(WiPC/IFEX) – On 16 October 2002, the Supreme Court is due to give its final verdict in the case of Asiye Güzel Zeybek, a former editor of a radical newspaper who is accused of being involved in an “illegal” organisation. Zeybek, who was released in June pending the court decision, was arrested in February 1997, […]
(WiPC/IFEX) – On 16 October 2002, the Supreme Court is due to give its final verdict in the case of Asiye Güzel Zeybek, a former editor of a radical newspaper who is accused of being involved in an “illegal” organisation. Zeybek, who was released in June pending the court decision, was arrested in February 1997, over five years ago, and has spent all but four months since then in untried detention. She faces a heavy prison term if found guilty. International PEN believes that Zeybek’s extremely long pre-trial detention fell foul of international standards that recommend a speedy trial. Article 9(3) of the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Turkey is a signatory, guarantees the right to a trial within a reasonable time, and to be granted release pending trial outcome in cases where the judicial process is unusually lengthy.
Arrested in February 1997 during a demonstration protesting alleged links between Mafia groups and the government, Zeybek, now aged 31, was held in pre-trial detention until her release on 5 June 2002, pending the Supreme Court Decision. Accused for her connections with the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party (MLCP, now defunct), Zeybek is being tried under Article 168 of the Turkish Penal Code for membership in an “illegal organisation”. The indictment, dating from 21 June 1994, accuses her of running and distributing the MLCP journal “Isçinin Yolu” (“Worker’s Path”). During an 8 October 1997 trial hearing, Zeybek claimed to have been raped while under interrogation at the Istanbul Security Directorate Political Department. On 24 October 1997, her complaint against eight policemen was accepted following a report confirming the attack from the Psycho-Social Traumatology Centre in Istanbul. The officers were brought to trial in November 1998. However, on 1 November 2000, the court decided not to proceed with the eight policemen’s prosecution. On 10 October 2002, Zeybek will appear as a witness in another complaint of rape against the policemen issued by other plaintiffs.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to authorities:
– welcoming the fact that the Zeybek case is due to come to a close on 16 October, after an extremely lengthy five-year judicial process
– welcoming the fact that Zeybek was finally granted release pending the trial outcome, as per the recommendations of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, to which Turkey is a signatory
– urging that Zeybek’s extremely long period of detention without conviction be taken into consideration by the Supreme Court in its deliberation of her case
– asking that she not be sentenced to a prison term
– referring to concerns that Zeybek’s allegations of rape while in police custody were not fully investigated and asking that there be a review of the decision not to proceed with the investigation into her alleged persecutors
Appeals To
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit
Basbakanlik
Cankaya
Ankara, Turkey
Fax: +90 312 417 0476
His Excellency Hikmet Sami Turk
Minister of Justice
Adalet Bakaligi
06440 Bakaniklar
Ankara, Turkey
Fax: +90 312 417 395
It is recommended that you copy your appeals to the Turkish embassies in your country as well as lobby your own country representative in Turkey and your government’s foreign affairs department, asking that they also raise Zeybek’s case with the appropriate officials in Turkey.
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
