To: Foreign Minister of Greece George Papandreou
E.U. High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana
European Commissioner for External Relations Chris Patten
Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Yasar Yakis

Re: Human rights agenda for the 31 January 2003 E.U. Troika - Turkey ministerial meeting

Dear Minister,

We are writing in anticipation of the E.U.-Turkey ministerial troika meeting on Friday, 31 January 2003 in Ankara, which will be an important opportunity to evaluate Turkey's progress toward fulfilling the political criteria for E.U. accession and set the agenda for further reform in the next two years. We hope that this letter and the accompanying explanatory memorandum contribute to a productive meeting.

In the past twelve months Turkey has achieved a series of symbolically and practically important reforms. The repeal of the death penalty in the August 2002 reform package was an important and welcome contribution to the worldwide campaign for abolition of capital punishment and the European project of making the continent an execution-free zone. The same package eased restrictions on broadcasting and education in minority languages-a significant departure from the previous official policy of denying Turkey's multicultural reality. The legal reform package adopted 23 January was a further welcome step. It will ultimately grant a retrial to the four imprisoned former deputies of the Democracy Party (DEP), as well as to others who have received past judgments from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), holding that their fair trial rights were violated by the Turkish courts.

The present government has acknowledged that there is still much to do to bring the country in line with international human rights standards and the political criteria for accession. Indeed, since Turkey's first recognition as an E.U. candidate in 1999, progress in this direction has been uneven. The authorities have shown little enthusiasm for legislative reform and even less for practical implementation. This discouraging pattern has been periodically interrupted with short bursts of legislative energy as key dates in the process approach. Unfortunately, as was the case in 2002, Turkey's legislative reform has often come too late to prove its successful implementation prior to such critical moments in the accession process. Not surprisingly, therefore, successive Regular Reports on Turkey's progress toward accession have emphasized the need not only to fill in substantial gaps in legislation, but also to proceed to practical application of the new laws. In order that for Turkey to demonstrate a convincing track record of implementation by December 2004, it will be necessary to complete legislation within 2003-if possible before the 2003 Regular Report is compiled-and thus leave 2004 for demonstrating thorough implementation.

We hope that the EU, to keep this timeline and build on the momentum established in 2002, will join the Turkish goverment in setting high expectations for the coming year. The enclosed briefing surveys the areas in which continued reform is most needed. It is not an exhaustive survey of Human Rights Watch's concerns in connection with Turkey's current human rights performance, but presents priority areas for action by the government of Turkey:

Combat torture:

§ The government of Turkey should promptly pass legislation to abolish Article 31 paragraph 1 of the Law Amending Some Articles of the Criminal Procedure Code (1992, No 3842), which denies detainees held for offences under the jurisdiction of State Security Courts the right to legal counsel for the first forty-eight hours.

§ The government should fully implement the prohibition against blindfolding detainees adopted in May 2002, including by informing the police, gendarmes, and lawyers of the new rule.

§ To ensure that its new safeguards are put into practice, the Turkish government should establish systems for rigorous monitoring of police stations and gendarmeries, including by independent councils including members of the public. Police officers and gendarmes must be sharply disciplined and/or prosecuted whenever they deny detainees access to legal counsel; induce detainees to sign away their right to see a lawyer; fail to inform detainees of their rights; interfere with medical examinations; fail to inform relatives when people are detained; fail to register detainees on arrival; or fail to take detained children directly to the prosecutor as regulations require.

Halt the harassment and obstruction of civil society, including human rights defenders:

§ The Turkish government should Reform the Law on Associations to eliminate cumbersome and restrictive provisions imposed on civil society, including obligations to inform local governors of organizations' membership, publications, and meetings, backed up by severe penalties for breach of these obligations.

§ The sentences imposed on Kiraz Biçici, Alp Ayan, and Mehmet Barindik should be quashed and all charges against human rights defenders for their non-violent expression should be dropped.

Guarantee and enforce the rights of freedom of expression, conscience, and association:

§ The Turkish Criminal Code and other laws and regulations still contain hundreds of provisions that threaten citizens with imprisonment for the expression of their non-violent opinions, or inhibit their rights of freedom of expression and association. The new government should work together with bar associations and other interested parties to prepare comprehensive revision of the law in accordance with the European Human Rights Convention.

§ Even prior to any legal reform, the courts should immediately fulfill their responsibility to adhere to the principles of the European Convention on Human Rights and the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights in their judgments relating to the non-violent expression of opinion. Existing training in the convention should be maintained and extended, but leadership in implementation is needed from prominent Turkish jurists.

§ The Turkish government should lift all discriminatory restrictions on the broadcasting and teaching of minority languages, as required by the Accession Partnership, which requires the removal of "any provisions forbidding the use by Turkish citizens of their mother tongue in TV/radio broadcasting."

§ The Turkish government should lift the ban on the wearing of headscarves or other religious head-covering by students, and lift any dress restrictions on civil servants which are not required to permit them properly to perform their duties.

Develop a comprehensive plan for return of the displaced in accordance with international standards:

§ The new Turkish government should begin the process of developing a comprehensive and effective return program in accordance with international standards. Specifically, it should host a forum on return involving representatives of the internally displaced themselves, as well as concerned nongovernmental organizations and relevant international organizations, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Development Program, the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Internal Displacement, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the World Bank, and relevant bilateral donor agencies. The forum should propose a return program that will ensure that internally displaced persons can return to their homes in safety and dignity and can resume their livelihoods. Any return program should be consistent with the U.N. Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement and respect the rights of internally displaced persons.

Improve prison conditions in F-type prisons:

§ The government should implement the program of out-of-cell activities and weekly association periods throughout F-type prisons in a way that will give prisoners genuine relief from the difficult circumstances imposed by the architecture of these facilities.

§ The Turkish government should build public confidence and improve the effectiveness of Prison Monitoring Councils that visit F-type prisons by making their reports public.

§ Visits by family and legal counsel to Abdullah Öcalan at the prison at Imrali should be promptly resumed.

Guarantee the rights of refugees:

§ As it committed to do in its 2001 National Plan for Accession to the E.U., the government should lift its geographical restriction on the application of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.

§ The government should uphold the principle of non-refoulement and should establish without delay an independent advisory committee, composed of independent experts, representatives of UNHCR, and relevant non-governmental organizations, in order comprehensively to review refugee protection in Turkey and make recommendations on how the government could better discharge its international obligations toward refugees. Particular urgency should be given to amendments to asylum laws and refugee status determination procedures in order to ensure that they do not result in refoulement, and to training of border guards and police on the subject of refugee protection.

§ The Turkish government should make clear its commitment to open its borders and protect refugees in the event of war in Iraq.

Guarantee the right of conscientious objection:

§ The Turkish government should abolish article 155 of the Turkish Criminal Code, which imposes up to two years' imprisonment for "undermining the institution of military service."

§ The Turkish government should establish an option for alternative civilian service, which is not of punitive length, for conscientious objectors.

We thank you for your attention to our concerns and look forward to news of a thorough and detailed plan for further reforms in Turkey during 2003.

Yours sincerely,