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Letter to the Turkish Ambassador in London 12 July 2005 To: Re: Conscientious Objector Mehmet Tarhan, on trial 12 July 2005 We write to you about Mehmet Tarhan, a gay man and conscientious objector, detained since 8 April in the military prison of Sivas, Turkey who goes on trial today for the third time for refusing to serve. Protests in his support are taking place today in London, New York and Venice. At his second court appearance on 9 June, the judge released Mr Tarhan because he had ”already spent two months in prison, which is about the time he would have to serve in prison if finally sentenced”1. However, he was returned to detention, first to Sivas military hospital, and then to Sivas military prison. Mr Tarhan should never have been jailed in the first place. Encouraged by prison staff, other prisoners have repeatedly beaten, humiliated and threatened Mr Tarhan with death, even in front of his lawyer. When Mr Tarhan appeared in court on 9 June, he could not walk properly and his body was covered in bruises. It is a scandal that he had to go on hunger strike for 28 days in order to win elementary human rights like equal treatment with, and protection from, other prisoners, and examination and treatment by independent doctors. The Turkish military and civilian authorities must guarantee his safety. An independent inquiry must establish who is responsible for inciting and perpetrating violent acts against Mr Tarhan while in detention, and they must be brought to justice. This cycle of detention, torture, trial, mock release and detention is illegal and must be stopped. The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, in the case of another Turkish conscientious objector, Osman Murat Ulke, stated that any detention of a conscientious objector after an initial detention following a first act of refusal is "arbitrary, being contrary to article 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights"3. Mr Tarhan is exercising his right to conscientious objection under Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Turkey is a party. And the Committee of Ministers to Member States of the Council of Europe Regarding Conscientious Objection to Compulsory Military Service states that, "Anyone liable to conscription for military service who, for compelling reasons of conscience, refuses to be involved in the use of arms, shall have the right to be released from the obligation to perform such service”4. Mr Olli Rehn, Commissioner for Enlargement Policy of the European Union, has pledged to take up Mr Tarhan’s case. Other MEPs, including Michael Cashman, the President of the European Parliament's Intergroup on Gay and Lesbian Rights, Caroline Lucas from the Greens and Vittorio Agnoletto from the United Left have already made representations to the Turkish government. Amnesty International considers Mehmet Tarhan to be a prisoner of conscience. We demand the immediate recognition of conscientious objector status and unconditional release for Mehmet Tarhan and all other Turkish conscientious objectors, including Ersan Ugur Gor, Erdem Yalcinkaya, Mustafa Seyhoglu and Hasan Cimen who were arrested following Mr Tarhan’s trial. Yours for refusing to kill, Anne Neale, Wages Due Lesbians (London) Michael Kalmanovitz, Payday (London) Mary Kalyna, Wages Due Lesbians (Philadelphia) Dean Kendall, Payday (Philadelphia) War Resisters International, CO-alert, 10 June 2005 cc: |