İsmail SAYMAZ
The picture did not change in 2009 in Adana which does not fall out of the agenda due to the major punishments and torture claims used on children. According to the 2009 report of Adana Branch of Human Rights Association, 3 thousand one hundred fifty-five children who are between 13 and 18 years old were detained in Adana in one year. Among these children 299 of them were arrested.
Reason of detention of 54 children was social events. 48 children were punished with 203 years 3 months 15 days in total with the justification that they threw stones to the police force and made propaganda of illegal groups. In 2009 the number of the applications made to the association regarding with the breaches of children rights is: 62.
Data in the report are as follows:
* Most of these 62 claims regarding the breaches of rights include the ill-treat and torture to the children in police vehicles and in police headquarters.
* 19 children whose ages change between 10 and 17 told that they were beaten, affronted, beaten by rifle butts, made waited on foot whole night and their basic needs such as food and beverage had not been supplied.
* All of these children were not lucky to be brought to the police headquarters. H.Ö and M.A told their experiences as follows:
“While I was passing by the policemen, they detained me by beating with the stick with the justification that I was participating in the action. They continued to beat me in the car, while I was thinking about to be brought into the police headquarters, I was brought to an orange grove that I do not know where it is. ... they made me lie on the ground and began to hit with rifle butts.”
* The report also mentioned that in 2009 S.K. who was 14 years old had lost his eye because of the rubber bullets fired aimlessly by the police force and N.B who was 16 years old was bumped by a police car.
* In the report which recorded that the children that should be brought into the Pozantı Prison that is a Children Prison, had been put into Kürkçüler E-type Prison and unreasonable tortures had been executed; it had been mentioned that they sleep 13 people in the berths of six, their hands are dampened and hit with plastic hoses, their health problems are not treated.
* A child tells the following: “They put us in the forensic prisoners and said them "these are terrorists, you can do whatever you want to them. They both insulted and beat us.”
* 48 children were punished with 203 years 3 months 15 days in total with the justification that they threw stones to the police force and made propaganda of illegal groups.
“There were sutures on my son’s head”.
Regarding the tortures applied to his son, Nezir Daşkan, father of U.D. among the children who were tortured said “there were sutures on my son’s head” and continued as follows: “We went for visit. There, we learned that our son brought to Ceyhan from Pozantı. We went there. There were bruises in his eyes. And sutures on his head, his hair was cut. I said “My son, what’s this?”, he said “guardians beat me”. There was a rebellion in the prison, due to the noised guardians had applied tortures on seven children. There are marks on all of them. My son is only 16 years old. Even it is a fault that he brought there, such torture applied on a child 16 years old is shameful. That child is a prisoner now and such treatment can not be done to any prison.”
(radikal.com.tr, 28 January 2010)
In the news published in Bianet in this subject, the recommendations of Human Right Association Adana Branch are highlighted. In the news given with the subtitle of “Abandon to judge the children with terror accusation”, some of the recommendations of İHD Adana report are as follows:
The provisions of Anti-Terror Law and the Criminal Law that allows for the judgment of the children with terror accusation and the policy which considers the children as “the members of illegal groups” should be amended.
Children should be judged in children’s courts.
A detailed Social Examination Reports should be prepared and these should present the reasons of the children taking place in the crimes and recommendations to ensure them to be protected against these.
Reports indicating that the children between the ages of 12-15 are aware of the results of their attitudes and distinguish, understand the mentioned crimes should be given by the experts.
None of the children should be deprived of their rights including the right of education. Psychological and developmental support should be provided to the children during and after the judgment process.
Prohibition and avoidance of all kinds of violence used on the children by laws.
(bianet.org, February 2nd, 2010)