US State Department documents dozens of atrocities Turkey practiced against Syrians, Kurds

The US State Department released its annual report on human rights in Turkey, noting that the Turkish Gendarma forces worked to shoot asylum seekers of Syrian and other nationalities trying to cross the border, which led to the killing and injury of many civilians.

Observers of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) expressed concern about the restrictions imposed on media reports, and the atmosphere of the campaign that restricted the capacity of opposition candidates, including the imprisonment of a presidential candidate at the time.

These restrictions resulted in the lack of equal competition with other candidates in the municipal elections in March, and Council of Europe observers expressed similar concerns about restrictions on freedom of expression, especially for the media.

Observers have also criticized the Supreme Electoral Council's decision to reorganize the Istanbul mayor’s race in June, and several decisions that have replaced Democratic Peoples' Party (HDP)candidates with candidates from the Justice and Development.

Reliable reports were received that, in 27 June, Turkish military operations outside its borders had killed civilians, as four Iraqi civilians were killed in Turkish air strikes in northern Iraq.

In October, the Turkish Armed Forces launched an operation called the "Spring of Peace", which led to the displacement of residents of cities and villages bordering Turkey.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, local and regional human rights activists and media organizations have reported that attacks by Turkish forces and their mercenaries have caused civilian casualties, including attacks on civilian infrastructure and residential areas, and have targeted civilians where groups from Turkey have killed civilians, including Kurdish politician, Havrin Khalaf.

Displaced refugees and Syrians residing in Turkey also faced restrictions on their freedom of movement.

There were also reports of widespread arrests of individuals, including Afghans, Syrians, and Iraqis inside Turkey, and in the first six months of the year 144 immigrants were killed by drowning or traffic accidents.

Several NGOs concerned with the rights of women and migrants have reported that refugee children, most of whom are Syrians, remain vulnerable to economic and sexual abuse.

Other national, religious, or ethnic minorities, including Assyrians, Jaafaris, Yazidis, Kurds, Arabs, gypsy, and Circassians, were not allowed to fully exercise their linguistic, religious and cultural rights.

In Wan State, 3 Kurdish minors between the ages of 14 and 17 were tortured while in police custody in February.

The youths told the bar that the police beat them with clubs, kicked their heads and forced them to put their heads in the toilet.

In September 15, the media reported that the prosecutor in the case asked a governor and that authorization to investigate 66 police officers involved in the complaint, and the state rejected the request, saying that officers "used appropriate force" against the victims.

Some of the military recruits suffered from physical abuse, physical abuse, and torture that sometimes led to death or suicide.

The Association of Dead and Suspected Military Victims reported that there were 202 suspicious deaths between 2012 and 2015.

By the end of the year, seven former HDP parliamentarians and 48 party leaders had been arrested, according to the HDP.

Since July 2016, at least 4,920 lawmakers, executives and party members have been in prison for a variety of charges related to terrorism and political discourse, including the former HDP chief and former presidential candidate Salahuddin Demirtaş.

The government arrested the ten elected village chiefs from their post in the southeast in May.

In August, the Ministry of Interior arrested HDP mayors in three major cities in the southeast, Diyarbakir, Mardin and Wan, all of whom were elected in March.

A parliamentary law also prohibits the use of the word "Kurdistan" or other sensitive terms by members of Parliament on the floor of Parliament, and provides for the possibility of issuing fines to violators.

Almost all newspapers, TV channels and radio stations in the Kurdish language remained closed for reasons of national security, according to government decrees.

Associated or formerly affiliated journalists with pro-Kurdish media faced significant government pressure, including imprisonment.

Demonstrations in support of the Kurds of all kinds faced violent reactions from the police throughout the year.

For example, in January, police prevented HDP legislators from holding a press conference to support a hunger strike by parliamentarian Laila Guven in front of the Diyarbakir governorate headquarters, and police practiced violence against the February demonstration in Wan on the same topic.

J.O