ANKARA, TURKEY
The Human Rights Association ‘HRA’ shared a report titled “Hate Crimes in Turkey and Report on most recent racist attacks” with the public. In their report, the Human Rights Association Headquarters announced that 280 racist attacks took place in Turkey in the last 10 years and that 47 cemeteries were destroyed on racist grounds.
In the report, it was noted that serious legal loopholes are being created due to the absence of comprehensive legal regulations on hate crimes. The HRA emphasised that the most recent increase in the number of attacks against ethnic groups such as Syrian refugees and Kurdish seasonal workers, is being stimulated due to the environment of impunity which surrounds such crimes.
280 ATTACKS IN 10 YEARS
The Human Rights Association noted that in 2019 alone one person died as a result of racist attacks, 5 people died as a result of attacks against LGBTs, and 27 people were injured as a result of hate attacks.
Since 2010, there have been 280 racist attacks and 15 people were killed while 1,97 people were injured in the hate attacks over the past ten years.
The HRA also referred to the racist attacks against tombstones and cemeteries, sharing that a total of 47 attacks had taken place. The association pointed out that impunity is being operated as a state policy, referencing that a Turkish expert sergeant, Musa Orhan, raped a Kurdish woman, İpek Er, and was released despite the fact that the victim had committed suicide.
The attacks carried out in 2020 were documented in the report are as follows:
- Hafizullah, a 19-year-old Afghan who came to Turkey hoping to earn money and study, was stabbed to death on May 30, 2020 in Istanbul’s Umraniye district where he was collecting paper.
- Barış Çakan from Ağrı Patnos (20) was stabbed in the heart for listening to Kurdish music on May 31, 2020, in the Alsancak neighborhood of Etimesgut district of Ankara, at 22.30 in the evening.
- Taha B. attacked his neighbours, a Syrian refugee family (the Yusuf family), with a gun in the Uzunkavak neighborhood of Hatay’s Reyhanlı district on June 7, 2020. Halid Yusuf, (2-year-old), who was injured in the attack, died on June 9, 2020, and Yusuf’s grandfather Muhammed Yusuf was also seriously injured in the attack.
- Mehmet Nuri Deniz was battered by the officers of Şişli District Governorship in Istanbul, where he had travelled to receive social assistance support on June 12, 2020. He faced racist and discriminatory discourses because he was a Kurd.
- It was learned that Osman Inan, who works in a recycling business in Giresun, was attacked by a group of 50-60 people on June 14, 2020, because he shared the photo of Selahattin Demirtaş.
- Syrian citizen Hamza Acan (17) was injured when he was hit with a rock in his head during an argument, because he warned a group who verbally attacked a Syrian woman. It was learned that Hamza Acan, who was taken to the hospital, died due to a cerebral haemorrhage.
- Kurdish forestry workers in Bazlamaç and Kayalar villages in Çekerek district of Yozgat were attacked on 21 July 2020.
- On July 30, 2020, on July 26, 2020, 5 Syrian students attending a preparation course for the Foreign Education Exam in the Kırıkhan district of Hatay were attacked by a group of racists who threatened them saying, “You will either go from this country or we will kill you.”
- A Syrian refugee named Muhammed Saeed (19) was attacked by a group of racist on 26 July 2020 in Istanbul’s Küçükçekmece district.
- An unidentified person first verbally attacked 6 Syrian citizens in the Zeytinburnu district of Istanbul, and then opened fire at them with a gun on 17 August 2020. IA Syrian citizen named Abdulkadir Davud (21) died as a result of the shots.
- Construction workers working in Afyon’s Dinar district were attacked by a person named Ömer A. on September 13, 2020. It was reported that a worker named Özkan Tokay died and 2 workers (Fırat T. and Emrah Ö.) were injured in the attack.
- On September 14, 2020, a Syrian citizen named Eymenh Hammami (16) living in Samsun was killed in a racist attack.
- On September 14, 2020, Çetin Doğan, who served in the 54th Mechanized Infantry Brigade Command in Edirne, was subjected to racist attack by a group of soldiers on August 15, 2020.
Amendments
The HRA also listed their proposals for amendments in the report as follows:
- Ethnic affiliation, gender identity and sexual orientation should be included in the definition for ‘discrimination’ in hate crimes.
- Turkey signed the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) protocol for regulating the prohibition of discrimination on 18 April 2001, but has not yet ratified it in parliament. HRA is of the opinion that this protocol should be approved and implemented by the parliament as soon as possible.
- HRA believes that Turkish Criminal Law should be harmonized with No. 7 of the General Policy Recommendation (GPR) on Racism and Discrimination Based on Racism by the European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI).
- Reasons such as ethnic group affiliation, sexual orientation and sexual identity, all kinds of beliefs or disbeliefs and age should also be included in the 10th article of the Constitution regulating the principle of “Equality Before Law”.
- Hate crimes in the TCK should be rearranged.
- The policy of impunity for those who use hate speech should be ended and negative attitudes towards victims of hate crimes should be avoided. The policy of impunity must be fought and the culture of negativeness among the judiciary must come to an end.
- Some means should be used to eliminate hate speech. These should be evaluated in a wide range from raising awareness and self-regulation to legal practice.
- HRA believes that officials and political leaders at all levels should avoid hate speech. We believe that an end to discriminatory, alienating, polarizing language will end hate crimes in Turkey. Because this situation has negative effects on nationalist and racist groups and these effects turn into attacks.
- It is of the opinion that law enforcement and prosecution personnel should cooperate with victims and establish a trustworthy communication in the reporting, investigation and punishment of racist and homophobic / transphobic crimes. For this purpose, regular training should be given to law enforcement and prosecution staff. “
