Turkey’s Anti-Terrorism Law: Protecting the Republic or Violating Children’s
Rights?
Battle between Turks and Kurds
Since the 1970’s, Kurdish revolutionists have been fighting for their independence in the areas
of Turkey where ethnic Kurds form a majority. 1 This civil unrest has erupted into an unyielding
war between the Turks and Kurds over the desire for an independent Kurdistan on Turkey’s
eastern border.2 In the past few years, due to the resurgence of violence headed by the
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a terrorist organization, the state of affairs has escalated
dramatically. During the period between November 2005 and June 2006, there were 774
terrorist attacks reported, which led to 44 military and 13 civilian casualties. 3 Thus, the Justice
and Development Party of Turkey amended their Anti-Terrorism Law in 2006, delineating a
broadly formulated and vague definition of terrorism and a wide range of crimes to be counted
as terrorist offences. 4
Specifically, the Anti-Terrorism Law defines terrorism as any kind of act aimed at ”[W]eakening
or seizing the authority of the State, eliminating fundamental rights and freedoms, or damaging
the internal and external security of the State, public order or general health by means of
pressure, force and violence, terror, intimidation, oppression or threat.” 5 Over 50 offences
listed in the Turkish Penal Code count as terrorist acts, including human trafficking, creating
propaganda for a terrorist organization, undertaking hunger strikes, and participating in
activities that alienate people from military service.6 Even if these various crimes do not by their
nature contain coercion, violence or threats, in cases where they are committed in the context
of a terrorist organization’s activity, they will be counted as terrorist offences. Thus, merely
participating in an event by the PKK results in charges of membership to a terrorist
organization and is punishable with an aggravated sentence. 7
Not only is the Anti-Terrorism Law too expansive, but it also allows children between ages 13
and 17 to be tried as adults for charges defined in that law.8 According to the Human Rights
Association Adana Branch (IHD), Turkey’s justice system has a history of targeting its youngest
population, starting with public punishment, such as physically breaking their arms, to
prosecution and incarceration of children for up to 20 years, depending on the severity of the
1 David
Warren, Turks and Kurds, Real Clear Politics, Nov. 4, 2007,
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/11/turks_and_kurds.html.
2
Kate Schwartz, Turks and Kurds , Newser, Feb. 29, 2008, http://www.newser.com/thread/131/1/turks-kurds.html.
3
Yonah Alexander et. al, Turkey: Terrorism, Civil Rights and the European Union 734 (Routledge 2008).
4
Children Being Jailed Under Anti-Terror Laws, International Freedom of Expression Exchange, Mar. 4, 2009,
http://ifex.org/turkey/2009/03/04/children_being_jailed_under_anti/.
5
Amnesty International, Turkey: Briefing on the Wide-Ranging, Arbitrary and Restrictive Draft Versions to the Law
to Fight Terrorism (2006),
www.proasyl.de/fileadmin/proasyl/fm_redakteure/Newsletter_Anhaenge/116/LawtoFightTerrorism.doc.
6
Id.
7
Id.
8
See Children Being Jailed Under Anti-Terror Laws, supra note 4.
charges made by the state.9 Since 2006, a total of 737 children have been tried under the AntiTerrorism Law and 198 children are in prison.10 There is no differential treatment for these
children; the law treats both adults and children the same.
Uproar from Activists
The new law has prompted several human rights organizations to take a stand. The Justice for
Children Initiative is demanding the release of dozens of children that have been arrested for
taking part in protests, arguing that the Anti-Terrorism Law is incompatible with Turkey’s
obligations arising from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Turkish
Constitution and the Law on the Protection of Children.11 The UN Convention on the Rights of
the Child states that it is a clear violation to have prison sentences of 20 years for ages 13 to
17. 12 Thus, by imposing prison sentences of 20 or more years through the amended AntiTerrorism Law, Turkey is not only treating their children as adults but concurrently violating
international conventions as well.
Activists also argue there is a lack of proportionality that comes with punishing a child with
extensive prison sentences. Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu, Chairman of the Association of Human
Rights and Solidarity for Oppressed Peoples, says that, “An individual may commit a crime, but
what is important is to impose a proportional punishment so that he is deterred and refrains
from committing any other crimes in the future. However, asking for very long prison terms for
individuals whom we can describe as children is unjust.”13 Many human rights organizations
agree that putting children in prison should only be a last resort. They argue that it is impossible
to understand a terrorist organization and its aims at such a young age; to say these children
have committed the crimes under orders of an organization is senseless and in no way a means
of adequate deterrence.
Furthermore, they argue that punishing minors with long prison terms serves no purpose other
than escalating terror in the country. Emma Sinclair-Webb, a Turkey researcher for the New
York based watchdog group Human Rights Watch says, “It’s a hardening process for children
and psychologically very damaging. If you go in as a child who was just throwing stones, you may
come out as a full-fledged militant.”14 One teenager, imprisoned for 13 months and now out on
bail while he awaits trial and a possible seven year prison sentence, said he became more aware:
“The things I learned in prison about myself, about the Kurds, about the PKK, it was like an
awakening.”15 After learning about the PKK principles in prison, he joined their party upon his
9
Children Crowded Jails Under Turkey’s Anti-Terrorism Laws, Now Public, Mar. 9, 2009,
http://www.nowpublic.com/world/children-crowded-jails-under-turkeys-anti-terrorism-laws.
10
Children Being Jailed Under Anti- Terror Laws, supra note 4.
11
Id.
