Conscientious Objector on Hunger Strike for 14 Days

Conscientious objector Süver started a hunger strike 14 days ago after his escape from prison and his arrest one day later. On 3 May, he was taken to a closed prison in Manisa where a 20-day isolation punishment was imposed on him. Reportedly, he is not in good health.

Ekin KARACA, ekin@bianet.org

BİA News Center

05 May 2011, Thursday

Conscientious objector İnan Süver started a hunger strike 14 days ago to protest the 20-day isolation punishment given to him after his short escape from prison. In the evening of 3 May, he was transferred to the E Type Closed Prison in Manisa (western Turkey).

On 21 April, Süver escaped from the Manisa Saruhanlı Open Prison. One day later, he was arrested in Izmir and taken to the Buca Prison (Izmir).

Süver started a hunger strike after he was arrested in Izmir. On 3 May, he was now given a 20-day isolation punishment because he insisted on continuing the hunger strike.

20-day isolation punishment

Süver's lawyer Hülya Üçpınar said in a statement made to bianet on Wednesday (4 May) that her client Süver was transferred to Manisa.

She announced that she called the prison on the same day to obtain information on conscientious objector Süver. She learned that the prison executives imposed a 20-day isolation punishment on Süver because he refused to interrupt his hunger strike.

Üçpınar reported that the punishment had not been approved by the time that she called the prison but that she expected the approval at any time. Once Süver was taken into the isolation cell, a telephone ban would be applied as well, the lawyer stated.

Remziye Süver: Kurdish ID reason for oppression

Remziye Süver, the wife of the conscientious objector, criticized the procedure. She claimed that her husband İnan Süver had been incarcerated for months just because of his opinion.

"Why is my husband in prison for that long on the grounds of his opinion while murderers get out of jail after five to six months? He did not commit any crime besides of [voicing] his opinion. İnan escaped after twelve months of military service. After that, he was imprisoned for four months and then again for another three months. Now, he has been in prison for the past nine months", Remziye Süver said.

She continued, "There were a total of 120 conscientious objectors by the time İnan announced his conscientious objection. There are currently about 500 conscientious objectors. Nobody else is tyrannized this way though. The reason that they keep on at İnan this much is that [the south-eastern city of] "Van" is written in his ID. I cannot explain the situation in any other way".

Süver's father: "My son did not commit any crime...

İnan Süver's father Yasin Süver met his son at the Manisa E Type Closed Prison yesterday (4 May). He told bianet that İnan was in very bad condition.

He said that his son's face looked very pale and worn out. "We rolled out the red carpet for İnan when we sent him to the military. However, İnan was tortured in the military. He escaped. Subsequently, they kept İnan in prison for a total of 16 months. He has been in jail for the past nine months. Now they imposed an isolation punishment on him because he went on hunger strike. For 20 days he will not have the opportunity to see or talk to anybody..." (EKN/VK)

http://www.bianet.org/english/minorities/129762-conscientious-objector-on-hunger-strike-for-14-days

Military holds official funeral for fallen soldier at church

28 April 2011, Thursday / TODAY'S ZAMAN, İSTANBUL

Archbishop Tatul Anuşyan and a mourning relative by the coffin of Sevag Şahin Balıkçı.

A 25-year-old soldier who was killed accidentally at an outpost in Kozluk, Batman province, during his military service was laid to rest on Wednesday in a rare military ceremony held at a church. Pvt. Sevag Şahin Balıkçı, who died on Sunday when, according to official reports, his friend’s rifle accidentally discharged, was laid to rest after a ceremony held at the Surp Vartanants Armenian Church in İstanbul’s Feriköy neighborhood. The official report says the two soldiers were “joking around” with their rifles during the accident. Balıkçı’s family says it believes the official statement, but Balıkçı’s fiancée, Melani Kumruyan, says she has doubts about the official version.

