Newsletter of the Truth Justice and Memory Center
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HURŞİT KÜLTER IS ALIVE!
Human rights organisations in Turkey have learned that Hurşit Külter, who has been missing without any information as to his whereabouts for 134 days, is alive, following his statement on October 7, 2016.

During his absence, appeals that have been made to the Governor of Şırnak, the Prosecutor’s Office at Şırnak and Şırnak City Police Department have remained futile, as his detention was denied despite witness accounts of his detention.

On June 23, it was announced that Ministry of Interior appointed a civil inspector to carry out an investigation about Hurşit Külter’s whereabouts, the findings of which have yet to be shared with the public.

Against this backdrop, reasons were not few for human rights organisations in Turkey – a country in which enforced disappearances and arbitrary executions have remained unrecognized and unaccounted for – to have grave concerns about the whereabouts of Hurşit Külter.

We are happy to learn that Hurşit Külter is alive.

We also abide by our demand and expectation for a full explanation as to Hurşit Külter’s disappearance, during which he alleged that he was detained and tortured.

Click here to read this statement from our website.
SUMMER SCHOOL ON HISTORICAL DIALOGUE AND DEALING WITH THE PAST
This year’s Summer School on Historical Dialogue and Dealing with the Past took place in Istanbul on June 13-18, 2016. Participants of the training were civil society professionals working in Middle East, North Africa and Caucasus on themes related to historical dialogue and dealing with the past.For the last 2 years, Truth Justice Memory Center (Hafiza Merkezi) has been implementing annual training and workshop activities within the framework of theRegional Network for Historical Dialogue and Dealing with the Past, a regional network initiative whose objective is to bring together civil society initiatives from across the MENA and Caucasus. Hafiza Merkezi has been implementing the network initiative in partnership with Columbia University’s Historical Dialogue and Accountability Program and Columbia Global Centers | İstanbul.

Extensive summaries and video recordings of the course presentations are available from our website.
COURSE LIST
CASE MONITING WEBSITE IS IN ENGLISH NOW!
Faili Belli (Perpetrator Not-Unknown) – a monitoring website devoted to cases with symbolic importance in coming to terms with gross human rights violations in recent history of Turkey – is now available in English. Currently, in line with Hafiza Merkezi‘sworking area, the website primarily focuses on cases related to enforced disappearances, functioning as an online platform where fact-based, up-to-date information on each of the monitored cases, as well as various related analytical articles, source documents and tools of legal intervention are available for the access of not only lawyers, but also journalists, researchers and other interested parties.

Enforced Disappearances and the Conduct of Judiciary

Hafiza Merkezi has been documenting legal data, which currently pertains to a total of 310 forcibly disappeared people. The analysis reveals that the complaints are specifically about five groups of government officials and/or paramilitary forces; primarily JİTEM(Gendarmerie Intelligence Organization), and also MİT (National Intelligence Organization), the Special Forces Command and police officers, informants andvillage guards affiliated with them. Analysis also reveal that the investigating prosecutors’ offices, in breach of the law, implemented very few or none of the procedures and mechanisms provided in criminal procedures and disregarded the rights of the victims. Some striking facts and figures indicating the systematic policy of impunity with regards to these cases are as follows:

  • Average time elapsed for investigations since the crime to present day is 19 years and 9 months,
  • Investigations are still ongoing and are protracted regarding files concerning 202 of the total 310 people (%xpercent),
  • Files concerning 25 people (%x) resulted in verdicts of non-prosecution (9 due to statute of limitation, 16 due to lack of evidence and other reasons),
  • 14 criminal cases have been filed concerning enforced disappearance of 83people.

Of the opened 14 cases regarding 83 people,
  • 7 cases pertaining to the disappearance of 34 people resulted in decisions of acquittal, 
  • 5 cases concerning the enforced disappearance of 47 people are currently ongoing.
  • Unfortunately, only 2 cases concerning 2 people resulted in conviction.
Click here to read a more detailed analysis on the conduct of judiciary on cases of enforced disappearances in Turkey. 
Update | August 16, 2016

We have updated our interactive visualizations regarding the civilians who lost their lives throughout the curfews in South East Turkey, based on the recent updating of the fact sheet produced by Human Rights Foundation of Turkey. The data presented have not been verified through forensic data and field work, that is due to both practical limitations and various forms of violations of the right to information (as explained here).The list is an ongoing work prepared by the obtained information as of 16 August 2016, which is open to changes with more access to confirmed data.

Click here to access to the updated data.
Reports on curfews 

In the Resources page of our website, we have opened a new section where we bring together published reports in relation to the curfews implemented in South East Turkey. In this section, you will find a wide range of reports drawn up by rights groups in Turkey on the human rights violations that took place as part of the curfews implemented in Kurdish cities from August 16, 2015 until today.

Click here for the reports.
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Copyright © 2015 Hakikat Adalet Hafıza Çalışmaları Merkezi
Newsletter of the Hafıza Merkezi

Who is Hafıza Merkezi?
Hafıza Merkezi (Truth Justice Memory Studies Center) is an independent human rights organization based in Istanbul, Turkey that aims to uncover the truth concerning past violations of human rights, strengthen the collective memory about those violations, and support survivors in their pursuit of justice.

Author: Impunity Watch Archive