Detained activists in Turkey face 'unfair' judicial system
David Martin
December 8, 2017
Peter Steudtner, the German rights activist who was detained for four months in Istanbul, has told DW about life in Turkish prison. He decried Turkey's judicial system, where German citizens are held without charge.
Image: picture-alliance/abaca/I.Terli
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Turkey is failing to adhere to normal judicial practices by keeping political prisoners held without indictment and by having their trials repeatedly postponed, human rights activist Peter Steudtner told DW.
In a candid interview on Friday, just over a month after his release from prison in Istanbul in October, Steudtner expressed his solidarity with other German citizens currently imprisoned in Turkey, such as journalists Deniz Yucel and Mesale Tolu.
"For a lot of the political detainees, the situation is rather unfair… Deniz Yucel doesn't have an indictment, while for Mesale Tolu there is a process but it's going very slowly," Steudtner said. "This is very, very challenging and not according to judicial procedures as they should be."
Turkey: Defending human rights
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Steudtner was arrested along with seven other human rights campaigner in Istanbul on July 5 on controversial terror charges, introduced as part of the Turkish government's widespread crackdown on the military, press, the academic community and civil servants following last year's failed coup attempt.
He and the group were released in October after the public prosecutor ruled they should no longer be kept in pre-trial detention. However, Steudtner still faces trial in Turkey on charges of "aiding armed terrorist organizations," such as the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and movement against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan led by US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen. If found guilty, he could face up to 15 years in prison.
Asked about the political situation in Turkey, Steudtner pointed out that he had been poorly placed to follow recent developments in a Turkish jail, saying he would rather focus on the charges facing him and fellow activists.
"I would love to say the same thing that Deniz Yucel told me a few days before my release, like 'You're going to be out now'… but all I can say is 'I'm sure you're going to manage," said Steudtner.
Why are German and Turkish relations so strained?
German-Turkish relations have deteriorated since the failed coup against Turkish President Erdogan in 2016 and the crackdown that followed. DW looks at some of the key moments that soured ties between Berlin and Ankara.
Image: picture-alliance/POP-EYE/B. Kriemann
The Böhmermann affair
March 31, 2016: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan filed charges against German comedian and satirist Jan Böhmermann over his "defamatory poem" about the Turkish leader. German prosecutors eventually dropped the charges on October 4, 2016, but the case sparked a diplomatic row between Berlin and Ankara.
German lawmakers pass resolution to recognize 1915 Armenian Genocide
June 2, 2016: The resolution passed almost unanimously. In response, Turkey recalled its ambassador in Berlin and Germany's Turkish community held protests in several German cities. Turkey had repeatedly criticized the use of the term genocide to describe the Ottoman-era Armenian killings, arguing that the number of deaths had been inflated, and that Turkish Muslims also perished in the violence.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/S. Gallup
Tensions following failed coup in Turkey
July 15, 2016: A faction of the Turkish military tried to overthrow President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but ultimately failed. Ankara accused Berlin of not taking a clear stand against the coup attempt or not doing anything about exiled preacher Fethullah Gulen's organization, who Erdogan blames for orchestrating the failed coup.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Suna
Germany criticizes post-coup purge
Immediately following the attempted coup, Turkish authorities purged the army and judiciary, detaining thousands of people. The purge expanded to include civil servants, university officials and teachers. German politicians criticize the detentions. Turkish diplomats, academics and military members fled the country and applied for asylum in Germany.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Suna
Kurdish rallies in Cologne
Erdogan's post-coup crackdown has also been condemned by Kurdish protesters at several mass demonstrations in the west German city of Cologne. Often the rallies have called for the release of Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which Turkey considers to be a terror group. Ankara has accused Berlin of not doing enough to stop PKK activities.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. Meissner
Arrest of German citizens in Turkey
February 14, 2017: Deniz Yücel, a correspondent for the "Welt" newspaper, was taken into custody in Turkey. Other German nationals, including journalist Mesale Tolu and human rights activist Peter Steudtner were detained in Turkey for what Berlin dubbed "political reasons." Turkey accused them of supporting terrorist organizations. All three have since been released pending trial.
