What is in the ‘Human Rights Report’ that Ankara has criticized?

Department of State, United States of America (USA) published ‘Türkiye 2023 Human Rights Report’nude ‘full of unfounded claims, untrue information and biased comments’ found it.

So, what is the Human Rights Report published by the USA and what issues regarding Turkey are mentioned in the report?

The Human Rights Report covers internationally recognized individual, civil, political and labor rights as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international agreements.

The U.S. State Department annually reports to the U.S. Congress on all countries receiving assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Trade Act of 1974 and all member states of the United Nations.

In the Türkiye 2023 Human Rights Report published on April 22, findings especially regarding the independence of the judiciary came to the fore:

• Restrictions on freedom of assembly, association and expression before the presidential and parliamentary elections in May created an unequal field and gave the government an unfair advantage.
• Although the law provides for an independent judiciary, the judiciary is still under the influence of the executive branch. The executive branch has strong influence over the Council of Judges and Prosecutors, the judicial body that appoints judges and prosecutors to the courts. The judiciary faces various problems that limit its independence, such as intimidation and reassignment of judges.
• Two decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ordering the release of Osman Kavala were disregarded.
• It was opened about Ekrem İmamoğlu and Canan Kaftancıoğlu with political motives.
• On August 25, the Council of Judges and Prosecutors decided that Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu ‘He insulted the members of the Supreme Electoral Council’ He dismissed the chairman and one member of the three-judge appeal panel tasked with hearing the appeal of the sentence he received on the grounds that
• In some politically sensitive cases, judges limited access to Turkish lawyers only, limiting the ability of local or international groups to observe the hearings.
• NGOs and human rights activists argue that the anti-terrorism law ‘terrorism’ It is of the opinion that the concept allows for an overly broad interpretation, which leads to arbitrary prosecution of journalists and activists.
• On October 25, the Constitutional Court (AYM) ruled that Can Atalay ‘right to vote and to be elected’ And ‘‘right to liberty and security of person’It was decided that he had been violated and should be released from prison. But Atalay is still in prison.
• Trustees were appointed to municipalities in Kurdish provinces.
• Former HDP co-chairs Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ are still in prison.
• Suspects belonging to the Fethullah Gülen movement have been subjected to murder, kidnapping or other forms of violence in other countries.

The report also includes enforced disappearances, torture, arbitrary arrest or detention, violence against journalists, threats, unjust arrest and trial, censorship, restrictions on freedom of expression, media and internet, interventions on freedom of peaceful assembly and association, including laws restricting NGOs, femicide and LGBTI individuals. It was noted that widespread gender-based violence, including crimes involving threats of violence against national or ethnic groups such as refugees and Kurdish minorities, continued.

Ankara ignored

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to the report with a written statement. The explanation in brief is as follows:

• The report is full of unfounded claims, untrue information and biased comments.
• It was prepared on the basis of allegations of unknown origin and discourses of circles affiliated with terrorist organizations.
• Our country remains committed to the principles of democracy, human rights and the rule of law, despite the multifaceted and severe terrorist threats it faces.
• It is impossible to understand the USA’s insistence on inconsistent claims that distort the facts, as an ally who knows well the scope of its rightful and legitimate fight against all forms of terrorism.
• We reiterate our call for the United States to focus on its own record on human rights and to end its partnerships with terrorist organizations and its double-standard policy on human rights.