‘Marco’ row prompts investigation of Turks in German prisons

With the imprisonment in Turkey of a German boy on charges of sexual abuse, the German media is focusing on conditions in Turkish prisons -- in response Turkish groups in Germany have started to investigate penal facilities in their adopted homeland.


The German broadcasting stations, which have been airing from the Antalya Prison, left the area in compliance with the recent court verdict that put a broadcast embargo in effect in relation to the case.
Throughout the week the German press has given heavy coverage to the case of a 17-year-old German boy held in Turkey, accused of sexually abusing a 13-year-old British girl. The German government is seeking his extradition, and the German press has turned its attention on conditions in Turkish prisons. This week German journalists held live broadcasts in front of the Antalya prison, where the youth is being held.

In a case that has threatened to strain ties between Ankara and Berlin, an adolescent identified only as Marco W. struck up a friendship with a British girl in April while they were both in the Turkish coastal resort town of Antalya. The mother of the girl, identified as Charlotte M. from Manchester, accused Marco of having a physical relationship with her daughter and filed a sexual abuse charge with the police, leading to the boy’s arrest.

Turkish groups in Germany, angered by the negative press about Turkey this has generated, started to question the conditions of German prisons. According to data from the Turkish Foreign Ministry, since 1988 some 76 Turkish citizens have died in German prisons; between January 1997 and January of this year 38 Turks committed suicide or died in suspicious circumstances in German prisons. A total of 182 inmates of various nationalities have died in Germany’s prisons since 1994, according to data from the German Justice Ministry; 93 were suicides, while 10 fell victim to accidents.

German officials haven’t announced information on the ethnic background of the dead prisoners publicly, saying “they don’t track statistics based on nationalities.” However on the basis of the above figures it appears that Turks account for more than half of suicides in German prisons -- far out of proportion to their position as a minority in the country.

Prisons in Germany are run solely by the federal states, although governed by federal law. There are prisons for first-time offenders, while recidivists are assigned “regular” imprisonment. People who receive long sentences are imprisoned at a maximum security prison. Special institutions are also provided for female and juvenile prisoners.

All foreign inmates in Germany serve their time in the so-called “regular prisons.” There are also special facilities for those convicted of murder and terrorism. It is mostly up to the prison administration to decide what privileges inmates will have. Some prisons allow inmates to watch television or listen to music, while others strictly ban bringing in music CDs or cassettes.

Merkel to intervene?

On Thursday Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters in Berlin, “Our entire purpose should be to help the youth as far as possible.” She appealed for “caution and calm” in the case of Marco W, who awaits trial in Turkey on July 6.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Broadcast embargo in effect in relation to sexual abuse case
The German broadcasting station, which has been airing from the Antalya Prison where a German adolescent is detained for alleged sexual abuse, left the area in compliance with the recent court verdict that enacted a broadcast embargo in relation to the case.

The court agreed to the request by the Antalya Prosecutor’s Office, which held that a broadcast embargo should be invoked under the international conventions on the protection of minors. The verdict was forwarded to the members of the German media and their representatives by the police. The media members were notified that they should leave the vicinity. In compliance with the notification, they left their location outside the prison and moved to Cumhuriyet Square.

The Germans were surprised by the court decision, however reports indicate that they complied with the verdict to show their respect for the laws of the country. Authorities from the prosecutor’s office underline that the decision was made to implement the provisions of international conventions codified to protect minors and that media members should do their best to comply with it. The same authorities also noted that the verdict does not mean censorship and they will inform the German media members about the case upon request. Antalya Today’s Zaman


30.06.2007

AHMET ÖZAY FRANKFURT

source. wwww.zaman.com

The German government ,and some other certain European governments, never consents to extradite criminals, especially terrorists to Turkey, despite the existing agreement of extradition. However, the German government is insolently demanding of the Turkish government to send the boy (who committed a crime in Turkey) to Germany in order to judge him in the German court of law.

I am confused. Why are the German government involved in this case? Am I missing something? The victim is British and the accused is Turkish....where did Germany fit into this equation? I should be less lazy and read the full news story !

In any case, I do agree that as this crime was committed in Turkey then any trial should be held in Turkey. The only reason for extradition would be if the crime was committed in another country.

With regard to "negative" journalism in Turkey - so what?!?! Deal with it! Surely reporting on such things can only do good and improve conditions. Same goes for Turkish journalists investigating German prisons (although its rather a childish "tit for tat" reaction"). Its important that there are journalists who bring public awareness to such situations.

I will never understand this inability of Turkish to take any criticism. If my country found that there was poor conditions in prisons I would be very thankful that it had been brought to the notice of the public! You must not let your Government get away with these things!!!

Remember Watergate?

Its entirely the same on this website, I notice. If something about Turkey is criticised, the reaction of Turkish members here is to find something WORSE about another country, instead of admitting that something might be wrong with theirs!!! It reminds me of children in a school yard!

I think, Turkish people, in this site or outside, cannot stand the hypocrisy rather than the criticism. They can easily judge Turkey without even understanding the situtation and they immediately start an attack. We cannot take destructive criticism. There are even some who make false news on Turkey.