Turkey has slammed a United Nations report, which says the state of emergency in the country have led to profound human rights violations, as "biased" and "unacceptable".

The report, which was published on Tuesday, calls for an end to routine extensions of the state of emergency in place since July 2016, saying that it is used "to stifle any form of criticism or dissent vis-a-vis the government".

"[The report] contains unfounded allegations matching up perfectly with the propaganda efforts of terrorist organisations," the foreign ministry in Ankara said on Tuesday .

"[The report] completely ignores the severe and multiple terrorist threats faced by Turkey and particularly, the effects on the protection of human rights of the July 15 coup attempt that targeted the survival of our country and the democratic life of our nation," the foreign ministry added.

The UN report warned that the high powers handed to the authorities in Turkey following the failed coup attempt of July 2016 had caused "a continued erosion of the rule of law and deterioration of the human rights situation."

"The sheer number, frequency and lack of connection of several [emergency] decrees to any national threat seem to … point to the use of emergency powers to stifle any form of criticism or dissent vis-a-vis the government," the report, which covers the year of 2017, said.

The report said that about 300 journalists have been arrested on the grounds that their publications contained "apologist sentiments regarding terrorism" or other "verbal act offences" or for "membership" in "terrorist organisations".

'Outregeous'

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Prince Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein said the amount of people arrested or dismissed are "staggering" in Turkey and findings of the report was "outrageous".

"The numbers are just staggering: nearly 160,000 people arrested during an 18-month state of emergency," he said in a statement, adding that another 152,000 civil servants were sacked.

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"Teachers, judges and lawyers dismissed or prosecuted; journalists arrested, media outlets shut down and websites blocked - clearly the successive states of emergency declared in Turkey have been used to severely and arbitrarily curtail the human rights of a very large number of people," he said.

The Turkish government blames US-based religious leader and businessman Fethullah Gulen and his followers for the coup attempt, while he denies any involvement.

The government, which has renewed the state of emergency every three months since the attempt, say the purges and detentions are legitimate, and are aimed at removing Gulen supporters from state institutions.</s>Turkey has slammed a United Nations report, which says the state of emergency in the country have led to profound human rights violations, as "biased" and "unacceptable".

The report, which was published on Tuesday, calls for an end to routine extensions of the state of emergency in place since July 2016, saying that it is used "to stifle any form of criticism or dissent vis-a-vis the government".

"[The report] contains unfounded allegations matching up perfectly with the propaganda efforts of terrorist organisations," the foreign ministry in Ankara said on Tuesday .

"[The report] completely ignores the severe and multiple terrorist threats faced by Turkey and particularly, the effects on the protection of human rights of the July 15 coup attempt that targeted the survival of our country and the democratic life of our nation," the foreign ministry added.

The UN report warned that the high powers handed to the authorities in Turkey following the failed coup attempt of July 2016 had caused "a continued erosion of the rule of law and deterioration of the human rights situation."

"The sheer number, frequency and lack of connection of several [emergency] decrees to any national threat seem to … point to the use of emergency powers to stifle any form of criticism or dissent vis-a-vis the government," the report, which covers the year of 2017, said.

The report said that about 300 journalists have been arrested on the grounds that their publications contained "apologist sentiments regarding terrorism" or other "verbal act offences" or for "membership" in "terrorist organisations".

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Prince Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein said the amount of people arrested or dismissed are "staggering" in Turkey and findings of the report was "outrageous".

"The numbers are just staggering: nearly 160,000 people arrested during an 18-month state of emergency," he said in a statement, adding that another 152,000 civil servants were sacked.

"Teachers, judges and lawyers dismissed or prosecuted; journalists arrested, media outlets shut down and websites blocked - clearly the successive states of emergency declared in Turkey have been used to severely and arbitrarily curtail the human rights of a very large number of people," he said.

The Turkish government blames US-based religious leader and businessman Fethullah Gulen and his followers for the coup attempt, while he denies any involvement.

The government, which has renewed the state of emergency every three months since the attempt, say the purges and detentions are legitimate, and are aimed at removing Gulen supporters from state institutions.</s>Turkey has accused a senior UN official of lacking impartiality and collaborating with terrorists over a new report that called on the country to end a state of emergency imposed after a 2016 failed coup attempt.

