What happened in Northern Kurdistan in 9 months?

Human Rights Association (İnsan Hakları Derneği – İHD) Amed Branch have announced their report on the human rights violations in the first 9 months of 2016 in Northern Kurdistan in the association’s headquarters.

İHD Branch Chair Raci Bilici spoke in the meeting the report was announced in. Bilici pointed out that the clashes that started on July 24, 2015 still continued and said, “From what we were able to determine, the number of people who have lost their lives since is greater than 2000.”

Bilici said the Kurdish issue could not be solved through monist and violent government policies and invited both parties to declare an inaction so the conditions of a negotiation can be reached. Bilici also demanded that the isolation imposed upon Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan be lifted immediately.

Bilici said the state of emergency and the statutory decrees were victimizing society as a whole and protested the shutting down of television and radio networks. Bilici listed the following demands: “We demand the state of emergency which paves the way for severe human rights violations be dismissed immediately, the clashes to end as soon as possible, and that the parties negotiate a return to a period of inaction and solution. We wish for a life filled with freedom and dignity.”

TORTURE, MASSACRE, SEXUAL ABUSE, BANS…

İHD report says 756 sick prisoners, 300 of them in critical condition, were abandoned in the jails.

The report also says that 34 women had been murdered in the first 9 months and 8 women were said to have committed suicide. 9 children have been murdered in the same period of time, 9 children were driven to suicide and 71 children were subjected to sexual abuse.

The report includes the following:

– A total of 1040 people lost their lives and 1077 people were wounded in extrajudicial killings, people killed and wounded in prisons, attacks by unknown assailants, persons killed and wounded as a result of official mistakes and neglect, suicides and suspicious deaths of police and army members, persons who were attacked and persons who were in armed clashes.

– 102 civilians lost their lives as a result of Organisation’s (PKK) actions, and 635 civilians were wounded.

– 36 people lost their lives in the attacks on the border line, 39 others were wounded.

– 2 women and 7 children lost their lives in landmine and unclaimed explosive explosions. 28 people (22 children) were wounded.

– 23 people including 6 women and 1 child lost their lives in suspicious circumstances. 8 people committed suicide under suspicious circumstances.

– 107 rights violations occurred in the Kurdish region due to the clashes.

– On violations against women’s living spaces, 8 women committed suicide. 18 women lost their lives in domestic violence incidents. 10 women lost their lives in public violence against women and there were 50 rights violations against women in total.

– On violations against children, 9 children committed suicide, 8 children lost their lives in domestic and social violence incidents and 71 children were subjected to sexual abuse. There were a total of 90 rights violations against children.

– Despite the ban on torture, 553 people were subjected to torture and violence in the first 9 months of the year.

– On personal freedom and security, 5213 detained persons and 1334 arrested persons experienced rights violations.

– 2591 homes were raided by the state in the first 9 months of the year, 17 people were kidnapped by organisation’s members.

– On rights violations of thought and expression, 23 radio and television networks were shut down, and 32 web sites were banned. 4 media organs were raided. 94 publications were banned and recalled. 3 activities were banned.

– 565 people were investigated against freedom of thought and expression. Lawsuits were filed for 48 people and 103 people were penalized.

– On the right to assembly, 35 political parties, 8 associations, 4 education and culture institutions and 17 other NGOs were raided. 17 associations and 2 education and culture institutions were shut down as a result of these raids.

– On right to organize and protest, police intervened in 72 demonstrations and marches and 34 gatherings and protests were banned.

– In the first 9 months of the year, there were 1007 rights violations in the prisons.

– In work accidents, 6 people lost their lives and 6 others were wounded. 907 people were fired for different reasons. 13.055 public workers were investigated and 10.448 of them were removed from duty.

– On violations of the right to education, 27 people in universities were investigated, 105 people received penalties and 3 students were expelled.

– The report states that there have been 29 trustee appointments, 90 right to health violations, 131 right to property violations, 5 right to shelter violations and 57 other violations.

– In the first 9 months of the year 2016, according to İHD’s report, there were a total of 40.573 rights violations.