Lawyers call record imprisonment for conscientious objector ‘intimidation’
'Starting from day one following his arrest Tarhan was subjected to psychological pressure and physical violence due to his being a conscientious objector and a homosexual'
A military court's decision to sentence a gay Turkish conscientious objector to a record four-year prison term is a “political sentence” and actually serves only to intimidate all conscientious objectors as well as homosexuals in Turkey, his lawyers claimed yesterday.
Mehmet Tarhan, a pacifist and gay rights activist who refused to serve his compulsory military service, was arrested in April and interned in a military prison in the central Anatolian province of Sivas.
“Starting from day one following his arrest Tarhan was subjected to psychological pressure and physical violence due to his being a conscientious objector and a homosexual,” his lawyers, Suna Coşkun and Senem Doğanoğlu, said.
Under Turkey's Constitution military service is compulsory for all males except those physically or mentally handicapped. Amnesty International earlier expressed concern that the right to conscientious objection is not legally recognized by authorities in Turkey and that provisions do not exist for an alternative civilian service for conscientious objectors.
After being arrested and imprisoned in April, Tarhan was asked to apply for a discharge from the army on the grounds that he is an openly homosexual man, but he refused to do so, calling it discrimination. In June a judge ordered his release because he had already served the minimum three-month term of imprisonment and returned to his army unit.
However, Tarhan was subsequently charged by the Turkish Military Penal Code (TACK) with Article 88, namely, “Insubordination in front of the unit,” which carries a penalty of between three months and five years' imprisonment. The court duly dealt with the original offense and the second one – Article 88 -- and sentenced Tarhan to a four-year and a two-year sentence of imprisonment to run concurrently. The defendant's lawyers announced they have appealed both sentences.
Turkey is signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights which says everyone has the right to conscientious objection; however, Turkey doesn't yet recognize the right of objection in its statutes.
Original Link: Turkish Daily News
A military court's decision to sentence a gay Turkish conscientious objector to a record four-year prison term is a “political sentence” and actually serves only to intimidate all conscientious objectors as well as homosexuals in Turkey, his lawyers claimed yesterday.
Mehmet Tarhan, a pacifist and gay rights activist who refused to serve his compulsory military service, was arrested in April and interned in a military prison in the central Anatolian province of Sivas.
“Starting from day one following his arrest Tarhan was subjected to psychological pressure and physical violence due to his being a conscientious objector and a homosexual,” his lawyers, Suna Coşkun and Senem Doğanoğlu, said.
Under Turkey's Constitution military service is compulsory for all males except those physically or mentally handicapped. Amnesty International earlier expressed concern that the right to conscientious objection is not legally recognized by authorities in Turkey and that provisions do not exist for an alternative civilian service for conscientious objectors.
After being arrested and imprisoned in April, Tarhan was asked to apply for a discharge from the army on the grounds that he is an openly homosexual man, but he refused to do so, calling it discrimination. In June a judge ordered his release because he had already served the minimum three-month term of imprisonment and returned to his army unit.
However, Tarhan was subsequently charged by the Turkish Military Penal Code (TACK) with Article 88, namely, “Insubordination in front of the unit,” which carries a penalty of between three months and five years' imprisonment. The court duly dealt with the original offense and the second one – Article 88 -- and sentenced Tarhan to a four-year and a two-year sentence of imprisonment to run concurrently. The defendant's lawyers announced they have appealed both sentences.
Turkey is signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights which says everyone has the right to conscientious objection; however, Turkey doesn't yet recognize the right of objection in its statutes.
Original Link: Turkish Daily News
