KT News: Kurdish activist Hawre Kurdi was brutally attacked on the night of 19th January by unknown assailants and is in hospital in a serious condition. During a press conference with local reporters his lawyer, Harem Rafat, confirmed that the aim of the attack was to kill Hawre Kurdi, and it had been well prepared…
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Category Archives: Human rights
Gebze Women’s Closed Prison – Political Prisoners Distress Call
By Gül Güzel: 45 arrested and convicted women, whose names I kept secret, wrote from Gebze Prison in Turkey. On the occasion of the Corona pandemic, detainees and convicts all over the world were released from prisons and in Turkey as well… However, political prisoners and convicts were excluded from this practice, other criminals were…
Sardasht Osman: Death Did Not Silence Him
By Arian Mufid: We are republishing this article, first published in 2012, to mark the recent 10th anniversary of the murder of Sardasht Osman. It remains relevant today. 10 years on, there is still no justice for Sardasht Osman’s family. His killers remain protected by the KRG and unpunished. At the beginning of May 2010…
Release All Political Prisoners In Turkey
Peace in Kurdistan Statement: As of 13 April 2020, Turkey had recorded 61,049 cases of Covid-19 and 1,296 deaths from it. Since the first case was diagnosed on 10 March the toll is rising quickly. Turkey’s prisons are dangerous; the Minister of Justice said that 17 inmates of five prisons had been infected with the…
Turkey: Release Imprisoned Journalists and Human Rights Defenders at Risk of Coronavirus
By the European Federation of Journalists: Amid growing concerns over the spread of COVID-19 in prisons, the Turkish government is accelerating the preparation of a draft law that will reportedly release up to 100,000 prisoners. This is a welcome step. Overcrowding and unsanitary facilities already pose a serious health threat to Turkey’s prison population of…
Women Delegation from Ireland, Britain and Italy Call for Unlawful Prison Policy of Isolation to End
PRESS RELEASE: Diyarbakir, Turkey The health of Hakkari 55 year old MP Leyla Güven, who started a hunger strike on 8 November 2018, has reached a life-threatening stage. Leyla Güven, who is on the 67th day of a hunger strike, has become too weak to meet with her lawyers. Leyla has a brain tumour. She…
Open Letter to UN High Commissioner on Human Rights: Case of Ramin Hussein Panahai
By Dr Amir Sharifi: Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Palais Wilson 52 rue des Pâquis CH-1201 Geneva, Switzerland. June 29, 2018 Dear Mr. Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein: On behalf of the Kurdish human rights organizations and associations in Southern California, I express my grave concerns, disquietude and distress over…
Tribunal Rebukes Turkish President Erdogan For War Crimes Against His Own People
Permanent People’s Tribunal – Press Statement: One month before the presidential election in Turkey, an international Tribunal has issued a stinging condemnation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, charging him with war crimes against Kurds in Turkey and saying that he has been “tormenting” and “causing incalculable suffering” to the Kurdish people in Southeast Turkey….
The Massacres and Oppression of the Kurds in 20th Century Turkey
By Helin Newroz Boztosun: The 20th century was one of the most destructive eras in Kurdish history. While you may be aware of the current Kurdish-Turkish conflict, such as Turkey’s recent attacks on Afrin, Syria, most of you probably don’t know of their historical campaigns against the Kurds, and other minorities for that matter, until…
Open Letter to Boris Johnson
By Arian Mufid: The Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs King Charles St LONDON SW1A 2AH Dear Secretary of State I came across your article in the Daily Telegraph on Saturday 17 February entitled “Poor Pangolin is being butchered in the name of male virility”. I was quite…
All Democratic Forces Must Condemn Alleged Turkish State Executions – KNK
KNK Statement: We call on all democratic forces to condemn alleged state executions by the Turkish state. The actions of Turkey must not be tolerated any longer and the United Nations, European Union, Council of Europe and all those who stand for democracy must condemn the actions of Turkey in the strongest terms. In the…
Turkey’s Path from Fascism to Fascism!
By Rebwar Rashed: As a kid I was always amused by the magician’s ability that, with just a wave of the hat, he could pull a rabbit or a dove out of an empty hand. What a performance! I never quit comparing the magician’s venture to the Western Democracies’ amazing propensity to put rose-colored glasses…
Imprisoned HDP Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş and Deputies Join Prison Hunger Strikes
HDP Statement: On 31 March 2017, our co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş and MP Abdullah Zeydan, both held captive in Edirne High Security Prison, have initiated a hunger strike in solidarity with the protest actions of political prisoners across Turkey. The current wave of prison hunger strikes started in early February against systematic rights violations that took…
Chairperson of Human Rights Association (İHD) Diyarbakır Branch and Vice-Chairperson of İHD Headquarters M.Raci Bilici Must Immediately Be Released!
IHD Statement: Chairperson of the Human Rights Association (İHD) Diyarbakır Branch and Vice-Chairperson of İHD Headquarters M.Raci Bilici has been arrested this morning (March 15, 2017) and still in custody at Diyarbakır Anti-Terror Branch. By this operation, along with Raci Bilici, 11 old and new representatives of the NGOs in Diyarbakır have been arrested. According…
UK Must Oppose Erdogan’s Creeping Dictatorship
Peace in Kurdistan Campaign Statement: British Prime Minister Theresa May is embarking on an official visit to Turkey to talk about trade, defence and security with President Erdogan. There are many more urgent issues that need to be addressed not least of which is the massive crackdown and repression unleashed by Erdogan that shows little…
