【土耳其】10人的100天牢獄生活，背後10個荒謬的理由

 

10 people, 100 days in prison, 10 absurd reasons why

10人的100天牢獄生活，背後10個荒謬的理由

 

Today marks 100 days since Turkish security forces stormed a routine training workshop and bundled away 10 prominent human rights activists. Most of the group - dubbed the Istanbul 10 - have been locked-up in Turkey’s highest security prison.

今天是土耳其安全部隊闖進一場例行培訓工作坊中，將10名知名人權行動者綁走後的第100天。大多數人目前仍被關在土耳其的最高戒備監獄中。

 

This week the prosecutor filed an indictment calling for the group, which includes a German and Swedish trainer and the director of Amnesty International Turkey, to be sentenced for up to 15 years on terrorism charges.

檢方提交一份公訴書，以恐怖主義罪名要求將上述這群人權捍衛者處刑最高15年有期徒刑，其中包含德國籍與瑞典籍講師，還有國際特赦組織土耳其分會秘書長。

 

The absurdity of the charges against them and the reasons they are being held in prison will leave you incredulous.

針對他們的指控之荒謬，加上他們入獄的理由絕對讓你難以置信。

 

So much for a “secret meeting”

大概就是說，有那麼一場「秘密會議」。

 

Turkish prosecutors have attempted to depict the meeting as a shadowy gathering of conspirators seeking to create “chaos in society”, BUT…

土耳其檢方企圖將這場工作坊形容成一場心懷不軌的人們舉辦的秘密聚會，目的是為了創造「社會動亂」，但是...

 

1.   This was not a secret meeting ... Many people from lots of organisations had been openly invited.

第一，這根本不是一場秘密聚會...來自不同組織的許多人都獲得公開邀請。

 

2.   The meeting was held in a glass building where they could be seen and, as the police report notes, the door was left wide open. "We went to the hotel and went to the meeting room on the upper floor. The door was open, and people were seen to be sitting in a circle in the meeting room."

第二，這場會議的地點在一棟鑲滿玻璃窗的建築物內，人人都可以看進去，警方的報告記載著當時門敞開著。「我們進入飯店，進入樓上的會議室。門是開著的，人們在會議室裡圍成一個圈坐著。」

 

3.   One of the trainers at the meeting, Peter Steudtner, provided details in the German Government’s system for registering foreign travel of where he was going and what he was doing in Turkey. Turkish prosecutor, however, is using this as evidence of German government involvement in the alleged conspiracy.

第三，其中一名講師彼得・史特納（Peter Steudtner）旅行時在德國政府登記外國旅行的系統提交了關於這趟外國旅行的詳細資料，包括他要去哪裡，他會在土耳其做什麼。儘管如此，土耳其檢方卻以此作為德國政府介入這些陰謀的證據。

 

4.   One of the participants, Nalan Erkem, posted a photo of the hotel on her Instagram account and publicly announced where they were staying. “Where are you staying?” asks a friend. “At the Ascot Hotel” replies Nalan. https://www.instagram.com/p/BWEr75PjcDU/

第四，其中一名與會者納蘭（Nalan Erkem）在她的Instagram上貼了一張飯店的照片，公開寫著他們住的地方。她的一名朋友留言：「你住在哪裡？」納蘭回答：「Ascot飯店。」

 

They found a random interpreter off the internet?

他們甚至在網路上隨機找了一名口譯。

 

If you’re meeting to discuss terrorism-related activities, you would presumably employ a translator you know and trust BUT…

如果你是要討論恐怖行動，你大概會想找一個你認識且信任的譯者。但是...

 

5.   The group found their translator, who they’d never met before, on a website for interpreters.

第五，這場活動在網路上招募了一名他們之前從來沒見過的口譯。

 

It was this interpreter who tipped off the police telling them: “...some of the conversations I hear are about smuggling mobile phones past the police, how the information on these phones is stored, the encryption of the information in these phones. They were very worried, they asked questions about this, foreigners and Turkish-speaking people.”

而且就是這名口譯密報警方說：「...我聽到有些對話是關於躲過警方走私手機，怎麼儲存這些手機上的資訊、怎麼加密手機上的資訊。他們很擔心，問了很多相關的問題，包括外國人和講土耳其語的人。」

 

If this is what the raid was based on, it was clearly not a carefully planned intelligence-led police operation to uncover a conspiracy.

如果說這是發起掃蕩行動的原因，那顯然是一場情報單位主導，而且沒有經過精心設計的「掃蕩秘密行動」的警察行動。

 

Sketchy evidence

證據草率

 

6.   A scrappy “map” – found by the police on the meeting room table - is being used as one of the central pieces of “evidence” against those detained.

第六，警方在會議室桌上找到一張雜亂的「地圖」，作為起訴被拘留的人權捍衛者的核心「證據」之一。

 

As an ice-breaking exercise, the trainer Peter Steudtner, had asked participants to draw something that makes them feel stressed. Şeyhmus Özbekli, who suffers from claustrophobia, drew a lift; İlknur Üstün, a keen squash player, drew balls flying towards her; and Özlem Dalkıran drew a picture of Turkey depicting the war in the south east, people jailed in Istanbul, refugees fleeing war in Iraq & Syria and hydro-electric plants in the Black Sea.

在一場破冰遊戲中，講師彼得請參與者畫出讓他們倍感壓力的事物。

 

map_drawn_by_ozlem_dalkiran.jpeg

7.   Özlem’s badly drawn map is not the only map being used as evidence.

 

Another map found on Ali Gharavi’s computer is also being used as incriminating “evidence” in spite of the fact that it merely an academic map of language groups in Turkey, Iraq and Iran. The map is widely available on line and used for educational purposes.

 

17-08/04/4.jpg

 

“If this is a crime…we’ll continue to commit it”

「」

 

8.   The prosecution case against İdil Eser includes allegations that a letter was sent by Amnesty International to the South Korean Embassy in Turkey asking them to end the sale of teargas canisters to Turkey following the Gezi Park protests. This is the type of bread-and-butter work Amnesty International does and what’s more, this letter was sent before İdil had even joined the organisation.

 

9.   İlknur Üstün, a women’s rights activist, is accused of requesting funding from “an embassy” to support a project on “gender equality, participation in policy making and reporting.” She wrote about the work she does from prison saying: “If this is a crime…we’ll continue to commit it”

 

10.                The most unlikely group of “terrorists” you’ll ever see

第十，世界上最不像最不可能成為「恐怖份子」的一群人

 

None of these human rights defenders have advocated for hatred, violence or discrimination.

 

Swedish trainer, Ali Gharvi would often introduce himself to people saying: “My name is Ali, like the boxer Muhammad Ali, only without the violence” and a less violent group of people you would be hard pressed to find.

 

Peter Steudtner has dedicated his life to promoting the peaceful and nonviolent resolution of conflicts focusing on teaching people the “Do-No-Harm” approach. In a letter sent from prison, he wrote: “It’s important to me that the political and legal responsibility for our situation isn‘t placed on Turkey as a country or its people…Let us walk the non-violent path of human rights together!”

 

İİdil Eser has worked for many civil society organizations including the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly and Doctors Without Borders, and when in 2011 earthquakes shook eastern Turkey, she flew to Van to volunteer her services.

Günal Kurşun is an academic and lawyer who has written 10 stories for his two year old son whilst in prison.