CAT/C/32/D/214/2002
Page 5
in the blockade could easily be inferred from his conviction of joint coercion in road
traffic, since the judicial records exchanged between German and Turkish authorities
indicate the date of a criminal offense. In the absence of witnesses of his participation
in the PKK training course, which was to be kept secret, he claims the benefit of
doubt for himself. He refers to the Committee’s General Comment No. 1, which
provides that, for purposes of article 3 of the Convention, the risk of torture “does not
have to meet the test of being highly probable”.
3.3
Moreover, the complainant refers to the written testimony by a Mr. F. S., dated
6 July 2002, in which the witness declared that he had traveled to the Kurdish festival
in the Netherlands in 1994 together with the complainant, who had publicly declared
to participate in the PKK.
3.4
The complainant explains the apparent contradiction between the PKK’s
policy of secrecy and the public presentation of 25 guerilla candidates in front of
60.000 to 80.000 people at the Halim-Dener-Festival with the campaign, initiated by
Abdullah Öcalan in March 1994, of demonstrating the Organization’s presence and
capacity to enforce its policies throughout Europe. His exemption from the duty to
undergo military PKK training was only temporary, pending a final decision to be
taken in May 1995. In any event, inconsistencies in the official PKK policy could not
be raised against him.
3.5
As regards the burden of proof within national proceedings, the complainant
submits that, pursuant to section 86 of the Code of Administrative Court Procedure,
the administrative courts must investigate the facts of a case ex officio. He was
therefore under no procedural obligation to prove his PKK membership. By stating
that he took part in a PKK training course from September 1994 to January 1995, the
complainant considers to have complied with his duty to cooperate with the courts.
3.6
As to the Turkish authorities’ knowledge of his PKK membership, the
complainant contends that there can be no doubt that the Turkish secret service
observed the events taking place at the Halim-Dener-Festival in 1994. Moreover, he
claims to have seen one of his training officers at the Maastricht camp, called
“Yilmaz”, on Turkish television after his arrest by Turkish police. “Yilmaz”
reportedly agreed to cooperate with Turkish authorities, thereby placing the
participants of the training camp at risk of having their identities revealed. The
complainant further claims that one of his neighbour villagers told him that another
participant of the training camp, called “Cektar”, to whom he had close contact during
the course, was captured by the Turkish army. It can be reasonably assumed,
according to the complainant, that “Cektar” was handed over to the police for
interrogation and tortured in order to extract information on PKK members from him.
3.7
The complainant concludes that, upon return to Turkey, he would be seized by
Turkish airport police, handed over to specific police authorities for interrogation, and
gravely tortured by those authorities. From previous views of the Committee he infers
that the Committee found instances of torture by Turkish police likely to happen when
the authorities were informed about a suspect’s collaboration with the PKK.