"Little progress was made on enhancing human rights protections. Reports of torture and other ill-treatment persisted, as did criminal prosecutions limiting the right to freedom of expression." This is how the Amnesty International Report 2010 began its chapter about Turkey. The report was published today. It goes on stating that "the legitimate work of human rights defenders was hampered by excessive administrative scrutiny and judicial harassment. In many cases alleged human rights violations by state officials were not investigated effectively, and the chances of bringing law enforcement officials to justice remained remote. Unfair trials continued, especially under anti-terrorism legislation which was used to prosecute children under the same procedures as adults. Prison regimes showed little improvement, and access to appropriate medical treatment was commonly denied. No progress was made in recognizing the right to conscientious objection to military service, and the rights of refugees and asylum seekers continued to be violated. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people faced discrimination in law and practice, and protections for women and girls subjected to violence remained inadequate".

Here are some points made by Amnesty International in relation to human rights defenders:

"Human rights defenders were prosecuted for their legitimate work monitoring and reporting human rights violations. Certain prominent individuals were subjected to regular criminal investigations. There was

excessive administrative scrutiny by officials, and in some cases judicial proceedings were used to bring closure cases against human rights organizations.

Ethem Acýkalýn, head of the Adana branch of the Human Rights Association (ÝHD), faced seven ongoing prosecutions as a result of his work as a human rights defender. In October he was convicted of “inciting enmity or hatred among the population” and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment for criticizing the state government’s imprisonment in 2008 of children involved in protests, including against withdrawal of family health care benefits. An appeal was pending at the end of the year.

In December Muharrem Erbey, Vice-President of ÝHD and head of its Diyarbakýr branch, was arrested on suspicion of membership of the Kurdish Communities Union (KCK) which is alleged to be part of the PKK. The police interrogated him about his work for ÝHD, and reportedly seized data on human rights abuses from ÝHD’s Diyarbakýr office. He remained in pre-trial detention at the end of the year."

As for torture and other ill-treatment this is what Amnesty has to say:

"torture and other ill-treatment continued to be reported, with many abuses taking place away from official places of detention. Those accused of ordinary crimes, as well as people accused of politically motivated offences, were vulnerable to ill-treatment."

And on impunity:

Investigations into alleged human rights abuses by state officials remained largely ineffective and the chances of bringing officials to justice were remote. During the year no independent human rights mechanism or independent monitoring of places of detention was adopted.

In 35 criminal cases against 431 officers, not one conviction had followed. In June the Criminal Procedure Code was amended to allow the prosecution of military officials in civilian courts.

The prosecution of Ergenekon, an alleged ultranationalist network with links to state institutions, continued. Those accused included both serving and retired senior members of the armed forces. The court accepted a second indictment in March and a third in September. However, the prosecution was not broadened to include an investigation of alleged human rights violations."

Prison conditions

Allegations of ill-treatment on transfer to prison persisted and, in a number of cases, prisoners’ access to appropriate medical treatment was denied. In November five prisoners were sent to the high security prison on the island of Ýmralý where PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan had been imprisoned in isolation for 10 years. It was announced that the six prisoners would be able to associate with each other for up to 10 hours a week, in keeping with regulations applicable to all prisoners in Turkey’s high security prisons.

On occasion, children were held in prison alongside adults, and generally prison regimes for children did not differ from those of adult prisoners. Notably, there was no provision for child prisoners to continue their education."

Unfair trials

Protracted and unfair trials persisted, especially of suspects prosecuted under anti-terrorism legislation. Children were prosecuted under the same procedures as adults and convicted under unfair laws on the basis of unsubstantiated and unreliable evidence for their alleged participation in sometimes violent demonstrations.

Prisoners of conscience – conscientious objectors

Conscientious objection to military service was not allowed and no civilian alternative was available. Laws allowing the repeated prosecution and conviction of conscientious objectors remained in force.

Rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people

Discrimination in law and practice continued against people based on their sexual orientation and gender identity. Five transgender women were murdered, and in only one case was a conviction secured.

Refugees and asylum-seekers

Recognized refugees, registered asylum-seekers and others in need of protection were arbitrarily denied access to the asylum procedure and sometimes detained. Some were returned to countries where they risked persecution.

Violence against women and girls

The number of shelters available for women survivors of domestic violence remained woefully inadequate and far below the one for every settlement of 50,000 people required by domestic law. In September a government protocol was signed to facilitate greater cooperation between state institutions in protecting survivors of domestic violence.