AAAS Scientific Responsibility, Human Rights and Law Program

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AAAS Human Rights Action Network

FACTS OF THE CASE:

Prominent human rights activist Akin Birdal, president of the Human Rights Association of Turkey and vice-president of the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues, was gravely wounded when two armed men attacked him in his office on 12 May 1998. Birdal was shot six times in the chest and legs. While his condition remains critical, he has reportedly regained consciousness.

The attack took place just days after media reports accused Birdal of taking orders from the leader of the Kurdish Workers Party, a terrorist organization engaged in a violent fourteen-year conflict against the Turkish military. Human rights groups in Turkey have accused the media of contributing to the attack by printing unsubstantiated allegations made by a known terrorist who was captured by the Turkish military in April. Rights groups consider the attack to be a warning to others who speak out against official policy.

AAAS has worked closely with Birdal and the Human Rights Association in its investigation into human rights violations perpetrated against scientists in Turkey and governmental attacks against centers for the treatment of torture survivors operated by the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey.

The Human Rights Association of Turkey has been the subject of numerous governmental attacks since its founding in 1986. Its offices in the southeast of Turkey have been closed leaving the area without any human rights monitoring mechanisms. Akin Birdal himself faces more than twenty charges associated with his human rights activism, including calls for a peaceful end to the Kurdish conflict.

So-called unknown assailants who are believed to be members of right wing gangs with ties to the Turkish armed forces have killed dozens of the Association's members. While government officials have condemned the attack, rights groups blame the authorities, who have a history of accusing rights groups of participating in terrorist activities. Human rights activists are routinely charged under anti-terrorist legislation for speaking out against governmental abuses. A Lawyers Committee for Human Rights representative responding to the attack stated that, "by criminalizing the non-violent advocacy of human rights the Turkish authorities have contributed to a situation in which human rights advocates face intimidation, threats and violence from members of security forces and from shadowy para-military forces responsible for much political violence in Turkey."

Thousands of protesters marched in Ankara and Istanbul condemning the attack against Birdal and accusing the state of involvement in the assassination attempt. Political violence between right and left wing extremists has reportedly been on the increase.

The brutal attack against Akin Birdal constitutes a serious violation of human rights standards, including basic protections provided by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. They include:

Under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (adopted without opposition by the United Nations in 1948)

• the right to life, liberty and security of the person (Article 3).

Under the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ratified by Turkey in 1957)

• everyone's life shall be protected by law (Article 2); and
• everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of person (Article 5).

(Sources of information on this case include the Washington Kurdish Institute, Reuters article, "Wounded Turkish rights campaigner conscious," May 13, 1998; Turkish Daily News editorial, "Disgrace for Turkey," May 13, 1998; Human Rights Watch; and a Lawyers Committee for Human Rights statement, May 12, 1998.)

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Please send telexes, telegrams, faxes, or airmail letters:

• calling on the government of Turkey to launch an immediate investigation into the shooting of Akin Birdal and to bring those responsible to justice;
• requesting adequate protection for Birdal, members of the Human Rights Association of Turkey, and other human rights activists; and
• urging the Turkish government to cease the criminalization of human rights activities.

APPEAL AND INQUIRY MESSAGES SHOULD BE SENT TO:

His Excellency Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz
Basbakanlik
06573 Ankara
Turkey
Salutation: Dear Mr. Prime Minister:

President Suleyman Demirel
Office of the President
Cumhur Baskanligi
06100 Ankara, Turkey
Fax: 011 90 312 468 5026
Salutation: Dear President Demirel:

COPIES SENT TO:

Ambassador Haki Ilkin
Embassy of the Republic of Turkey
1714 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036


Ambassador Mark Parris
Embassy of the United States of America
Ataturk Blvd.
PSC 93, Box 5000
Ankara, Turkey
APO AE 09823
Fax: 011 90 312 467 0019


Madeline Albright
Secretary of State
Department of State
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20520

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