Preventing aid deliveries, detaining journalists: Rights group documents violations after quakes

Photo: AA

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

The Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV/HRFT) has released a report compiling incidents of rights violence in the regions hit by the massive earthquakes on February 6.

The report is based on news reports and statements from professional and human rights organizations.

By declaring a three-month state of emergency in the 10 provinces affected by the quakes, the government "is trying to hide the crisis," the TİHV said in a statement. "The declaration of the state of emergency is a blow to the citizens' efforts to overcome the crisis by solidarity."

Some highlights from the report:

Aid collection

The authorities hindered citizens, NGOs, political parties and municipalities that collected aid materials for earthquake survivors at least 20 times. In seven cases, the collected materials were seized.

One person was injured in an armed attack targeting efforts to collect aid.

The authorities seized 100 aid trucks sent by the Future (Gelecek) Party and 1,500 tents, 10 trucks, 30 containers and 120 power generators sent by the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP).

Journalists

At least 22 journalists working in the quake-hit region faced intervention, 11 from law enforcement officers and 11 from civilians. At least one journalist was injured and four were detained. One foreign journalist was not allowed to enter Türkiye.

Ill-treatment

Seventeen people were subjected to torture and ill-treatment in nine separate cases. One of them died and 10 were injured. The perpetrators were police officers in four cases and gendarmerie officers in three cases.

Three prisoners died and nine others were injured during law enforcement forces' intervention in prison riots after the quakes.

One person was killed after torture in detention.

Eighty-one children who were left without care after the quakes could not be identified.

Freedom of expression

Legal action was taken against 575 people over their social media posts about the quakes. Some 141 of them were detained and 27 were arrested.

The Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) imposed fines on Halk TV, TELE1 and Fox Tv over earthquake coverage.

Law enforcement forces prevented 10 peaceful demonstrations against universities' switch to online education in order to resettle earthquake survivors in dormitories. During these events, 246 people were subjected to maltreatment and detained.

The earthquakes

On February 6, two earthquakes with a magnitude of 7.7 and 7.6 struck the southern city of Maraş. The first quake in the Pazarcık district at 4.17 a.m. was followed by the second one in Elbistan about nine hours later.

The quakes affected 11 cities in Türkiye's south and southeast, as well as Syria's northern parts, where over 5,000 people were killed.

The official death toll from the quakes stands at over 45,000 and is expected to increase further, as over 160,000 buildings were destroyed or severely damaged, according to government figures.

Nearly two million people have been displaced due to the earthquakes.

(AS/VK)