ALTINBAS TORTURE CASE PLAGUED BY DELAYS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 000958

SIPDIS


DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE


E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/18/2014
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM TU
SUBJECT: ALTINBAS TORTURE CASE PLAGUED BY DELAYS


Classified by Polcouns John Kunstadter; reasons 1.5 b and d.



1. (C) Summary: The 13-year-old trial of 10 police officers
charged with torturing and killing university student Birtan
Altinbas continues to be plagued by delays, as the defense
tries to postpone a verdict until the statute of limitations
expires. The defendants have consistently failed to appear
for trial, but the court has not ordered their arrest. At
the latest hearing, the court granted the one defendant who
attended time to find an attorney to replace one who
resigned. After the head of Amnesty International raised the
issue with PM Erdogan, the Interior Ministry issued a
circular ordering all courts to ensure that police charged
with torture appear for trial. End Summary.


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Case Plagued by Delays
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2. (U) An Ankara felony court continues to face delays in the
death-in-detention case of Birtan Altinbas. Jandarma
arrested Altinbas and three other Hacettepe University
students on January 15, 1991 and interrogated them. Altinbas
died six days later. Prosecutors opened a case against 10
police after a number of detainees claimed they saw the
officers torturing Altinbas. The case has been plagued by
repeated procedural delays, often involving the failure of
the police defendants to appear in court. Court officials
claim they have often been unable to locate the defendants,
but prosecuting attorneys argue that the defendants'
addresses are well known, and that they regularly receive
salary and pension checks from the Government. They also
claim to have contacted several of the defendants by
telephone.


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Statute of Limitations Looms
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3. (U) Once a verdict is reached in the case, the losing side
is sure to appeal. The 15-year statute of limitations on the
charges will expire January 2006, and lead prosecuting
attorney Oya Aydin has predicted to us that a final verdict
will not be reached in time unless outside pressure forces
judicial authorities to expedite the process. If no verdict
is reached before the deadline, the case will be closed.
Amnesty International Secretary General Irene Khan raised the
issue with PM Erdogan during her February 11-12 visit to
Turkey. In an apparent response, Interior Minister Aksu
released a circular February 16 ordering court officials to
ensure that police charged with torture appear in court.


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One Defendant Appears, Shoves Photographer
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4. (C) At the last session of the Altinbas case, on February
12, one of the 10 police defendants, Hasan Cavit Orhan,
appeared in court (none appeared at the previous session).
Before entering the courtroom, Orhan angrily grabbed and
shoved a photographer who took his picture. During the
10-minute session, Orhan noted that his attorney had resigned
from the case (note: this is a common delaying tactic. end
note) and asked for time to find a new attorney. The court
agreed. Defense attorney Aydin held up a copy of a newspaper
article in which another of the defendants, Ibrahim Dedeolgu,
told reporters he did not receive a notice from the court and
would therefore not attend the hearing. The court refused
Aydin's request for arrest warrants for the delinquent
defendants, instead ordering that new notices be sent for the
next hearing, on March 5. An attorney representing Dedeoglu
said he would "try" to have his client attend the next
session.


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Comment
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5. (C) This trial has become the latest test case for the
Turkish judicial system. As in the high-profile Manisa case
-- which resulted in convictions, probably in part due to
international pressure -- this trial pits the prosecution
against elements of the State determined to use every
available tactic to run out the clock and avoid a verdict.
Underscoring the difficulty the AK government has in trying
to bring reform to the court system, which remains a bastion
of the Kemalist system, the court's chronic failure either to
bring the defendants to court or order their arrest has no
legitimate explanation.


EDELMAN