The UN report said that the state of emergency had led to “profound” human rights violations, paving the way for arbitrary detentions and dismissals, infringements on the rights of freedom of association and expression, and torture and ill-treatment.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said the state of emergency, which has been extended six times since it was imposed, has “been used to severely and arbitrarily curtail the human rights of a very large number of people”.

Turkey responded harshly, accusing the commissioner of relegating “the UN body under his administration into a position of collaborator of terrorist organisations”.

“The High Commissioner, who signed this text, has lost his objectivity and impartiality on the issues concerning Turkey, and has developed prejudices against our country,” a Turkish foreign ministry statement said.

It also accused Mr Al Hussein of making a “baseless” claim about not being given “access” to Turkey, saying he had not accepted “multiple invitations” to visit the country.

Turkey has blamed the coup on a network of followers of US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen and launched a major crackdown on his supporters and others accused of links to terror groups.

Tens of thousands of people have been arrested and more than 110,000 dismissed from public sector jobs.

Turkey says the emergency powers are needed to deal with ongoing security threats.

The UN report recommended that Turkey “promptly end the state of emergency, restore the normal functioning of its institutions and repeal all legislation that is not compliant with Turkey’s international human rights obligations”.

The UN Human Rights Office said it recognises Turkey’s challenges stemming from the coup attempt as well as extremist attacks.

The report said, however, that the emergency powers appeared to be used to “stifle any form of criticism or dissent vis-a-vis the government”.</s>ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey accused a senior U.N. official of lacking impartiality and collaborating with terrorists over a new report released earlier Tuesday that called on the country to end a state of emergency imposed after a 2016 failed coup attempt.

The U.N. report says that the state of emergency had led to "profound" human rights violations, paving the way to arbitrary detentions and dismissals, infringements on the rights of freedom of association and expression, and torture and ill-treatment.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, said the state of emergency, which has been extended six times since it was imposed, has "been used to severely and arbitrarily curtail the human rights of a very large number of people."

Turkey responded harshly, accusing the commissioner of relegating "the U.N. body under his administration into a position of collaborator of terrorist organizations."

"The High Commissioner, who signed this text, has lost his objectivity and impartiality on the issues concerning Turkey, and has developed prejudices against our country," a Turkish Foreign Ministry statement said.

It also accused Al Hussein of making a "baseless" claim about not being given "access" to Turkey, saying he hadn't accepted "multiple invitations" to visit the country.

Turkey has blamed the coup on a network of followers of U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen and launched a major crackdown on his supporters and others accused of links to terror groups. Tens of thousands of people have been arrested and more than 110,000 dismissed from public sector jobs. Gulen has denied any involvement.

Turkey says the emergency powers are needed to deal with ongoing security threats.

The U.N. report recommended that Turkey "promptly end the state of emergency, restore the normal functioning of its institutions and repeal all legislation that is not compliant with Turkey's international human rights obligations."

The U.N. Human Rights Office said it recognizes Turkey's challenges stemming from the coup attempt as well as extremist attacks. The report said, however, that the emergency powers appeared to be used to "stifle any form of criticism or dissent vis-a-vis the government."

Jamey Keaten in Geneva contributed to this report.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey on Tuesday slammed a United Nations rights report on its state of emergency as rife with unfounded allegations and said the criticism chimed with propaganda efforts of terrorist organizations.

The report called on Turkey to end the state of emergency in place since July 2016, saying it had led to “massive and serious” human rights violations in the largely Kurdish southeast, including killings and torture.

The report “contains unfounded allegations matching up perfectly with the propaganda efforts of terrorist organizations,” Turkey’s foreign ministry said in a statement.</s>The United Nations called on Turkey on Tuesday to end the state of emergency in place since July 2016 that it said had led to widespread human rights violations including the arrest of 160,000 people and dismissal of nearly the same number of civil servants, often arbitrarily.

Turkey responds: Turkey on Tuesday slammed the United Nations rights report on its state of emergency as rife with unfounded allegations and said the criticism chimed with propaganda efforts of terrorist organisations

President Tayyip Erdogan declared the emergency after a failed July 2016 coup and issued more than 20 decrees which have often led to torture of detainees, impunity and interference with the judiciary, the U.N. human rights office said.

