Türkiye

As reported by EBCO’s Turkish member Conscientious Objection Watch^[1]:

The situation of conscientious objectors to military service has not improved since 2023. Türkiye still maintains a system of obligatory military service. All male citizens become liable for service from the beginning of the calendar year of their 20th birthday. There is no recognition of the right to conscientious objection to military service, resulting in repeated prosecution (including imprisonment) and a limitation of rights which the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has described as ‘civil death’ and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. Expressions about the military and conscientious objection are criminalised under “alienating the public from military service”. Türkiye continues to take no action in response to a series of European Court of Human Rights judgements finding violations of the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; prohibition of cruel, or degrading treatment; and the right to fair trial (in cases where the applicants were tried and convicted by military courts).^[2]

In July 2023, 17 years after the European Court of Human Rights first ruled in favour of conscientious objector Osman Murat Ülke, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe took a surprisingly clear position on the violation of the right to conscientious objection in Türkiye. In its decision of 07.06.2023, the Committee of Ministers strongly urged the Turkish authorities to submit an "action plan" containing political and practical measures to recognise the right to conscientious objection. The Committee of Ministers stated that it would otherwise adopt a resolution for an interim solution within one year.

Before the Committee of Ministers' decision, Conscientious Objection Watch, together with the European Bureau for Conscientious Objection (EBCO), Connection e.V., International Fellowship of the Reconciliation (IFOR) and War Resisters' International (WRI), made a joint submission to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. In this joint submission, it was pointed out that conscientious objectors in Türkiye are not only prosecuted/punished for conscientious objection or desertion; conscientious objectors also face many other rights violations and restrictions, including heavy fines, repeated prosecutions on the same charges, violations of their rights to education, the right to vote and to work, restrictions on their freedom of movement, and "civil deaths" of conscientious objectors.

Throughout 2023, Conscientious Objection Watch, member organisation of EBCO, continued to publish periodic bulletins for a year to document and make visible the current situation of conscientious objectors in Türkiye. In 2023, a total of 31 people in Türkiye declared their conscientious objection by contacting Conscientious Objection Watch.

The Conscientious Objection Watch continued to monitor the rights violations and restrictions suffered by people who do not want to do compulsory military service in 2023 in Türkiye. According to the information obtained from this monitoring, the rights violations and restrictions experienced by 56 people who contacted Conscientious Objection Watch are as follows:

– Human Rights Violations, Restrictions and Prosecutions of Conscientious Objectors in Türkiye in 2023

• February: Conscientious objector Alpaslan Kaya was sentenced to 6 months in prison on the charge of being a draft evader.
• March: Conscientious objector İnan Mayıs Aru's appeal against the sentences given to him in 6 separate cases was rejected by the Court of Appeal and he was sentenced to 6 months and 7 days in total.
• March: The appeal against the judicial fine of 6,000 liras imposed on conscientious objector UG was rejected by the court and the verdict was upheld. The appeal against the 10-month prison sentence given to UG in another case was also rejected by the court and the decision was finalised. This is the third finalised prison sentence given to the fugitive conscientious objector.
• May: Conscientious objector Ersan Uğur Gör was sentenced to 5 separate penalties for not going to military service on the grounds that he was a draft evader. Gör was sentenced to a total of 16 months and 20 days, which was converted into a judicial fine and a total judicial fine of 15,000.00 TL.
• August: Conscientious objector Cihat Aydın was issued an administrative fine of 46,225.56 TL for not joining the military. Aydın appealed the fine through his lawyer.
• October: Conscientious objector Şendoğan Yazıcı was detained in Ankara on the basis of a denunciation made against him by an 'unknown' person. Yazıcı was interrogated by anti-terrorism police and released when it was realised that the tip-off was unfounded.

– Reports released by EBCO member organisation Conscientious Objection Watch

In May 2023, Conscientious Objection Watch published “The Multiplier Effect Of The Violation Of The Right To Conscientious Objection” in May. The report focuses on the restriction of freedom of movement and violation of the right to work in the context of rights violations and restrictions experienced by conscientious objectors who refuse to perform compulsory military service in Türkiye. Violation of the right to work and restriction of freedom of movement are the most common threats to conscientious objectors in Türkiye. You can access the full report here.

In October 2023, Conscientious Objection Watch sent an input to the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner. The input submitted for the OHCHR's report on conscientious objection to military service also provided updated and comprehensive data on the situation of conscientious objectors in Türkiye. You can access Conscientious Objection Watch's full input here.