|
Conscription: |
Yes |
|
Conscientious objection: |
- |
|
|
Service
|
Military: |
6 |
Since 2019, there is the option of paid service: if one pays around €4900, he can serve for 1 month (including only basic training). |
Civilian: |
- |
Not available. |
|
Minimum
|
Conscription: |
20 |
|
Voluntary enlistment: |
17 |
17 for the registration to the 'National Defence University'. |
|
More |
Please check section 1.1.1.1 European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and section 1.1.1.2 Committee of Ministers.
Türkiye is the only member state in the Council of Europe that has not recognised the right to conscientious objection to military service, or at least indicated the intention of making alternative service available. Türkiye continues to prosecute conscientious objectors and to ignore the judgements which the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has pronounced since 2006 in favour of Turkish conscientious objectors, in what the Committee of Ministers has named the “Ülke group” of cases. Many different penalties are imposed on those who refuse to perform military service. As a result, conscientious objectors face ongoing arrest warrants; a life-long cycle of prosecutions and imprisonment, and a situation of “civil death” which excludes them from social, cultural and economic life.
The Conscientious Objection Association in Türkiye, a member of EBCO, had to close down at the end of 2021 due to increasing pressure on civil society organizations in Türkiye. Following the official closure of the association, activists and experts working on the right to conscientious objection in Türkiye started to continue their work in the field as a civil initiative. Since early 2022, Vicdani Ret İzleme,[1] an initiative working in the field of conscientious objection, has been monitoring and reporting on the current situation of conscientious objectors in Türkiye, the human rights violations they experience, and the judicial processes they go through. The initiative advocates for the recognition of the right to conscientious objection in Türkiye.
Throughout 2022, Conscientious Objection Watch produced periodic bulletins [2] for a year to document and make visible the current situation of conscientious objectors in Türkiye.
In 2022, a total of 27 people in Türkiye declared their conscientious objection by contacting Conscientious Objection Watch.
Human Rights Violations, Restrictions and Prosecutions of Conscientious Objectors in Türkiye in 2022
All the cases, sentences and investigations in Türkiye throughout 2022 have once again revealed the lawlessness in which conscientious objectors in Türkiye are trapped. But in spite of everything, The European Parliament's mention of the situation of conscientious objectors in Türkiye and the violation of the right to conscientious objection in its resolution [12] of 7 June 2022 on the 2021 Commission Report on Türkiye was promising in terms of putting the violation of the right to conscientious objection in Türkiye on the agenda of international human rights mechanisms.
[6] https://vicdaniret.org/vicdani-retci-ayrimciliga-ugradigini-belirterek-anayasa-mahkemesine-basvurdu/
[7] https://vicdaniret.org/vicdani-ret-izleme-bedelli-askerlik-uygulamasi-vicdani-retciler-icin-bir-alternatif-degildir/