Turkish Conscientous Objector defies Turkish army as Amnesty pledge to adopt Osman Murat Ulke as 'Prisoner of Conscience'.

Published: July 29, 2007, 3:40 pm

Tags: osman murat ulke conscientious objector turkey turkish army human rights

Arrest warrant for military 'deserter' defies European court 17th July 2007A MILITARY prosecutor has issued an arrest warrant for Turkey's most famous conscientious objector, in breach of a landmark European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruling last year that the repeated imprisonment of Osman Murat Ulke constituted degrading treatment.Ulke has been arrested and imprisoned repeatedly since he burnt his call-up papers in 1995, for the simple reason that Turkey does not recognise conscientious objection.His various prison sentences - 701 days spread over 12 years - have been for "disobedience of military discipline", "putting people off the military" and "desertion".He has the right to neither a passport nor a bank account. Officially, his three-year-old son is not his and he cannot marry the child's mother.This is despite the ECHR ruling in January last year that: "The clandestine life amounting almost to 'civil death' which the applicant has been compelled to adopt is incompatible

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