Hate Crime

Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change

08
Sep

INFORMATION OF INCIDENT

ANALYSIS OF HATE CRIME

  • FACTS

Electrical engineer Tahir Hasan Kartal, who was dismissed by a decree law (KHK) in 2017, applied for a certificate of building supervision expertise issued by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change. Kartal, who was acquitted after a lawsuit was filed against him, couldn’t get the certificate despite meeting all conditions on the ground that he had been dismissed by the decree law.

              –     EVALUATION OF THE CASE UNDER THE TURKISH PENAL CODE

According to article 122[1] of Turkish Penal Code, anyone who prevents a person from benefiting from a certain service provided to the public due to hatred arising from differences in language, race, nationality, color, gender, disability, political opinion, philosophical belief, religion or sect shall be sentenced to imprisonment from one year to three years.

In the case, the application for a certificate of building supervision expertise of Kartal, who was dismissed by OHAL-KHK was refused. The mentioned application was refused on the ground that he had been dismissed by KHK. The motif beyond the refusal is the applicant’s political ideology. As a matter of fact, Kartal was dismissed by KHK which had been adopted to discharge the members of Gulen movement or allegedly members of movement from public service.

In conclusion, in the case, there is a hate and discrimination crime committed by public authority officials.

  • EVALUATION OF THE CASE UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW

According to the Office for Human Rights and Democratic Institutions (ODIHR)[2] of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), a hate crime is a criminal act motivated by bias against a group. Hate crimes comprise two elements: a criminal offence and a bias motivation.

In the case, Kartal’s application was refused on the grounds that he had been dismissed by a state of emergency decree. According to the definition of hate crime by ODIHR, there is a crime of discrimination motivated by hatred of victim’s affiliation with the Gülen movement.

  • CONTEXTUAL INFORMATION

What is a Decree Law (KHK)?

On July 20, 2016, a State of Emergency (OHAL) was declared across Turkey. Under the State of Emergency, the government was authorized to issue emergency decrees.

The Justice and Development Party (AKP), led by President Erdoğan, accused the Gülen movement of instigating the alleged failed coup on July 15, 2016, and all these ordinary and extraordinary decrees were part of a broader hate campaign against the Gülen movement.

After July 2016, the government fired more than a hundred thousand people associated with the Gülen movement. Thousands of educational institutions were closed, more than a hundred media outlets were shut down and journalists arrested. More than a hundred people have died under torture. Dozens of people were kidnapped at home and abroad.

What is The Certificate of Building Supervision Expertise?

The certificate of building supervision expertise is a document that architects and engineers who want to work in building inspection organizations must obtain. Building inspection experts supervise the legal compliance and safety of buildings.

[1] ARTICLE 122-(1) Any person who makes discrimination between individuals because of their racial, lingual,

religious, sexual, political, philosophical belief or opinion, or for being supporters of different sects and therefore;

a) Prevents sale, transfer of movable or immovable property, or performance of a service, or benefiting from a

service, or bounds employment or unemployment of a person to above listed reasons,

b) Refuses to deliver nutriments or to render a public service,

c) Prevents a person to perform an ordinary economical activity,

is sentenced to imprisonment from six months to one year or imposed punitive fine.

[2] https://hatecrime.osce.org/