CAT/C/38/D/281/2005**
Page 3
the complainant to Turkey††. By Note Verbale of 30 April 2007, the State party informed the
Committee that the complainant was released form custody by decision of the Istanbul Court
for Grave Crimes of 12 April 2007.
The facts as submitted by the complainant
2.1 From 1993 to 1996, the complainant was detained in Turkey on charges of “subversive
activities and terrorism” for the PKK (Communist Party of Kurdistan). She was released after
her acquittal by the Istanbul State Security Court, based on the insufficiency of evidence. She
claims that while in detention, she was tortured, although she does not describe the acts of
torture nor provides any medical certificate in corroboration.
2.2 In 1998, the complainant fled to Germany, where she was granted refugee status. In
2002 she began working as a journalist for a pro-Kurdish news agency. In February 2003, she
was sent to Iraq to cover the events there. In November 2003, she covered a PKK press
conference in Northern Iraq, which was broadcast on Al-Jazeera TV. In May 2004, the news
agency’s office in Mosul was attacked by unidentified armed individuals, who took away her
travel documents. On 6 November 2004, she entered Azerbaijan to contact the German
Embassy and have her travel documents re-issued. Azerbaijani authorities then arrested her
for illegal entry into the country.
2.3 On 3 December 2004, the Istanbul District Court for Grave Crimes sentenced the
complainant in absentia to 10 years’ imprisonment, for her involvement in subversive
activities for the PPK, because she attended a meeting in Northern Iraq as a journalist to
cover a meeting of PKK members. On 6 December 2004, the Istanbul District Court
requested her extradition from Azerbaijan.
2.4 On 17 March 2005, the Sharursk Court in Nakhchvan (Azerbaijan) sentenced her to a
fine for illegal entry. Although the court ordered her release, she was arrested in the
courtroom by agents of the Ministry of the Interior, who brought her to Baku and placed her
in detention. On 2 June 2005, the Court for Serious Crimes of Azerbaijan decided to extradite
her to Turkey. On 2 September 2005, the Court of Appeal confirmed this decision. This
judgment became executory immediately. On 14 September 2005, the complainant lodged an
appeal in the Supreme Court, but this appeal does not have suspensive effect, and she risks
extradition at any time.
The complaint
3.
The complainant claims that her deportation to Turkey would violate article 3 of the
Convention, as there are substantial grounds for believing that, if deported, she would be
subjected to torture or other inhuman treatment and forced to confess guilt. She would
immediately be taken into custody and questioned by the Department for Fight against
Terrorism. In the past years, Azerbaijan has returned an important number of individuals
accused of links with the PKK to Turkey.
††
See paragraph 8.1