March 2017: A number of German localities blocked Turkish ministers from holding rallies in their districts ahead of an April referendum in Turkey to enhance President Erdogan's powers. The Turkish leader then accused Germany of using "Nazi tactics" against Turkish citizens in Germany and visiting Turkish lawmakers. German leaders were not amused by the jibe, saying Erdogan had gone too far.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/O. Berg
Spying allegations
March 30, 2017: Germany accused Turkey of spying on hundreds of suspected Gulen supporters as well as over 200 associations and schools linked to the Gulen movement in Germany. Turkish asylum-seekers have since accused officials working in Germany's immigration authority (BAMF) of passing on their information to media outlets with ties to the Turkish government.
Image: Imago/Chromeorange/M. Schroeder
Erdogan urges German-Turks not to vote for 'enemies of Turkey'
August 18, 2017: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed three of Germany's main political parties as "enemies of Turkey" and told Turks living in Germany not to vote for them in September's general election. He singled out Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), the Social Democrats (SPD), and the Greens. Merkel said Erdogan was "meddling" in Germany's election.
Image: picture-alliance/abaca/AA/M. Ali Ozcan
Merkel says Turkey should not become EU member
September 4, 2017: German Chancellor Angela Merkel said during an election debate that she didn't think Turkey should become a member of the European Union and said she would speak with other EU leaders about ending Ankara's accession talks. In October, she backed a move to cut Turkey's pre-accession EU funds.
Image: Reuters/F. Bensch
Turkey's military offensive in Afrin
January 20, 2018: The Turkish military and their Syrian rebel allies launched "Operation Olive Branch" against the Kurdish-held enclave of Afrin in northern Syria. The move was criticized by German politicians and prompted large protests by Kurdish communities in Germany.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/O. Kose
Journalist Deniz Yücel released from prison
February 16, 2018: Turkey ordered the release of German-Turkish journalist Deniz Yücel after he'd been held for over a year without charge. According to Turkish state media, Yücel was released on bail from pre-trial detention. Prosecutors asked for an 18-year jail sentence for Yücel on charges of "terror propaganda" and incitement.
Image: picture-alliance/Eventpress/Stauffenberg
Özil quits
July 2018: German footballer Mesut Özil quit the national team following the fallout from his meeting with the Turkish president. Özil said he was being made a scapegoat for Germany's forgettable performance at the FIFA World Cup in Moscow because of his Turkish heritage. Erdogan praised Özil's decision and slammed the "racist" mistreatment of the footballer.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Presidential Press Service
Travel ban lifted
August 2018: A Turkish court removed the travel ban on German journalist Mesale Tolu, who was arrested last year on terrorism-related charges. But the trial against Tolu, who has since returned to Germany, is set to continue. Her husband, Suat Corlu, who is facing similar charges, has been ordered to remain in Turkey.
According to figures released earlier this year by the German foreign ministry, there are roughly 50 Germans currently imprisoned in Turkey, of whom nine — including four with dual German-Turkish citizenship — are being held for what Berlin considers political reasons. Aside from Yucel and Tolu, the prisoners' name have not been made public.
Life in Turkish prison
Steudtner said that arriving in Turkish prison was like arriving in a new country. "The daily rhythm is new, while moving from one prison to the other means new routines," he said challenging
"There are very strict frames for everything," he added. "Perhaps solitary confinement was the strictest one I had for several days." Nevertheless, the rights campaigner maintained that he was treated "mainly with respect by the Turkish guards."
However, the most important factor that helped him see through the four months in detention was the solitary he felt, both from outside but also among his fellow inmates. "There was a lot of taking care of me, while I could also take care of [the fellow prisoners]. And knowing about all the solidarity action outside really helped me to carry on through these 113 days."
DW TV's Charlotte Potts conducted the interview with Peter Steudtner in Berlin.
Turkish prosecutors seeking jail term of up to 15 years for Peter Steudtner
