Kurdistan Observer

HRW: Turkey Still Covering Up Human Rights Abuses
Hurriyet/ April 15, 2006

A British man, who works as a researcher for the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) has been detained in Turkey for alleged visa violations and will be deported soon, reported HRW on Wednesday. Jonathan Sugden was in the southeast of Turkey to probe human rights in the mainly Kurdish areas that allegedly involve police and government-armed local defense units. The rights group said that Turkey still has a strong desire to cover up human rights abuses.

"The desire to cover up human rights abuses is evidently still very strong, despite recent moves toward more accountability in Turkey's bid for membership in the European Union," said Holly Cartner, the group's Europe and Central Asia director.

Sugden was detained in the southeastern town of Bingol on Wednesday and taken to Istanbul, where he is expected to spend the night in police custody before being deported to London on Thursday, Cartner said.

Sugden speaks fluent Turkish and has been monitoring human rights in Turkey for some 15 years.

According to Cartner, The Turkish authorities said he did not have a valid authorization to be carrying out human rights work in Turkey and was in the country on a tourist visa. But she said Sugden had traveled to Turkey repeatedly on such a visa, with the knowledge of Turkish authorities and without being detained.

"This really isn't about the visa at all. This is about the authorities not wanting to let us document the abuses there," Cartner said.