TURKEY: Conscientious objector Mehmet Tarhan transferred to hospital by force - forcefully undressed and forced to wear uniform

Turkish gay conscientious objector Mehmet Tarhan was today transferred to the Sivas Military Hospital by force, where he was undressed and forced to wear a military uniform. He has also been attacked by other prisoners, who had been told that "a terrorist" would be sent to the hospital. Mehmet Tarhan was transferred to the military hospital following an order of the General Attorney dated 19 April 2005. The hospital is asked to produce a report on his homosexuality, which the Turkish military - in contradiction to international standards - views as an illness, which would allow the military to discharge Mehmet Tarhan from military service. In his declaration of conscientious objection in 2001, Mehmet Tarhan rejected this option: "I preceive the unfit (or 'rotten') report given as a 'right' based on my homosexuality as an expression of the rotteness of the militarist system itself." Mehmet Tarhan's lawyers pointed out after a meeting with the attorney that any medical examination of Mehmet Tarhan against his will is a form of torture, and demanded that these unlawful practices be stopped immediately. It is expected that Mehmet Tarhan will be examined on Tuesday, 26 April, two days before his trial.

War Resisters' International calls for the immediate release of Mehmet Tarhan, and an immediate end to any medical examination against his will. War Resisters' International calls for Mehmet Tarhan to be treated as a conscientious objector. Any discharge for reasons of his homosexuality is a discrimination based on sexual orientation, and a violation of international human rights standards. War Resisters' International urgently calls for protest faxes to the Military Hospital in Sivas: +90-346-2253915
(Please write Hastanenin dikkatine (to the attention of the hospital) in big letters on the top)

Andreas Speck
War Resisters' International

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