,,ii  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #bhcb  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,november #ab1 
#bjai,mr4 ,markey 7for himself and ,mr4 
,wyden7 introduced the following bill2  
which was read twice and referred to the
 ,committee on ,foreign ,relations  ,a  
,,bill  ,to assist those subject to     
politically motivated charges in        
,turkey1 and for other purposes4  #a4   
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,turkey ,human ,rights ,promotion   
,act of #bjai4  #b4 ,findings ,congress 
makes the following findings3 7#a7 ,the 
,united ,states values its longstanding 
alliance with the ,republic of ,turkey  
and its friendship with the people of   
,turkey1 and seeks to promote their     
democratic aspirations4  7#b7 ,actions  
taken by the ,government of ,turkey in  
the aftermath of the attempted coup of  
,july #bjaf have significantly expanded 
the government's crackdown on freedoms  
of expression1 peaceful assembly1 and   
association4 ,freedom ,house assessed   

,turkey to be not free in its ,freedom  
in the ,world #bjai report4  7#c7 ,since
 ,july #bjaf1 ,turkish authorities have 
detained tens of thousands of people    
they accuse of aiding the coup attempt  
or being affiliated with a militant     
group1 sweeping up journalists1         
opposition politicians1 dissidents1 and 
others4 ,a two-year state of emergency  
restricted the exercise of fundamental  
freedoms1 and laws and decrees then     
codified some provisions from the state 
of emergency4  7#d7 ,the ,ministry of   
,justice reported that1 between ,july   
#bjaf and ,july #bjah1 investigations   
have been opened into #fab1cdg persons  
alleged to be founders1 executives1 or  
members of armed organizations4 ,a      
majority of these were reportedly       
detained1 often with little due process 
or access to the evidence underlying the
 accusations against them4  7#e7 ,by the
 end of #bjah1 according to the         
,department of ,state's #bjah ,human    
,rights ,report1 authorities had        

dismissed or suspended more than        
#acj1jjj civil servants from their jobs1
 arrested or imprisoned more than       
#hj1jjj citizens1 and closed more than  
#a1ejj nongovernmental organizations    
7,n,g,os7 on terrorism-related grounds  
since the coup attempt1 primarily for   
alleged ties to cleric ,fethullah ,gulen
 and his movement1 accused by the       
government of masterminding the coup    
attempt4  7#f7 ,the ,united ,nations    
,human ,rights ,council's ,working      
,group on ,arbitrary ,detention1 in its 
,opinion of ,august #af1 #bjai1 found   
the ,government of ,turkey's detention  
of judges ,melike ,gksan and ,mehmet    
,fatih ,gksan to be arbitrary and noted 
a significant increase in the number of 
cases brought to it in the last two     
years concerning arbitrary detention in 
,turkey4 ,the ,working ,group stated    
that it appears that a pattern is       
emerging whereby those with alleged     
links to the ,gulen movement are being  
targeted on the basis of their political

 or other opinion4  7#g7 ,turkey remains
 the world's worst jailer of            
journalists1 according to the ,committee
 to ,protect ,journalists4  7#h7        
,president ,recep ,tayyip ,erdoan began 
a crackdown on journalism before the    
#bjaf coup attempt1 which he then       
intensified4 ,the ,committee to ,protect
 ,journalists estimated that ,turkey was
 holding at least #fh journalists in    
jail at the end of #bjah4 ,according to 
a ,september #ah1 #bjai1 joint statement
 by civil society organizations1 at     
least #ahj media outlets have been      
forcibly closed since the coup attempt4 
,kurdish-language and ,kurdish-focused  
media outlets are especially vulnerable4
 ,an unknown number of journalists      
remain outside the country due to fear  
of arrest4  7#i7 ,the release of        
employees of the ,cumhuriyet newspaper  
is a welcome yet insufficient step      
towards ending the persecution of the   
press in ,turkey4  7#aj7 ,the           
,government of ,turkey has also targeted

 writers and academics4 ,of roughly     
#b1jjj academics who signed a ,january  
#bjaf petition calling for a restart to 
peace negotiations between the          
government and the armed ,kurdistan     
,workers' ,party 7,,pkk71 more than #gjj
 scholars were criminally charged with  
making propaganda for a terrorist       
organization4  7#aa7 ,the ,government of
 ,turkey continues its unjust1 two-year 
detention of civil society leader ,osman
 ,kavala4 ,turkish authorities have     
charged ,kavala and #ae others with     
attempting to overthrow the government  
or to prevent it from performing its    
duties based on ill-founded accusations 
regarding the group's role in #bjac     
protests4  7#ab7 ,in #bjag1 ,turkish    
police arrested ,amnesty ,international 
,turkey's board chair1 ,taner ,kili1 and
 its director1 ,idil ,eser1 charging    
them as members of a terrorist          
organization4 ,the charges against ,kili
 were based on the mere allegation1     
later found to be false1 that he had    

