JINHA

NEWS CENTER – Human rights lawyer Margaret Owen, reporting on the nine-day state siege of the Kurdish town of Cizre, has confirmed that Turkey violated international law in its attack on the city.

Human rights lawyer Margaret Owen traveled to the besieged town of Cizre and the Sur district of the main Kurdish city of Diyarbakır to investigate what happened when Turkish security forces imposed brutal 24-hour curfews on the areas.

Margaret called the 24-hour curfew and bombardment implemented in the towns, in which soldiers and police were ordered to “shoot to kill,” a breach of international law. Margaret, writing on KurdishQuestion.com, called on the international community to immediately intervene to stop a civil war in Turkey.

“It is a violent and unpredictable time. From the moment the pro-Kurdish HDP party gained its 81 seats in the June presidential election and deprived President Erdogan of winning the mandate to gain more executive power, the AKP party has resorted to ever more violent repression of its Kurdish citizens, not just in the Southeast but all over Turkey,” wrote Margaret. “Towns and cities where 80% of the citizens voted for the HDP, declared ‘self-administrated democracy’ or protested about the arbitrary dismissal and arrests of their elected (Kurdish) mayors became targets for the most horrific bombardments.”

Margaret reported that the state had implemented collective punishment on civilians, in violation of the Geneva Convention. Police denied residents permission to bury their dead or bring their wounded loved ones to the hospital. Margaret noted that the police’s order to doctors not to provide medical services or leave their homes also breached international law.

Reporting on the effects of the curfew on women and children, Margaret noted that many women had miscarriages due to the military attacks and the shortage of water and electricity. A young baby and a 10-year-old girl, Cemile Çağırga, were among the victims of the police violence and denial of medical treatment.

Reporting on the situation in the Sur district of Diyarbakır, Margaret wrote that police opened fire on historic churches and mosques during the curfew. “Such desecration of antiquities are crimes we associate with ISIS as opposed to government forces,” Margaret noted.

Margaret also met with women lawyers in Turkey working on documenting and bringing charges related to human rights violations. However, she noted that such lawyers—like the woman co-mayor of Cizre, Leyla İmret—could themselves be persecuted under the Turkish penal code.

“It is imperative that we persuade the UK and all UN Members to come together to use all possible diplomatic and other means to resurrect the peace process. It also must be insured that all international observers are in Turkey to monitor the snap election procedures on November 1st,” said Margaret.

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