Concluding observations of the UN Committee against Torture SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC

Committee against Torture
Forty-fourth session
26 April – 14 May 2010
Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 19 of the convention
ADVANCE UNEDITED VERSION
Concluding observations of the Committee against Torture

SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC
1. The Committee against Torture considered the initial report of Syrian Arab Republic (CAT/C/SYR/1) at its 937th and 939th meetings (CAT/C/SR.937 and 939), held on 3 and 4 May 2010, and adopted, at its 951st meeting (CAT/C/SR.951), the following concluding observations.

A. Introduction
2. The Committee welcomes the submission of the initial report of Syria, which, while generally following the Committee’s guidelines for reporting, lacks statistical and practical information on the implementation of the provisions of the Convention and relevant domestic legislation. However, the Committee regrets that the report was submitted 5 years late which prevented the Committee from conducting an analysis of the implementation of the Convention in the State party following its ratification in 2004. Read more

Demonstration to support Berivan – London, 12 March 2010

Join the demonstration in front of Turkish Embassy to raise your voice against jailing of Berivan, a 15 year Kurdish girl, who was recently jailed for 8 years for allegedly throwing stones at armoured Police vehicle in a demonstration.

The conviction highlights Turkey’s practice of jailing children for terror-related offences under counter-terrorism legislation introduced in 2006. The law allows courts to try juveniles as adults and to jail them for up to 50 years. There are over 2,600 minors in Turkish prisons for offences such as throwing stones at the police, chanting slogans and making the victory sign in demonstrations. Berivan was mistaken for a demonstrator when she was walking on the road.

Berivan recently wrote in a letter to her solicitor:

“This place is such a difficult place, even if I tried to explain how much I can’t….They hit me a lot…They put this cream on my legs to cover the bruises so no one can see them. I don’t know why they treated me like this. I’m only 15, I never deserved this place. No one deserves this place. I am very upset here…I miss my family so much.”

On behalf of Berivan’s Mother and all Mother’s of Children in Turkish Jails we are going to protest near to Mother’s Day outside the Turkish Embassy in London and hand in petitions calling for the immediate release of these children.

Please join and help to build this demo. We can’t destroy our future by keeping silent today!!

Friday 12th March 2010
Time: 1430-1600
Outside Turkish Embassy
43 Belgrave Square London SW1X 8PA (nearest tube Hyde Park Corner)

Free Berivan Campaign.
For info contact: hevallo@gmail.com

Kurdish children and Courts in Turkey

1. New hope arises for ‘stone throwing children’ in Turkey

Minors being tried at the Court for Serious of Crimes for terrorism-related offenses continue to attract attention due to receiving sentences longer than their actual ages. Now, the Justice Ministry is planning to bring a new draft law to Parliament in an effort to solve the problem after discussion on a previous bill was overshadowed by worries it would benefit Abdullah Öcalan

New hope has emerged for children detained on terrorism charges for throwing stones at security forces as Turkey’s ruling party prepares to redraft a bill to overhaul the relevant anti-terror law. Read more

TURKEY: JAILING KURDISH CHILDREN TO UNDERMINE DISSENT

DIYARBAKIR, Southeastern Turkey (IPS) – Turkey is signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, but that does not stop minors in the country’s Kurdish dominated eastern and southeastern regions from ending up with stiff jail sentences.

In fact, after amendments were recently made to the country’s anti-terror law, it is possible to charges children as terrorists and put them away for up to 50 years in jail.

According to official figures, there are currently 2,622 minors serving time in Turkish prisons. Earlier this week officials admitted that the figure was rising.

Lawyer Canan Atabay who represents the Diyarbakir Bar Association at the European Union and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and is also a member of the Justice for Children Initiative (JCI) that has opposed indiscriminate arrests and sentencing of children for the last three years believes that the law targets Kurdish children.

According to figures maintained by the JCI there are currently no fewer than 3,000 children being held in Turkish prisons. ‘’Almost all of them are Kurdish,’’ Atabay told IPS. Read more