downloaded a messaging application4     
7#ac7 ,the ,government of ,turkey       
continues its unjust detention of       
,selhattin ,demirta1 a ,kurdish         
politician detained with other members  
of the ,people's ,democratic ,party     
7,,hdp7 on ,november #d1 #bjaf4 ,he was 
a member of parliament at the time of   
his arrest for allegedly carrying out   
terrorist propaganda by speaking in     
support of peace negotiations with the  
,kurdistan ,workers' ,party4 ,the       
,european ,court of ,human ,rights ruled
 in ,november #bjah that his detention  
had pursued the predominant ulterior    
purpose of stifling pluralism and       
limiting freedom of political debate1   
which was at the very core of the       
concept of a democratic society4  7#ad7 
,fair trial rights and protections for  
lawyers have been restricted just as    
they are most critically needed given   
mass detentions and the wider crackdown 
on dissent4 ,the ,government of ,turkey 
has targeted lawyers1 with particular   

focus on criminal defense lawyers1      
prosecuting them for discharging their  
professional duties and associating     
them1 without evidence1 with the alleged
 crimes of their clients4 ,police have  
also intimidated lawyers and obstructed 
their work4  7#ae7 ,the ,government of  
,turkey heavily restricts and censors   
the internet4 ,the government has       
blocked over #bbj1jjj websites1 has     
temporarily blocked ,twitter and        
,you,tube1 has blocked ,wikipedia since 
#bjag1 and is now pressuring ,netflix   
and other online streaming platforms to 
censor content according to rules set by
 the ,radio and ,television ,supreme    
,council4  7#af7 ,turkey ranks among the
 countries with the highest number of   
content removal requests sent to        
,twitter and ,facebook1 according to the
 companies' transparency reports4  7#ag7
 ,the ,government of ,turkey has        
demonstrated a disregard for fundamental
 freedoms beyond ,turkey's borders1     
including in the ,united ,states4 ,in   

#bjaf1 members of ,president ,erdoan's  
security detail engaged in unwarranted  
violence against journalists reporting  
on an event at the ,brookings           
,institution4 ,during ,president        
,erdoan's ,may #bjag visit to           
,washington1 ,,dc1 individuals from the 
,turkish ,embassy grounds pushed past   
,district of ,columbia police officers  
to brutally attack individuals          
demonstrating peacefully in opposition  
to policies of the ,government of       
,turkey4  7#ah7 ,the ,government of     
,turkey has abused international        
institutions to target dissenters1      
triggering a flood of ,interpol red     
notice requests to detain critics       
abroad1 according to ,freedom ,house4   
,targets include ,enes ,kanter1 a       
professional basketball player and vocal
 critic of ,president ,erdoan who       
currently resides in the ,united        
,states4  7#ai7 ,on ,october #ad1 #bjai1
 the ,government of ,cambodia reportedly
 arrested educator ,osman ,karaca at the

 behest of the ,government of ,turkey4  
,on ,october #ai1 #bjai1 ,amnesty       
,international warned that if he is     
forcibly returned to ,turkey1 he faces a
 very real risk of ill-treatment and    
further human rights abuses4 ,cambodia  
has an obligation to protect him from   
persecution1 not collude in his abuse4  
,karaca is now reportedly in ,turkish   
custody4  7#bj7 ,the ,government of     
,turkey threatens to escalate           
internationally its targeting of critics
 consistent with an overly broad        
domestic counterterrorism campaign4 ,on 
,october #cj1 #bjai1 ,president ,erdoan 
stated1 ,some countries eliminate       
terrorists whom they consider as a      
threat to their national security1      
wherever they are4 ,therefore1 this     
means those countries accept ,turkey has
 the same right4 ,this includes the     
terrorists they shake hands with and    
praise4 ,he added that he hoped to      
deliver good news on the matter soon4   
#c4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7    

,political prisoner ,the term political 
prisoner applies to a person who has    
been detained or imprisoned on          
politically motivated grounds4          
,political prisoners may have used or   
advocated violence or hatred1 or in some
 cases they may have committed some     
minor offense1 which is a pretext for a 
politically motivated imprisonment4     
7#b7 ,prisoner of conscience ,the term  
prisoner of conscience means any person 
who-- 7,a7 is imprisoned or otherwise   
physically restricted solely for the    
peaceful exercise of his or her human   
rights2 and  7,b7 has not used violence 
or advocated violence or hatred4  #d4   
,statement of policy ,it is the policy  
of the ,united ,states--  7#a7 to       
support democracy1 peace1 and prosperity
 in ,turkey2  7#b7 to oppose the abuse  
of counterterrorism authorities1        
including to target journalists1        
political opponents1 dissidents1        
minorities including ,kurds1 and others 
engaged in exercising their right to    