12
Turkey: Campaign Against Children on Trial, ENOC, April 16, 2009,
http://www.ombudsnet.org/enoc/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=20056.
13
Betül Akkaya Demirbaş
, Demand for Long Prison Terms for Minors Draws Ire from Civil Society, Today’s Zaman,
Feb. 18, 2009, http://www.mazlumder.org/ing/haber_detay.asp?haberID=2.
14
Yigal Schleifer, In Turkey, Hundreds of Minors Imprisoned on Terrorism Charges, The Christian Science Monitor,
May 26, 2009, http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0526/p06s01-wome.html.
15
Id.
release, illustrating that Turkey’s extensive prison sentences fail to deter children from
terrorism and actually serve as an avenue for them to partake in it.
Constitutional Violations
In addition to mercilessly punishing children, the controversial Anti-Terrorism Law violates the
Turkish Constitution. The law is in violation of a ban on touching the essence of rights and
freedoms described under Article 13 of the Constitution, which guarantees for any limitations
on freedoms to be in accordance with the Constitution itself and the needs of democratic
order and a secular republic.16 In addition, Article 26 of the Constitution, which secures the
freedom of expression, and Article 90, which says that international conventions signed by
Turkey have to be a priority, are both being violated in practice. 17
Professor Ibrahim Kaboglu, the former head of Turkey’s Prime Ministry Human Rights Advisory
Board, agrees. “I’m worried about thought being punished. My worry is that in the name of
preventing terror, opinion will be punished, and that the press, intellectuals and journalists who
express their views by using mass communications will be placed under pressure.”18 Under this
law, any child or adult who expresses their opinion or organizes a demonstration can be put on
trial for a terrorism offence. 19 The law abolishes the rights of persons, intellectuals and
institutions to share their contradictory views with the public. Thus, the obvious inconsistencies
between the Anti-Terrorism Law and Turkish Constitution are not only skewing children’s
beliefs on their inherent fundamental rights, but also forcing many of them to stay silent in a
country that claims to promote free speech.
Horror Hits Home
Several stories from around Turkey have instigated a cry for relief. Hebun Akkaya, a 16-yearold boy who spent 10 months behind bars for allegedly throwing stones at police and protesting
against the state, never thought he could go to prison for simply throwing a rock.20 Akkaya
attests, “I become really angry when I think that just for throwing a stone they were asking to
put me away for 28 years. It’s unjust.”21 After his release, his school principal would not let him
back into school, claiming that their classes are not for “criminals.” Moreover, 15 members of a
children’s choir were interrogated and subsequently charged by prosecutors for spreading
separatist propaganda under Article 7/2 of the Turkish Anti- Terrorism Law.22 The choir was
singing an old Kurdish song during their participation in the World Music Festival in San
Francisco in October 2007.23 The children, whose ages range from 12 to 16 years old, were
16
Desmond Fernandes, A Step Backwards: The Effects of the New Anti-Terror Law on Fundamental Rights and
Freedoms, Opror, Feb. 4, 2007, http://www.opror.net/article.php3?id_article=45.
17
Id.
18
Id.
19
See id.
20
Schleifer, supra note 14.
21
Id.
22
Children Crowded Jails Under Turkey’s Anti-Terrorism Laws, supra note 9.
23
Id.
indicted in two separate trials in 2008, and three of them are currently serving their five-year
sentences.24
Unfortunately, many other Turkish children face jail time without sufficient evidence; purported
participation in a demonstration or simply a set of marbles found on one’s body is shockingly
enough.25 Recently, four children were arrested for taking part in protests purely on the
statements of police officers, without any further proof. 26 The three judges refused a demand
for the release of the children and the court sent an indictment to their school in order to
support a disciplinary investigation into their behavior.27 Even without concrete proof, these
children face devastating collateral consequences because of a crime that they may have not
even committed.
A Dismal Future
Since the law was amended, 1,572 children have been prosecuted under Turkey’s AntiTerrorism Law. Even though it is not official, many lawyers say these amendments were made
to curb the mobilization of Kurdish children against the state and prevent them from joining the
banned Kurdish Worker’s Party.28 Nevertheless, according to human rights campaigner
Neslihan Akbalut, the harsh measures are having the opposite effect: “From the families of
children, I have heard that there are some children who are considering going to the mountains
to be in terrorist organizations.”29
An ongoing concern is resonating among the Turkish intellectual community that children are
being incarcerated for charges as little as carrying marbles to manufactured charges by the
police. As of today, they have joined forces to petition the Turkish government to release the
children and urge courts to respect the principles of the juvenile justice system.30 To date, the
Turkish authority has neither responded to the petition nor released any incarcerated children.
Unfortunately, it seems that change is nowhere on the horizon while injurious collateral
consequences loom ahead.
24
Id.
Anti- Terrorism Laws in Turkey, Kurdistan Commentary, May 31, 2009,
http://kurdistancommentary.wordpress.com/2009/05/31/anti-terrorism-laws-in-turkey/.
26
Erhan Ustundag, State Disciplines Kurdish Children in Prison, Bianet, April 23, 2009,
http://bianet.org/english/minorities/115044-state-disciplines-kurdish-children-in-prison.
27
Id.
28
Turkish Teenagers Locked in 30-year Civil War, Russia Today, May 25, 2009,
http://www.russiatoday.com/Top_News/2009-05-25/Turkish_teenagers_locked_in_30-year_civil_war/?fullstory.
29
Id.
30
Children Crowded Jails Under Turkey’s Anti-Terrorism Laws, supra note 9.
25