7”. When transferred from the police station to the State Prosecutor’s Office, Mustafa Kükçe was seen by family members being supported by police officers, apparently unable to walk. He was transferred to Ümraniye Prison where he died. Of the multiple medical reports made, the last recorded marks from blows. A relative described seeing Mustafa Kükçe in the morgue: “There were swollen and open wounds on the knees. I saw an injury on his left shoulder and in his right armpit a swollen wound full of blood. The tips of his fingers were really black. There were marks on the arms. One of his testicles had burst.” 8 Mustafa Kükçe’s family launched a criminal complaint against the police officers later that month. Also of concern was the passing by parliament on 2 June of the Law on the Duties and Powers of Police (Polis Vazife ve Salahiyetleri Kanunu). The law, which gave wide-ranging powers of stop and search to the police in an amendment reversing previous reforms, additionally gave the police further authority in the use of lethal weapons. The law allows police officers to shoot escaping suspects in the event that a warning to stop is not obeyed. While the law requires that use of weapons be proportional, required proportionality in the use of lethal weapons in the law is descriptive rather than prescriptive and does not meet international standards on the use of firearms by law enforcement officials. Prosecution over the Şemdinli bombing (update to AI Index: EUR 44/033/2005) A setback occurred in the case of the three men prosecuted in the case of the Şemdinli 7 Alevis are a Muslim minority considered to be heterodox, and constitute perhaps up to 25 per cent of the population of Turkey. 8 Radikal newspaper, “İddia: Ölüm nedeni işkence,” 22 June 2007 AI Index: EUR 01/010/2007