Human Rights First Welcomes Acquittal of Sezgin Tanrikulu by Turkish Court

April 23, 2002

On April 19, the Diyarbakir Penal Court of Peace No. 2 acquitted Sezgin Tanrikulu, director of the Diyarbakir branch of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (HRFT) of criminal charges of running a treatment center without State permission. Mr. Tanrikulu was indicted by the Public Prosecutor on December 26, 2001, for violating Article 8 of the private hospitals law and Law 2219. The indictment also alleged that the HRFT violated Article 526 of the Penal Law by illegally possessing banned documents. This followed a search of the HRFT offices in Diyarbakir, on September 7, 2001. The HRFT continues to argue that this search was carried out unlawfully, that confidential documents were seized and unlawfully examined, and that the criminal charges against Mr. Tanrikulu are unfounded.

The first hearing in the case was held on March 19, 2002, and was attended by many international and local observers, including a representative from Human Rights First. After hearing from Mr. Tanrikulu and his defense counsel, the judge requested that the prosecutor clarify the charge of possession of illegal documents and decided to visit the HRFT offices to determine whether it operated as a treatment center, as alleged by the prosecutor. This visit was carried out on March 22. The court reconvened on April 19, at which time it announced Mr. Tanrikulu's acquittal on the charges related to running a treatment center.

Human Rights First welcomes the court's decision and calls for all remaining charges against Sezgin Tanrikulu to be dropped. The HRFT performs vital work in Turkey, documenting cases of torture and assisting torture victims. It has been subjected to continued harassment by the authorities for its exposure of the prevalence of torture in Turkey. Human Rights First will continue to call upon the Turkish government to end this harassment and instead to provide support to the HRFT in its work.