Turkey should “promptly end the state of emergency and restore the normal functioning of institutions and the rule of law,” it said in a report.

“The sheer number, frequency and lack of connection of several decrees to any national threat seem to … point to the use of emergency powers to stifle any form of criticism or dissent vis-à-vis the government,” it said.

The Turkish government blames the network of Fethullah Gulen, a U.S.-based Muslim cleric, for the failed coup attempt during which 250 people were killed. Gulen has denied any involvement in the coup, however.

Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the numbers of people arrested or dismissed are “just staggering”.

Nearly 160,000 people have been arrested and 152,000 civil servants sacked, “many totally arbitrarily”, in the past 18 months, he said in a statement.

“Teachers, judges and lawyers dismissed or prosecuted; journalists arrested, media outlets shut down and websites blocked – clearly the successive states of emergency declared in Turkey have been used to severely and arbitrarily curtail the human rights of a very large number of people,” Zeid said.

The 28-page report documents the use of torture and ill-treatment in custody, including severe beatings, sexual assault, electric shocks and waterboarding by police, gendarmerie, military police and security forces.

In southeast Turkey, it said that “massive and serious” human rights violations continued to be committed by security forces. These included killings, torture, excessive use of force, and destruction of homes and Kurdish cultural heritage.

The U.N. rights office called for full access to be able to assess the situation in the region.</s>The United Nations has called on Turkey to end the state of emergency introduced after the July 2016 failed coup that it says has led to large-scale human rights violations, but Ankara dismissed the call as "biased" and "unacceptable."

The UN human rights office said that since then, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued more than 20 decrees that had often led to torture of detainees, impunity, and interference with the judiciary.

Turkey should "promptly end the state of emergency and restore the normal functioning of institutions and the rule of law," the office said in a report issued on March 20 in Geneva.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein said nearly 160,000 people had been arrested and 152,000 civil servants fired, "many totally arbitrarily," in the past 18 months, and called the numbers "just staggering."

The Turkish government blames U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen for the failed coup attempt during which 250 people were killed. Gulen has denied any involvement in the coup.

The 28-page report documents instances of torture and ill-treatment in custody, including severe beatings, sexual assault, electric shocks, and waterboarding by the security forces and the military.

In response, Turkey's Foreign Ministry slammed the report as "biased" and "unacceptable."

The report "contains distorted, biased, and false information" and is "unacceptable for Turkey," the ministry said in a statement.

Based on reporting by Reuters, AFP, and dpa</s>The United Nations on Tuesday Match 20, 2018, called on Turkey to end its 18-month-old state of emergency, saying that the routine extension of emergency powers has resulted in “profound” human rights violations against hundreds of thousands of people and may have lasting impact on the country’s socio-economic fabric.

“One of the most alarming findings of the report […] is how Turkish authorities reportedly detained some 100 women who were pregnant or had just given birth, mostly on the grounds that they were ‘associates’ of their husbands, who are suspected of being connected to terrorist organizations,” said Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, in a news release announcing the findings.

“Some were detained with their children and others violently separated from them. This is simply outrageous, utterly cruel, and surely cannot have anything whatsoever to do with making the country safer,” he added.

While taking note of the complex challenges Turkey has faced in addressing the attempted coup in July 2016, as well as a number of terrorist attacks, the report cites that the sheer number, frequency and lack of connection of several emergency decrees to any national threat seem to point to the use of emergency powers to stifle any form of criticism or dissent vis-à-vis the Government.

During the 18-month state of emergency, nearly 160,000 people have been arrested; 152,000 civil servants dismissed, many arbitrarily; and teachers, judges and lawyers dismissed or prosecuted.

The report also documents the use of torture and ill-treatment in custody, including severe beatings, threats of sexual assault and actual sexual assault, electric shocks and waterboarding by police, gendarmerie, military police and security forces.

It also notes that about 300 journalists have been arrested under allegations that their publications contained “apologist sentiments regarding terrorism” or other “verbal act offences” or for “membership” in terrorist organisations.

Over 100,000 websites were reportedly blocked in 2017, including a high number of pro-Kurdish websites and satellite TV channels.

