352 children taken into custody, 116 remanded in custody in 4 months
352 children taken into custody, 116 remanded in custody in 4 months
The Human Rights Association (ÝHD) Diyarbakýr Branch has published a new report on the number of children who have been taken into custody and arrested in the first four months of the year.
The figures are shocking. According to the report, 352 children were taken into custody, while 116 of them were then remanded in custody. In the same period last year, the number of children taken into custody had been of 286 while those subsequently arrested had been 95.
In the last 16 months the number of children taken into custody rose to 638 while the children arrested have been 211.
IHD Diyarbakýr Branch Secretary Raci Bilici accused the government, which changed the Anti-Terrorism Law in 2006, of allowing these children to be tried as if they were adults.
Lawyer Keziban Yýlmaz also criticized the law, saying that: “these children were arrested for having taken part in a demonstration, having thrown stones, having chanted slogans or having shown victory signs. All of which was considered enough evidence for the court to punish them for being members of an illegal organizations. Some of the sentences given for such crimes are even longer than their age. The latest changes made to the Law on June 22, 2010, did not help to solve this problem. There is a law currently in effect allowing courts to punish children as if they were adults. We need to change it to save our children.”
At the same time of the ÝHD’s Diyarbakýr press conference to denounce the trial against children, a child was remanded in custody together with seven adults for “producing propaganda for an illegal organization". They had been detained with 12 others following police’s house raids in Urfa and Cizre, two days ago.
Meanwhile the military operation in Diyarbakýr’s district Lice continue, while the people in Adana held a protest against military operations. Police attacked the crowd and injured five demonstrators.
Furthermore it has been reported that a police allegedly threatened Musa Kurt, who denounced being harassed by the police during a house raids in Hakkari. Kurt said he has been threatened to withdraw his complaint. Kurt filed one more complaint and also applied to the IHD Hakkari Branch.
Finally, 48 detainees, mostly college students, in Ýstanbul appeared in court for their first hearing. Police had arrested them two days ago accusing them of having taken part to the meeting held by the independent candidates running in the upcoming parliament election, to protest against ongoing military operations in which 10 Kurdish guerrillas lost their life. The police had arrested 20 of them while they were already on the bus ready to go to the meeting.
The figures are shocking. According to the report, 352 children were taken into custody, while 116 of them were then remanded in custody. In the same period last year, the number of children taken into custody had been of 286 while those subsequently arrested had been 95.
In the last 16 months the number of children taken into custody rose to 638 while the children arrested have been 211.
IHD Diyarbakýr Branch Secretary Raci Bilici accused the government, which changed the Anti-Terrorism Law in 2006, of allowing these children to be tried as if they were adults.
Lawyer Keziban Yýlmaz also criticized the law, saying that: “these children were arrested for having taken part in a demonstration, having thrown stones, having chanted slogans or having shown victory signs. All of which was considered enough evidence for the court to punish them for being members of an illegal organizations. Some of the sentences given for such crimes are even longer than their age. The latest changes made to the Law on June 22, 2010, did not help to solve this problem. There is a law currently in effect allowing courts to punish children as if they were adults. We need to change it to save our children.”
At the same time of the ÝHD’s Diyarbakýr press conference to denounce the trial against children, a child was remanded in custody together with seven adults for “producing propaganda for an illegal organization". They had been detained with 12 others following police’s house raids in Urfa and Cizre, two days ago.
Meanwhile the military operation in Diyarbakýr’s district Lice continue, while the people in Adana held a protest against military operations. Police attacked the crowd and injured five demonstrators.
Furthermore it has been reported that a police allegedly threatened Musa Kurt, who denounced being harassed by the police during a house raids in Hakkari. Kurt said he has been threatened to withdraw his complaint. Kurt filed one more complaint and also applied to the IHD Hakkari Branch.
Finally, 48 detainees, mostly college students, in Ýstanbul appeared in court for their first hearing. Police had arrested them two days ago accusing them of having taken part to the meeting held by the independent candidates running in the upcoming parliament election, to protest against ongoing military operations in which 10 Kurdish guerrillas lost their life. The police had arrested 20 of them while they were already on the bus ready to go to the meeting.
