One Child Dead, His Friends in Prison – Justice?

Malik Ecder Özdemir, MP for the Republican People’s Party (CHP) visited around 20 children aged 14-17 who have been detained in a cell in Diyarbakır prison for around a year.

Violation of children's rights

The MP told bianet that the children are being held in bad conditions and that their basic rights are being violated.

The children are being accused of membership in a terrorist organisation and other crimes.

Boy killed in Cizre

On last year’s anniversary of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan’s arrest in February 1999, police and demonstrators clashed in several provinces and dozens of people were arrested. A fifteen-year old boy, Yahya Menekşe, was run over by a tank in Cizre, a district of the southeastern Kurdish-majority province of Şırnak.

During protests at his funeral, the police again arrested dozens of people. Around 40 children who had attended the funeral were put on trial.

Initially prosecution of police not allowed

Meanwhile, in October 2008, the Cizre District Administration (Kaymakamlık) refused permission for an investigation into the police officers suspected of involvement in the death of Menekşe.

Rojhat Dilsiz, lawyer for the Menekşe family, told bianet that they have appealed against this refusal at the administrative court and that their appeal has been accepted. The lawyer announced that seven police officers would be put on trial, accused of causing a death through negligence.

The court case is expected to start in April.

Cut off from families, no education

MP Özdemir summarised the conditions of the children in prison thus:

“There are 20 children staying in a cell made for 5-6 people. They have been separated from their families and their education has been interrupted. They have been taken to court 2 to 3 imes, their statements have been taken, their identities were verified, and then they were sent back to prison. As this trial is taking so long, it is difficult for these children to believe in justice.”

The MP demanded an immediate end to the prosecution of the children:

“Their psychological condition is precarious; they seem remorseful. They said, ‘We only wanted to take our friend’s body; we did not know this would be punished as severely.’”

Human rights committee

Özdemir visited the prison together with MPs from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), Murat Yıldırım, Fatih Arıkan and Mithat Ekici. They are part of the Prisons Sub-Committee of the Parliamentary Human Rights Investigation Commission. The committee works towards preventing torture, maltreatment and violence and prisons and will write a report on its findings.

Dozens of children in prison

Currently dozens of children in Diyarbakır, Adana and other provinces are being tried not in children’s courts but in Special Authority Heavy Penal Courts. They stand accused of membership in an terrorist organisation after taking part in protests against alleged maltreatment of Abdullah Öcalan in prison, or protests at the visit of Prime Minister Erdoğan to the city.

Following a change in the Anti-Terrorism Law in 2006, 15- to 18-year-olds can now be tried in such courts.

Recently, two children in Adana were sentenced to 21 years imprisonment after taking part in pro-Kurdish Newroz events in Gaziantep.

The Initiative for Justice for Children has been following these cases. Its members have called for an immediate release of the children, for a change to laws to make this release possible, and for rehabilitation programmes for these children, who, so the Initiative, have experienced violations of numerous rights. (EÜ/AG)