TORTURE DEATH DIVIDES PARTIES
Hurriyet
Dec 4 2008
Turkey
ANKARA – Parliament discussed the human rights situation in Turkey
yesterday, while a parliamentary commission unanimously adopted a
report on the death of Engin Ceber by torture that saw a spat of
words pass between parties.
During the meeting, a discussion took place between Mehmet Ekinci
of the Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, and Akın Birdal of the
pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party, or DTP.
Ekici said there was an instruction from the outlawed Revolutionary
Left, or Dev-Sol, organization that urged resistance to the police
and said the swelling on Ceber’s head while in custody could have
been caused by such resistance.
"All of these cases must be investigated and reports must be written
objectively," he said, and added individuals had responsibilities
to the state just as the state was in charge of torture and ill
treatment cases.
"In the Engin Ceber case there was both an active part and another
part, in which he was subjected to ill treatment. These two parts
should be separated from one another and clearly explained in the
report," he said.
His remarks drew criticism from Birdal who said torture was a crime
against humanity in international human rights and humanitarian law. He
said an individual who was detained during a peaceful demonstration
had the right to resist. "Human rights law comes out of the legitimacy
of the right to resistance. Therefore, torture is a crime against
humanity. This crime can in no way be defended."
Zafer Uskul, head of Parliament’s Human Rights Commission, said the
state had the right to self-protection. "And therefore, the state
will protect its self-legitimacy," he added.
State accepts responsibility Ceber died from injuries he received at
the Metris Prison in Istanbul. In the first public statement of its
kind, Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Å~^ahin accepted state responsibility
in the case.
Meanwhile, Uskul will participate in an international conference in
the Armenian capital of Yerevan bringing together ombudsmen from
the Council of Europe and Central Asian countries May. 25 to 26,
2009. the MHP’s Ekici criticized the visit to Armenia.
–Boundary_(ID_yRFjaPx0uUEv6oktM/feQQ)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
