Turkish air strike killed 36 civilians

The deaths of 36 people, who may have been locals smuggling in goods from northern Iraq, killed in an overnight airstrike by Turkish warplanes in southeastern Turkey have led to doubts about the intelligence sources on which the military relied before conducting the operation.
Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Deputy Chairman Hüseyin Çelik held a press conference Thursday evening, saying the incident was the result of an “operational accident” that was caused by a mistake or intelligence failure. He said both a legal and an administrative probe were underway to name those responsible for the deadly error. “If there was a mistake, it will not be covered up in any way and the necessary legal action will be taken.”

A statement from the Şırnak Governor's Office said 35 people were killed and another was injured in the airstrikes. However, hospital records indicate a death toll of 36.

The Turkish military released a statement Thursday that said the area struck was the Sinat-Haftanin region of northern Iraq, where the primary Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) bases are located and where there are no civilian inhabitants.

“Administrative and judicial investigations are underway and procedures are being followed with respect to the incident,” the General Staff said.

ECHR; Veli İsmail Altınok

The applicant, Veli Ismail Altınok, is a Turkish national who was born in 1981 and lives inAdana. He was arrested on 12 April 2007 following a complaint alleging fraud andforgery. After being brought before the criminal court he was placed in pre-trialdetention. Relying on Article 5 § 4 (right to take proceedings to have the lawfulness ofdetention decided speedily by a court), he alleges that the lodging of an objection andthe procedure for automatic review of detention are ineffective. He also complains thatthe Assize Court did not give adequate reasons for ordering his continued detention anddismissing his objections. Relying on Article 5 § 5 (right to compensation), he complainsthat he did not have an effective remedy by which to obtain compensation. Altınok v. Turkey (no. 31610/08)

Europe May Turn Back 1930

Europe Human Right Court President Jean-Paul Costas incumbency ends at this month. He has been chairing for 13 years. He talked about future of court, Europe, European Union, economic crisis damages to human rights.
According to Kayhan Karaca, reporter of ntvmsnbc.com, Jean Paul Costa is anxious about Europe future.

"We have two possible script view of geopolitical. First script is disaster. Those events at 1930's may repeat today (In Europe). Very serious economic and social crisis, unemployment, authoritarian regimes capture the competence and war. League of Nations demolishes and the passing from the peace to the war and the passing from international organizations to gunfight. This is the script of disaster. We can think these possibilities will repeat. All conditions are available. But although I think international society will resist despite these conditions and the peace will resist to the war. But the fact that we will live hard conditions is real. Climbing over economic crisis which begin 3 years ago will attend during long years. But I don't think script of disaster is inevitable" Costa said.

Turkey bombed military targets in Syria

Turkey's military struck targets inside Syria on Wednesday in response to a mortar bomb fired from Syrian territory which killed five Turkish civilians, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's office said in a statement.

Our armed forces in the border region responded immediately to this abominable attack in line with their rules of engagement; targets were struck through artillery fire against places in Syria identified by radar, the statement said.

"Turkey will never leave unanswered such kinds of provocation by the Syrian regime against our national security," it added.

Davutoğlu had also agreed with NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on the need for an emergency meeting of NATO members, the statement said.

A mortar bomb fired from Syria landed in a residential district of the southeastern Turkish town of Akçakale on Wednesday, killing a woman and four children from the same family and wounding at least 13 other people.

A cloud of dust and smoke rose up over low-rise buildings as residents ran to help the wounded. Others, infuriated by the increasing spillover of violence from Syria's civil war, took to the streets shouting protests against the local authorities.

Davutoğlu phoned UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to brief him about the incident and also spoke with senior military officials and Syria crisis mediator Lakhdar Brahimi, his ministry said in a statement.

Davutoğlu signaled over the weekend that Turkey would take action if there was a repeat of a mortar strike which damaged homes and workplaces in Akçakale last Friday.

"It (latest mortar round) hit right in the middle of the neighbourhood. The wife and four children from the same family died," Ahmet Emin Meşhurgül, local head of the Turkish Red Crescent, told Reuters, adding he knew the victims personally.

ECHR; President Jean Paul Costa (France)

Born on 3 November 1941 in Tunis
Diploma of the Institute of Political Studies of Paris, 1961
Master of Law, Faculty of Law, Paris, 1962
Diploma of Superior Studies (post-graduate), Public law, 1964
Former pupil of the ENA (Ecole nationale d’administration), 1964-66
Auditeur at the Conseil d’Etat, 1966
Rapporteur at the judicial section of the Council of State, 1966-1971, 1977-80, 1987-89, assessor of sub-section (chamber), judicial section of the Council of State, 1989-93
Directeur du cabinet (political secretary) of the Minister of Education (Alain Savary), 1981-84
Associate professor, Universities of Orléans, 1989-98 and Panthéon-Sorbonne, 1992-98
President of sub-section, judicial section of the Council of State, 1993-98
Judge of the European Court of Human Rights since 1 November 1998
President of Section since 1 May 2000
Vice-President of the Court since 1 November 2001
President of the Court since 19 January 2007.