PKK terrorists return from Iraq to Turkey

The Economist reports that 34 PKK fighters and their sympathisers gave themselves up in a gesture that may bring peace. The move comes after a year of secret talks between Turkey, America, the Iraqi Kurds who control the mountainous territory in which the fighters have been based, and probably the PKK itself.
Jamestown has an exclusive [...]

Turkish police detain 50 Al-Qaeda suspects

Turkish police on Thursday rounded up some 50 people with suspected links to the al-Qaeda network who were allegedly planning attacks against NATO, U.S. and Israeli targets in the country, according to Al Arabiya. Although police officials confirmed the raids, they have refused to give figure on the total number of people detained.

EChR non-refoulement case of Abdolkhani and Karimnia v. Turkey

The court ruled that two ex-members of the People’s Mojahedin Organisation (PMOI), who were both recognised as refugees by UNHCR when they left Iran for Iraq to live in a PMOI camp. Discontent with the organisation’s goals and methods, they left and entered a refugee camp set up by the United States forces in Iraq. [...]

Divided Appeals Court Rules in Favor of Abu Ghraib Contractors

[JURIST] A federal appeals court on Friday rejected a lawsuit brought against private contractors by Iraqi plaintiffs alleging torture at the Abu Ghraib prison. The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia  held that federal law concerning “combatant activities” preempted the state tort claims brought by the former detainees. Redefining the test set [...]

Second Ergenekon trial opens

Fifty-six people, including two retired generals, journalists and academics, have gone on trial in Turkey accused of plotting to overthrow the government. Prosecutors say they were members of a shadowy ultranationalist network – dubbed Ergenekon – which allegedly aimed to provoke a military coup.

Turkish parliament passes legislation on trying military personnel in civilian courts during peacetime

According to Zaman, the legislation passed on 26 June 2009 requires civilian courts to try members of the armed forces who are accused of crimes including threats to national security, constitutional violations, organizing armed groups and attempts to topple the government, according to Parliament’s Web site.
Sinan Kılıkçaya, head of the Jurists’ Union, told the Cihan [...]

Round-up of interesting reading material

* Transparency dissected by Lawrence B. Solum. Read his legal theory post here.
* United Nations Collective Security and the United States Security Guarantee in an Age of Rising Multipolarity: The Security Council as the Talking Shop of the Nations? New paper by Kenneth Anderson.
* “Legal Barriers to Information Sharing: The Erection of a Wall Between [...]

U.S. files appeal on terrorism support in Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project

(Scotus) The Obama Administration asked the Supreme Court on Wednesday to revive key parts of a federal law, nullified by a federal appeals court, that make it a crime to provide support to foreign groups deemed to be terrorists.  The Supreme Court turned down an earlier government appeal in the case in 2001, but Congress [...]

PKK leader offers Turkey peace offer

The Kurdish leader proposing to end a 25-year-long conflict with Turkey that has cost 30,000 lives believes his peace offer is a once in a generation opportunity that must be grasped by both sides. In a unilateral gesture that has prompted a re-examination of strategy in Ankara, Baghdad and Washington, the guerrilla leadership of the [...]

Turkey reorganizes counter-terrorist institutions

Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek revealed plans to establish a new organization responsible for implementing an effective counter terrorism strategy. This organization will be headed by an undersecretary of the interior ministry. It is expected that the under secretary for counter-terrorism (USCT) will start functioning in June.
Interior Minister Besir Atalay, revealed the details of the [...]