Balıkçı’s coffin, draped in a Turkish flag, was taken to Surp Vartanants Church on Wednesday evening in the presence of a tearful crowd. In addition to family members, relatives and friends of the slain soldier, a large number of representatives of Turkey’s Armenian community, Gendarmerie Regional Commander Gen. İbrahim Yaşar, State Minister Egemen Bağış, 3rd Army Corps Commander Gen. Hulusi Akar, Şişli Mayor Mustafa Sarıgül, Adalar Mayor Mustafa Farsakoğlu and the wife and brother of slain Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, Rakel Dink and Orhan Dink, also attended the funeral. The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) sent four wreaths to the church. Archbishop Tatul Anuşyan in his speech said the soldier had “risen to God on the day of resurrection.” Balıkçı died on Easter Sunday, April 24 -- the day Armenians mark as the anniversary of Armenians being killed at the hand of the Ottomans in 1915. This was initially a source of controversy, but the Balıkçı family said it had no doubts that it was an accident and referred to the date of their son’s death as an “odd coincidence.” http://www.todayszaman.com/news-242319-military-holds-official-funeral-for-fallen-soldier-at-church.html

Fiancee says Armenian soldier’s death suspicious

27 April 2011, Wednesday / TODAY'S ZAMAN, İSTANBUL Melani Kumruyan The tragic death of an Armenian Turkish private serving in the military on April 24 -- the day the Armenian diaspora marks as the anniversary of Armenians being killed at the hand of Ottomans in 1915 -- could not have been an accident, as was officially claimed, the young man's fiancée has said. Pvt. Sevag Şahin Balıkçı (25) died on Sunday when, according to official reports, his friend's rifle accidentally discharged. The military said the two boys were “joking around” with their rifles before the accident. Balıkçı's family said they believed the official statement, saying it was only a strange coincidence that their son died on April 24, which was also Easter Sunday. However, his fiancée, Melani Kumruyan, does not believe that Balıkçı's death was accidental. In statements made to various Turkish newspapers yesterday, she said: “An investigation into this is under way. I want the truth to come out as soon as possible. I don't think it happened when they were joking around. I knew Sevag really well. He was not someone who would joke around with guns.” Kumruyan and Balıkçı, who both lived in the Kurtuluş neighborhood of İstanbul, met when they were 17 and got engaged with the blessing of both families two years ago. Kumruyan says Balıkçı sent her a text message every morning. She shared his last message with the Radikal daily, sent at 7:30 a.m. on April 24. The intimate message says, “Parluys (Good Morning) my daisy-smelling angel. You never left me alone. Your clean heart is more important to me than anything else. I found happiness and love in you. I've never loved anything in my life as much as I love you.” “They say it happened around 8 a.m. I woke up around 9 that morning. He had sent me wonderful messages of love around 7:30, like he always does. I can't express the immenseness of the pain. There were only three weeks left for him to come home,” Kumruyan continued. The Sabah daily quoted her as saying: “I don't believe that it was an accident at all. The senior sergeant had beaten him up over a lost 50 lira bill.” Although Kumruyan is skeptical, Balıkçı's mother, Ani Balıkçı, a retired pre-school teacher, says she believes the military's statement. “We don't know yet whether it was an accident or not. We will go to the scene of the event on Sunday with our lawyer and talk to the officials there. The report we'll get will clarify everything. I am reading various statements on the Internet from people who are discussing the incident, whether they know about it or not. The private who shot my son was his closest friend. I'd sent Easter cookies to the unit one day before. The incident doesn't have anything to do with April 24 or genocide. I am not afraid of anything. I lost my son, what can I be afraid of? The commanders and majors also visited our house. They are as devastated as we are,” she said. The Gendarmerie General Command has announced that they invited the Balıkçı family to the outpost where the shooting happened. The family will be guests at the outpost during the examination of the site. Meanwhile, the Kozluk Criminal Court of Peace released the private who shot Balıkçı pending trial. The court said it didn't see any premeditation or deliberate act in the accident. However, the Kozluk Prosecutor's Office has criticized the release of the private -- whose name was not disclosed -- and filed for his arrest.