Turkey: The operation of Hezbollah (or Hizbullah) in Turkey, specifically in Izmir, including whether they torture, beat and/or threaten to kill persons who refuse to join their cause, and the state protection available to those who are threatened
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 20 November 2002 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | TUR40242.E |
| Reference | 5 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Turkey: The operation of Hezbollah (or Hizbullah) in Turkey, specifically in Izmir, including whether they torture, beat and/or threaten to kill persons who refuse to join their cause, and the state protection available to those who are threatened , 20 November 2002, TUR40242.E , available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3f7d4e290.html [accessed 4 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
According to an editorial by Voice of America, "Hezbollah is an extremist Shia Muslim group dedicated to increasing its political power in Lebanon and to destroying Israel and the United States. ... Hezbollah is closely allied with Iran ... [and] receives substantial financial and military aid from Iran and Syria" (29 Mar. 2002). But, according to several news articles, the Hezbollah that operates in Turkey is not believed to be connected to the Hezbollah that operates in Lebanon (Middle East Times 28 Jan. 2000; Council on Foreign Relations 2002; World Socialist Web Site 16 Feb. 2000; New York Times 23 Jan. 2000). Nevertheless,
... the two groups evidently share a fervent commitment to radical Islam.
Turkish and Israeli officials believe that both groups receive support from Iran, but the Iranian foreign minister, Kamal Kharrazi, who was in Turkey at the time of the Istanbul raid, denied that his government had any connection to Hezbollah in Turkey (ibid.).
However, according to Turkish Daily News, a liberal, English daily newspaper (World Press Review n.d.),
... the Hizbullah terrorists recently apprehended by the police admitted in their testimonies that they have received military training and all required support in Iran and detailed the names and the descriptions of the Iranian guards who acted on behalf of the Iranian government (29 Jan. 2000).
In addition, Middle East Times reported that news reports in Turkey "claimed" that the leader of Turkey's Hezbollah, Huseyin Velioglu, had returned to Turkey from Iran approximately two months prior to being (28 Jan. 2000) killed during a police raid on 17 January 2000 (AKIN 24 Feb. 2000). In the 1990s, Kurds inspired by the dissolution of the Soviet Union, "were clamoring and fighting for rights that smaller nations such as Latvia and Estonia were given," so the government "recruited" Velioglu and "his ilk ... and armed [them] with a potent ideology to wage a holy war on the independence-seeking Kurds. ... The Kurds who took the high road to politics and refused to lose faith in participatory democracy were especially targeted and murdered" (ibid.).
According to the New York Times,
Hezbollah emerged as a force in southeastern Turkey in the late 1980s when a Kurdish uprising was reaching its peak. For the next several years, the ranks of Kurdish nationalists, intellectuals and businessmen were decimated by thousands of unsolved "mystery killings."
In [early 2000], news commentators and academic researchers ... asserted that many of these killings [might] have been carried out by Hezbollah in cooperation with the army and the police. Many of the victims were perceived as supporters of the rebel Kurdistan Workers Party, or P.K.K., which the government was determined to wipe out (23 Jan. 2000).
A news article published in the Middle East Times, however, reported that "Turkey's Hezbollah is believed to have first emerged in the country's mainly Kurdish populated south east ... after the Iranian revolution of 1979" (28 Jan. 2000). The article goes on to state that, according to Nilufer Narli, professor of politics at Istanbul's Marmara University and recent author of Turkish Islamic Groups, "[t]hey found support among disaffected young people in Diyarbakir and the surrounding area, many of whom were sent to Iran for theological training" (ibid.).
A news article published in Turkish Daily News reported that,
[i]n the mid-1990s, the Hizbullah terror organization broke into two separate terror groups, assuming the titles of "Ilimciler" and "Menzilciler." Those who disapproved [of]violence assembled around Fidan Gungor, under the name of Menzilciler 'the rangers' while the others who favored violence went under the leadership of Huseyin Velioglu and assumed the title Ilimciler 'the scientists.'
From this date on, a bloody conflict took place between the two wings. The violent Ilimciler started to brutally massacre the moderate Menzilciler ... [The] organization was reduced in size, its leader Ocalan was forced out of Syria, he was subsequently arrested by a police operation in Kenya ... Furthermore, upon directives by Ocalan which were issued from the prison the PKK militants started to leave Turkey. Now it was Hizbullah's turn to get the beating.
Based on information obtained from the Hizbullah informers as well as the facts acquired from the arrested terrorists, the Turkish security forces started to pound Hizbullah in the Southeast, causing heavy losses to the terror organization. Realizing that no place is left for them to take refuge and with a hope to loose their tracks, the terrorists started to migrate to the big cities like Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and Konya, and subsequently targeted those former members who deserted the organization. The aim was to reestablish the structure of the terror organization.
Many people, including some well established businessmen of Kurdish descent were kidnapped for this purpose and executed following prolonged torture and questioning (29 Jan. 2000).
As of February 2000, Hezbollah was said to have had "some 20,000 members in Turkey" who were "[o]rganized in tight cells, [and] ... [knew] a few of their fellow members [because they were] sworn to strict secrecy" (Turkey Update 9 Feb. 2000).
Hezbollah members also operated in teams of two to three people, who "would stalk their victim before one [member] of the group carried out the execution by shooting the target in the neck with a single bullet, while the other kept a watch. A third militant may have assumed the duty of protecting the executioner" (Turkish Daily News 29 Jan. 2000).
According to an article posted on the World Socialist Web Site,
[a]lthough the Turkish state has carried out individual actions against the Islamists over the past three years, the latter were able to operate virtually without hindrance throughout the 1990s. The Turkish army, police and secret police worked closely with Hezbollah as well as right-wing death squads and Mafia terror groups. The result is over 3,000 "unsolved (political) murders." This state of affairs has been an open secret for some time in Turkey and is now being more or less openly admitted by the media and many well-known politicians.
