Turkish state-sponsored kidnappings, torture referred to ICC
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Turkey Tribunal, an investigative body set up in 2020 to collect Turkish state-sponsored crimes, presented a formal complaint with the Netherlands-based International Criminal Court (ICC) on Wednesday.
The dossier included 17 cases of enforced disappearance and 800 cases of torture. In total, roughly 1.300 victims are named in the report, The Guardian said. The cases are mainly connected to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ‘counter coup’ in the aftermath of the 2016 attempt to overthrow him. Around 200.000 were kidnapped, wrongfully imprisoned, and, in some cases, tortured.
The cases brought before the ICC pertain mostly to the kidnapping and torture of Turkish citizens connected to Fetullah Gulen, a Muslim cleric. Gulen’s organization, which helped Erdogan come to power, had a far-reaching influence on domestic institutions in Turkey, as well as abroad, where it opened schools and other institutes.
For a case to referred to the ICC, the country wherein a crime is committed needs to be a signatory to the Rome Statute, which established the court. Turkey is not such a signatory. However, at least 17 other countries across the globe, from which Turkish special forces kidnapped or attempted to kidnap Turkish citizens, are. The ICC case being brought against Turkey hinges on these alleged crimes.
The ICC investigation, if it is taken up by the court, will likely take years to complete. If President Erdogan wins re-election in May, it is unlikely to cause more than some embarrassment. in Even if President Erdogan should lose the coming elections, Turkey is unlikely to send him and other top officials to stand trial in The Hague. However, should a new government take the reins in two months, naming and shaming the crimes of the Erdogan government may be a powerful mechanism to break with the previous regime, even if merely symbolically.