The new Turkey
Abductions in Turkey Today. September 2020

05-Oct-2020

Executive Summary Abductions in Turkey Today.
BY JOHAN HEYMANS

This report aims to provide an answer to the key questions addressed to the Turkey Tribunal about abductions. These questions are: can we, taken in account the reports and the testimonies produced before the tribunal, conclude that abductions again are a part of the action of the state towards opposing persons and that no serious inquiry is organized about these facts?

Internal v. international abductions by Turkey
The report distinguishes between, on the one hand, the abductions within Turkey itself and, on the other hand, the abductions of Turkish citizens abroad in order to bring them back to their homeland. With regards to the former Turkey consistently denies any involvement, with regards to the latter it openly acknowledges having executed these abductions.

In both cases the course of events is identical: opponents of the current regime are abducted and, consequently, disappear from the radar. For some, this situation continues unabated to this day. Most, however, tend to reappear after a few months in certain Turkish police stations. They often turn out to be tortured and were forced to make incriminating statements. For these people, a second phase begins: that of continued deprivation of liberty – this time in a Turkish prison – during which their human rights tend to be strongly restricted.

More precisely, the abductees are not allowed to openly discuss their situation with their relatives and generally cannot choose their own lawyer. Similarly, it takes an unlawfully long period of time before these individuals are first presented to a judge having to decide on the need to extend their detention. The abductees are also put under pressure to not fully defend themselves and forced to withdraw complaints on torture and illtreatment. They are also prohibited from consulting independent physicians to attest their injuries.

The questions:
Is Turkey responsible for the internal abductions of its opponents?

In spite of the fact that the Turkey consistently denies any state implication with regards to internal abductions, it is beyond reasonable doubt that an increasing number of enforced disappearances is taking place in Turkey. Eyewitnesses, statements of abductees who eventually resurfaced and camera footage clearly show that this is due to Turkish police and intelligence services which are actively intercepting opponents of the current Turkish regime to illegally transport them to hidden locations where they are often tortured.

These practices are a textbook example of enforced disappearances and are unanimously outlawed by international law. When the victims reappear their situation of lawlessness continues, and they remain deprived of their most fundamental human rights – the right not to be arbitrarily deprived of one’s freedom, the right to a fair trial, the right not to be subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and even the right to life.

Is Turkey responsible for the extra-territorial abductions of its opponents?

In sharp contrast, Turkey is much more open about its responsibility in terms of extra-territorial abductions. In spite of the fact that our investigation of the publicly known cases only allowed us to identify 63 cases of such abductions, Turkish officials have repeatedly claimed that Turkey was involved in more than 100 international abductions.

Many extra-territorial abductions start with the arrest of Turkish citizens at foreign border crossings due to the fact that the passports of these citizens are, unbeknown to them, cancelled by Turkey. Such behaviour has been declared unlawful by the UN Human Rights Committee and the European Court of Human Rights. Similarly, the active involvement of Turkish intelligence officers abducting the opponents of the current regime with or sometimes even without the consent of the host state is without any doubt contrary to international law and has already been condemned by the European Commission and the European Court of Human Rights.

Does Turkey effectively investigate complaints and allegations of enforced disappearances and unlawful abductions?

In Turkey there currently exists no effective protection of the right to life of political opponents of the regime and no effective investigations are carried out into cases of enforced disappearances. A thorough investigation into such complaints is being prevented in every possible way: the authorities refuse to execute essential investigate acts. When crucial evidence is collected and joined to the file by the relatives of the abductees themselves, the authorities choose to ignore it. This is diametrically opposed to Turkey’s positive obligations under international law to investigate such allegations and complaints.

VIII. CONCLUSION 89.

Page 43-44

This report intended to answer the question: “Can we, taken in account the reports and the testimonies produced before the tribunal, conclude that abductions again are a part of the action of the state towards opposing persons and that no serious inquiry is organized about these facts?”

A comprehensive analysis of the facts and the legal framework applicable to Turkey shows that, since 2016, the country has re-established its negative tradition of enforced disappearances. Abductions are now used to eliminate and target opponents – particularly the Gülen movement and the Kurds.

This practice of abducting opponents has manifested itself both on the domestic and international level. While with regards to the internal abductions, the Turkish State denies any involvement, there is extensive objective evidence and testimonies confirming that these abductions and subsequent disappearances are organised by MIT officials, at least by individuals working with, or for, the Turkish State.

With regards to the extra-territorial abductions, Turkey has claimed responsibility through several of its highest officials. These acts are attributable to the Turkish State and violate Turkey’s international human rights obligations.

Finally, the fact that the Turkish authorities are not conducting effective investigations into complaints of abductions supports the strong involvement of the Turkish State with these crimes. A thorough investigation into such complaints is being prevented in every possible way. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that, to date, no successful investigation into the enforced disappearances which have taken place after 2016 has been completed.

Read the full report (pdf)

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