Right-wing militias have been especially active in the predominantly Kurdish south-east of Turkey, terrorising the population and killing mainly Kurdish nationalists and intellectuals, as well as human rights activists, critical journalists, left-wingers and trade unionists (16 Feb. 2000).
Hezbollah is also suspected of targeting "businessmen unsympathetic to the cause of militant Islam" (New York Times 23 Jan. 2000).
Specific information on the state protection available to persons who have been tortured, beaten or threatened by Hezbollah in Turkey could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. However, the following information may be useful.
In early 2000, the "state security forces in Turkey [began] carrying out an extensive operation against the Islamic terror organisation Hezbollah" (World Socialist Web Site 16 Feb. 2000). During the month of January, "93 police operations were conducted against Hezbollah in the South-eastern provinces under emergency rule, and over 300 militants were arrested" (Turkey Update 9 Feb. 2000). By mid February, up to 900 Hezbollah members had been reportedly "arrested and interrogated and numerous houses ... searched" (World Socialist Web Site 16 Feb. 2000).
According to Middle East Times,
... the haul [police confiscation] included computer systems containing details of Hezbollah operations, planned targets and terrifying videos showing the interrogation and torture of victims of the group's long running campaign of kidnapping and violence.
Subsequent raids ... have ... revealed ... badly decomposed bodies. ...
The remains were reported as being naked, bound hand and foot and showing signs of torture.
Some reports claimed that in most cases death had apparently been caused by strangulation, which according to the group's extreme Islamic beliefs would prevent their souls from entering heaven as martyrs. Other reports claim that some victims appeared to have been buried alive in sacks" (28 Jan. 2000).
Information on the operation of Hezbollah in Izmir, Turkey could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. However, the following information may be useful.
"Unidentified terrorists" were reportedly responsible for a bombing in a cafeteria in Izmir on 17 September 1995, which resulted in five deaths and the injury of 25 persons (Country Reports Mar. 1996).
Seven Hezbollah members were apprehended in Izmir in June 2000 (Anatolia 1 June 2000), with three others apprehended in Izmir and Antalya in 2000 (ibid. 21 Nov. 2000). Of these latter three, one was sentenced to life imprisonment, while the other two were sentenced to varying terms from three to 13 years of imprisonment (ibid.).
According to Izmir Security Director, Hasan Yucesan, two people were apprehended in Izmir in late January 2000 during police operations against Hezbollah (Anatolia 26 Jan. 2000). According to Yucesan,
... the suspects came to Izmir after murdering tens of people in eastern and south eastern Turkey. ...
...
"Operations in Izmir are carried out under strict confidentiality. Every evidence is assessed and many houses are raided every day," Yucesan said ...
Yucesan [also] said [that] Hezbollah militants, after committing many murders in the east and south east Turkey, prefer to come to Izmir which is economically well off. "Some of the militants who come to Izmir still remain silent while others already started activities," he added (ibid.).
According to an article published in Turkish Daily News,
[o]perations against Hizbullah in Izmir continued as two more people were put under surveillance, after the interrogation of Hizbullah members in Ankara. The total number of suspects increased to eight in Izmir. Police searched 60 Hizbullah members' houses in Izmir (27 Jan. 2000).
A news article published earlier this year by the Turkish news agency, Anatolia, stated that "[a]lthough terrorist incidents look[ed] like [they were] decreasing in the last two years, organizations such as PKK and Hizbullah continue to exist" (14 Mar. 2002).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
American Kurdish Information Network (AKIN). 24 February 2000. Kani Xulam. "Turkey and Its Hezbollah and the Kurds." Anatolia [Ankara, in English]. 14 March 2002. "Turkey: Human Rights Body Finds Civil Disobedience Continues in Southeast." (BBC Monitoring 15 Mar. 2002/NEXIS)
_____. 21 November 2000. "Turkish Courts Sentence 3 Hizbullah Members to Prison." (FBIS-WEU-2000-1121 21 Nov. 2000/WNC)
_____.1 June 2000. "Turkey: 7 Captured in Hizbullah Operations in Izmir." (FBIS-WEU-2000-0601/WNC)
_____. 26 January 2000. "Turkish Security Officials Report Ongoing Operations Against Hezbollah." (BBC Monitoring 26 Jan. 2000/NEXIS)
Council on Foreign Relations. 2002a. "Turkey: What Role is Turkey Playing in the War on Terrorism?" _____. 2002b. "About the Council." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1995. March 1996. United States Department of State, Washington DC. New York Times. 23 January 2000. Stephen Kinzer. "Mass Graves in Turkey Put Attention on Terror Call." Middle East Times. 28 January 2000. David O'Byrne. "More Skeletons Found in Turkey's Political Closet." Turkish Daily News [Ankara]. 29 January 2000. "Hizbullah Is a Prime Example of State's 'Playing One Against the Other.'" (NEXIS)
_____. 27 January 2000. "Hizbullah Interrogations Yield Results." (NEXIS)
Turkey Update [Istanbul]. 9 February 2000. "Crackdown on Hezbollah Continues." Voice of America. 29 March 2002. "Hezbollah's Long Record of Terror." _____. n.d. "VOA Fast Facts." World Press Review. n.d. "Newspapers and Magazines: Turkey." World Socialist Web Site. 16 February 2000. Justus Leicht. "Government Crackdown Against the Hezbollah in Turkey." Additional Sources Consulted
IRB databases
WNC
Internet sites, including:
Amnesty International. Turkey Post. Turkish Press. Search engine:
Google
