A year after the review process, the Turkish government is ignoring its pledges to the United Nations

A new report by the Maat Foundation monitors the human rights situation in Turkey during the year 2020 

Aqil: The Turkish government has cracked down on all the recommendations

Sherif Abdel Hamid: Exposed More than 1,855 people were tortured inside Turkish prisons during 2020

On the occasion of one year since the human rights file in Turkey was subject to review by the United Nations Human Rights Council, within the framework of the universal periodic review process, Maat Foundation for Peace, Development and Human Rights issued a new report entitled “One year after the review process ... the Turkish government is ignoring its pledges to the United Nations “The report deals with monitoring and documenting the human rights situation in Turkey, by focusing on the most important indicators and patterns of human rights violations committed by the Turkish authorities during the past year, as the report aims to provide a comprehensive picture of the human rights situation in Turkey.

The report indicated that Turkey underwent the review process for the third time on January 28, 2020, and received a total 321 recommendations 21 recommendations were rejected from them, while 215 recommendations were accepted and 85 other recommendations were noted. Despite this, the Turkish government did not fulfill its pledges to advance basic rights and freedoms. On the contrary, it imposed an almost complete nationalization of freedom of opinion and expression and imprisoned opponents, politicians, and opinion activists on charges related to it. With the fight against terrorism, and fair trials were not provided to them, just as this period coincided with the Turkish government showing a less approach to cooperation with international mechanisms, in addition to continuing to disavow commitment and sign international humanitarian treaties, not to mention the failure to take effective measures in terms of strengthening human rights institutions, including Contribute to a repressive environment in which perpetrators enjoy a policy of impunity.

The report was monitored at 99 points The human rights situation in Turkey has deteriorated terribly, as the Turks continued to live under the oppressive grip of the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and as such, tens of thousands of government critics, including journalists and human rights activists, are still imprisoned on politically motivated charges and under the pretext and cover of combating terrorism. The Turkish government continued its retaliatory attack on independent human rights organizations, defenders and human rights defenders, not to mention the almost daily media smear campaigns and betrayal and incitement to hatred, violence and sometimes killing that these activists face, while the Turkish security forces used excessive force on several occasions against the protesters, and often These cases go unpunished and the Turkish government continues to pursue and interrogate people for exercising their legitimate right to peaceful expression and refer them to Turkish courts.

And he said Ayman Okeil The human rights expert and head of the Maat Foundation said that the Turkish authorities have struck down all the recommendations that were presented to them before the United Nations Human Rights Council. During the past year, many legislations were issued that undermine human rights and restrict basic freedoms, in addition to the random arrest of citizens and their incommunicado detention. Without legal representation, the opposition and independent voices are surrounded, and all channels and outlets for free expression are closed, in addition to intimidating media professionals and civil society activists and arresting them because of their work. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced his desire to amend the constitution, in order to tighten his grip on what remains of the public sphere.

He added Okeil: The repressive environment of the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's regime contributed to creating a policy of intimidation against journalists and human rights activists, and this comes in conjunction with the continuing legalization of violations by issuing laws restricting freedom of opinion and expression, such as the Social Media Law, which was issued by the Turkish government in July 2020, as well as issuing a law It would eliminate civil society last December, and along the same lines, the policies of repression and oppression that the Turkish government resorted to continued without stopping and in an unprecedented way, as members of the Turkish opposition were prosecuted on false and loose charges. He explained Okeil: The Turkish government has systematically failed to prevent violence against women in Turkey, as rates of violence against them have increased in an alarming way, especially since Turkey ranks 130th out of 153 countries in the Gender Equality Index for 2020, and religious and ethnic minorities still face systematic discrimination in Turkey.

For his part, he said Sherif Abdel Hamid Director of the Research and Studies Unit at Maat Foundation that the human rights situation in Turkey has deteriorated in recent years in a way that the country has not witnessed in its modern history, as violations intensified and the perpetrators enjoyed complete impunity, and the policy of intimidation was entrenched simply for expressing an opinion or participating in the public sphere, and the state adopted crimes Torture of the right of citizens to extract confessions in a systematic manner, as more than 1,855 people were subjected to torture inside Turkish prisons during 2020, 38 of whom died. He added Slave Benign That the Turkish government has tended during the year 2020 to restrict freedom of opinion and expression, especially freedom of the press, as at least 48 journalists have been arrested on various charges, including insulting the Turkish president. Turkey ranks 154th out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index for 2020, and it also ranks second in terms of the number of journalists arrested in the world after China.

To see the report

https://maatpeace.org/ar/?p=31951