Covering the period January to December last year, the report also states that the April 2017 referendum which extended the President’s executive powers into both the legislature and the judiciary as seriously problematic, resulting in interference with the work of the judiciary and curtailment of parliamentary oversight over the executive branch.

By the end of 2017, 22 emergency decrees were promulgated with a further two more since the cut-off date of the report.

The report further underlines the need ensure independent, individualized reviews and compensation for victims of arbitrary detentions and dismissals and calls on Turkey to promptly end the state of emergency, restore normal functioning of State institutions, as well as revise and release all legislation not compliant with its international human rights obligations, including the emergency decrees.

“I urge the Government of Turkey to ensure that these allegations of serious human rights violations are investigated and the perpetrators are brought to justice,” said Mr. Zeid, also calling on the Government to allow full and unfettered access to his Office (OHCHR) to be able to directly, independently and objectively assess the human rights situation in the southeast of the country.

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 By: news.un.org</s>ANKARA, Turkey — The United Nations has called on Turkey to end a state of emergency imposed after a 2016 failed coup attempt, saying it has led to “profound” human rights violations.

In a report released Tuesday, the U.N. said the state of emergency has paved the way to arbitrary detentions and dismissals, infringements on the rights to freedom of association and expression and torture and ill-treatment.

Turkey has blamed the coup on a network of followers of U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen and launched a massive crackdown on his supporters and others accused of links to terror groups. Tens of thousands of people have been arrested and more than 110,000 dismissed from public sector jobs.

Turkey says the emergency powers are needed to deal with ongoing security threats.</s>GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations called on Turkey on Tuesday to end its 20-month-old state of emergency and accused Ankara of mass arrests, arbitrary sackings and other abuses that in some cases amounted to “collective punishment”.

Turkey’s foreign ministry said the report was filled with unfounded allegations and compared the criticism with propaganda announcements from militant groups.

The U.N. human rights office said Turkey had arrested 160,000 people and dismissed nearly the same number of civil servants since a failed coup in July 2016.

The crackdown was having a “chilling effect” on Turkish society by showing that any dissent will be punished, the U.N. added.

The state of emergency, declared by President Tayyip Erdogan after the coup bid and still in force, has been used to justify the torture of detainees and interference with the judiciary, the U.N. human rights office said.

Turkey should “promptly end the state of emergency and restore the normal functioning of institutions and the rule of law,” the U.N. report said.

The foreign ministry in Ankara said the report showed prejudice against Turkey and ignored “the severe and multiple terrorist threats” it was facing.

The report “contains unfounded allegations matching up perfectly with the propaganda efforts of terrorist organizations,” the ministry added.

The Turkish government blames the network of Fethullah Gulen, a U.S.-based Muslim cleric, for the failed coup attempt during which 250 people were killed. Gulen has denied any involvement.

Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the numbers of people arrested or dismissed are “just staggering”.

Nearly 160,000 people have been arrested and 152,000 civil servants sacked, “many totally arbitrarily”, in the 18 months through to December 2017, he said in a statement.

“Teachers, judges and lawyers dismissed or prosecuted; journalists arrested, media outlets shut down and websites blocked - clearly the successive states of emergency declared in Turkey have been used to severely and arbitrarily curtail the human rights of a very large number of people,” Zeid said.

The report, based on 104 interviews, describes the use of torture and ill-treatment in custody, including severe beatings, sexual assault, electric shocks and waterboarding by police, gendarmerie, military police and security forces.

“We have taken into account the fact that Turkey is combating a large number of terrorist attacks,” U.N. human rights spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told a news briefing.

She said victims included at least 50 women detained just before or after having given birth, some separated from their babies. One woman had been shackled by her legs immediately after a miscarriage, she added.

“We have reports that people were detained and ill-treated without charge by anti-terror police units and security forces at places like sports centers and hospitals, as well as detention facilities,” she added.

Shamdasani, asked whether the violations constitute collective punishment - illegal under international law - replied: “There clearly are instances where people are being collectively punished.”
The United Nations issues a report calling for an end to the nation's state of emergency, claiming it has been used to violate human rights. Turkey responds, calling the report "biased" and "unacceptable".