EXTERNAL (for general distribution)AI Index: EUR 44/68/95

Distr: UA/SC

EXTRA 70/95Fear for safety / Fear of torture13 June 1995

TURKEYAhmet Cingöz

Edip Aksoy

During the evening of 7 June 1995 Ahmet Cingöz and Edip Aksoy were detained while visiting relatives in the Dağkapı district of Dolunay village near the town of Lice in Diyarbakır province. The authorities have so far failed to acknowledge the detention of the two men, heightening fears for their safety.

Relatives and several other villagers witnessed both men being detained by plainclothes policemen equipped with two-way radios and automatic weapons. They arrived in a white car and showed their identity cards.

The families of Ahmet Cingöz and Edip Aksoy fear for the lives of the two men. They have repeatedly appealed at the Diyarbakır State Security Court for information as to their whereabouts, but without success.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The conflict in southeast Turkey between government forces and guerrillas of the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) has claimed more than 16,000 lives since it began in August 1984. Police operations against suspected PKK supporters and other Kurdish activists are being carried out all over Turkey. A state of emergency remains in force in 10 provinces in the east and southeast including Diyarbakır.

Any person suspected of supporting the PKK is at serious risk of torture, "disappearance" or extrajudicial execution. Detainees taken into custody on suspicion of political offences may be held without charge for up to 15 days. In the 10 provinces under emergency legislation the maximum detention period for political detainees may be doubled to 30 days.

In 1994 there were more than 55 confirmed "disappearances", and more than 400 people were killed in unclarified circumstances. In most cases the victims were shot by unidentified assailants in the streets of cities in the southeast such as Batman where a member of parliament was shot in 1993. Their relatives believe that they have been killed for political reasons by agents of the state.

In February 1993, a cross-party parliamentary commission was established to investigate these "murders by unknown persons", but over two years later, when the total death toll has risen to well over 1,200, the commission has still not submitted a final report nor proposed any concrete measures to put a halt to the murders.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send telegrams/faxes/express/airmail letters in English or your own language:

- expressing concern for the safety of Ahmet Cingöz and Edip Aksoy, detained on 7 June 1995 in the Dolunay village near Lice and since held in unacknowledged police custody;

- urging that immediate steps are taken to establish their whereabouts and that their detention be duly registered at the prosecutor's office;

- urging that, while in police custody, Ahmet Cingöz and Edip Aksoy be granted access to their families and lawyers, and that they not be subjected to any form of ill-treatment;

- asking for information concerning the charges against the detainees.

APPEALS TO

1) Diyarbakır Chief of Police:

Mr Rıdvan Güler

Diyarbakır Emniyet Müdürlüğü

Diyarbakır, Turkey

Telegrams: Emniyet Mudurlugu, Diyarbakir, Turkey

Salutation: Dear Sir

2) Chief Prosecutor at Diyarbakır State Security Court:

Mr Bekir Selçuk

DGM Başsavcısı

Devlet Güvenlik Mahkemesi

Diyarbakır, Turkey

Telegrams: DGM Bassavcisi, Diyarbakir, Turkey

Salutation: Dear Sir

3) Minister of Justice:

Mr Mehmet Moğultay

Adalet Bakanlığı

06659 Ankara, Turkey

Telegrams: Justice Minister, Ankara, Turkey

Faxes: +90 312 417 3954

Salutation: Dear Minister

4) State Minister with responsibility for Human Rights:

Mr Algan Hacaloğlu

Office of the Prime Minister

Başbakanlık

06573 Ankara, Turkey

Faxes: +90 312 417 0476

Telegrams: Minister for Human Rights, Ankara, Turkey

Salutation: Dear Minister

COPIES OF YOUR APPEALS TO:

President of the Parliamentary Human Rights Commission:

Mr Sabri Yavuz

İnsan Hakları Araştırma Komisyonu Başkanı

TBMM

Ankara, Turkey

Faxes: +90 312 420 5394

and to diplomatic representatives of Turkey accredited to your country.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 15 July 1995.