Inter­na­tio­nal Support of Conscien­tious Objec­tors and Deserters

Türkiye: Reddediyorum!

(15.05.2021) İlk günden başlayacağım. Henüz 19 yaşındaydım, bahçede otururken geveze bir arkadaşım geldi. Hadi, askerlik muayenesine gitmemiz gerekiyor dedi. Ben askere gitmeyeceğim, sen git dedim.

O zaman neden reddettim tam olarak açıklayamam ama içimden hep bir ses yanlış bir şeyler olduğunu söylüyordu. Arkadaşıma bu cevabı verince afalladı, devlete kafa mı tutuyorsun dedi. Seni kaybederler, nereye kaçacaksın gibi bir sürü saçma cümle kurdu. Ben direnince sonunda anneme seslendi. Teyze dedi, sizin de başınız belaya girer, suçluya yardım ve yataklıktan sizi de içeri atarlar.

My right to vote has been taken away

Video with conscientious objector Murat Demiroğlu

(13.05.2021) Murat Demiroğlu is a conscientious objector and graphic designer living in Istanbul. In this video he describes in detail how civilian death, the constant police checks, the ever-present threat of recruitment affect his everyday life. The video has been made by Association for Conscientious Objection (Istanbul) and published to the International Day of Conscientious Objection, May 15, 2021.

Turkish with English undertitles.

Turkey: There was an arrest warrant for evasion of the military draft

Video with conscientious objector Davut Erkan

(11.05.2021) Davut Erkan is a conscientious objector and lawyer in Turkey. In this video he describes in detail how civilian death, the constant police checks, the ever-present threat of recruitment affect his work and everyday life. The video has been made by Association for Conscientious Objection (Istanbul) and published to the International Day of Conscientious Objection, May 15, 2021.

Turkish with English undertitles.

Turkmenistan: 16 conscientious objectors freed

(10.05.2021) In a surprise move, the regime freed from prison on 8 May all 16 of Turkmenistan’s known jailed conscientious objectors in a prisoner amnesty. The 16 – all of them Jehovah’s Witnesses – were serving jail terms of between one and four years. They are among the very few prisoners of conscience - including political prisoners - ever to be freed in the regular prisoner amnesties.