freedoms of expression1 peaceful        
assembly1 or association2  7#c7 to      
consider those unfairly detained or     
imprisoned under counterterrorism       
authorities on politically motivated    
grounds to be prisoners of conscience or
 political prisoners1 as appropriate1   
unless there is probative evidence of   
specific criminal misconduct presented  
in proceedings that comply with         
international fair trial standards2     
7#d7 to use all diplomatic tools to     
ensure that all prisoners of conscience 
and political prisoners in ,turkey are  
released2  7#e7 to support and pressure 
the ,government of ,turkey in the repeal
 or amendment of all anti-terrorism laws
 and regulations that allow the         
government to unjustly target           
journalists1 political opponents1       
dissidents1 and minorities2  7#f7 to    
support and pressure the ,government of 
,turkey in the repeal or amendment of   
all laws and regulations that violate   
the right to freedoms of expression1    

peaceful assembly1 or association in a  
manner not permitted by international   
legal standards1 including laws and     
regulations that seek to punish those   
who insult political figures or         
denigrate the ,turkish nation or state  
institutions2  7#g7 to support and      
pressure the ,government of ,turkey in  
the repeal or amendment of all laws and 
regulations that violate the right to a 
fair trial2 and  7#h7 to oppose the     
export to ,turkey by any country of     
surveillance technologies1 including    
software1 that can be used to monitor   
the activities of journalists1 political
 opponents1 dissidents1 or minorities4  
#e4 ,political prisoners assistance ,the
 ,secretary of ,state shall provide     
assistance to civil society             
organizations in ,turkey that work to   
secure the release of prisoners of      
conscience and political prisoners in   
,turkey1 and to current and former      
prisoners of conscience and political   
prisoners in ,turkey4 ,assistance shall 

include the following activities3  7#a7 
,support for the documentation of human 
rights violations with respect to       
prisoners of conscience and politically 
motivated prisoners4  7#b7 ,support for 
advocacy in ,turkey to raise awareness  
of issues relating to prisoners of      
conscience and political prisoners4     
7#c7 ,support for efforts to repeal or  
amend laws or regulations that are used 
to imprison individuals as either       
prisoners of conscience or political    
prisoners4  7#d7 ,support1 including    
travel costs1 and legal fees1 for       
families of prisoners of conscience and 
political prisoners4  7#e7 ,support for 
health1 including mental health1 and    
post-incarceration assistance in gaining
 access to education and employment     
opportunities or other forms of         
reparation to enable former prisoners of
 conscience and political prisoners to  
resume a normal life4  7#f7 ,the        
delegation of specific ,united ,states  
mission staff who will observe trials in

 politically motivated cases1 including 
in ,southeast ,turkey4  #f4 ,sense of   
,congress on press freedom ,it is the   
sense of ,congress that-- 7#a7 the      
,government of ,turkey must take steps  
to significantly improve the dire       
climate for journalists and those       
supporting the journalism profession1   
including ending the enforcement of     
draconian laws and regulations that     
restrict freedom of expression and      
releasing all journalists and media     
workers imprisoned for fulfilling their 
professional responsibilities2  7#b7 the
 ,department of ,state should provide   
assistance and warnings of impending    
politically motivated detention or harm 
to journalists and media workers in     
danger in ,turkey1 regardless of        
citizenship status1 including           
journalists working for ,kurdish media  
organizations2  7#c7 ,united ,states    
,government officials should prioritize 
demands to release unfairly detained    
journalists and media workers in their  

communications with ,turkish officials2 
and  7#d7 press freedom is a fundamental
 human right and should be upheld and   
protected in ,turkey and everywhere4    
#g4 ,sense of ,congress on internet     
freedom ,it is the sense of ,congress   
that-- 7#a7 the ,government of ,turkey  
must cease its ongoing crackdown on free
 expression on the internet1 including  
by repealing or amending laws that allow
 the government to block a website or   
remove content if there is sufficient   
suspicion that a site is insulting      
political figures2  7#b7 the ,department
 of ,state should support and pressure  
the ,government of ,turkey in halting   
its frequent requests that social media 
companies block accounts and content of 
journalists and media outlets1 ending   
its blocking of ,wikipedia1 and ensuring
 that the ,radio and ,television        
,supreme ,council does not arbitrarily  
restrict online streaming services      
through a costly and opaque licensing   
regime2 and  7#c7 escalating controls   

regulating internet use are an attempt  
by the ,government of ,turkey to silence
 the one of the last platforms for      
independent journalism in the country4  
#h4 ,sense of ,congress on protecting   
lawyers and promoting fair trials ,it is
 the sense of ,congress that-- 7#a7 the 
,government of ,turkey must--  7,a7 halt
 its indiscriminate detention and       
prosecution of lawyers1 judges1         
prosecutors1 and court officials1 as    
well as its targeting of lawyers'       
associations2  7,b7 repeal laws         
restricting the right of lawyers to     
discharge their professional duties1 the
 rights of suspects to legal counsel1   
and the right of lawyer-client          
privileged communication2  7,c7 ensure  
that lawyers can visit detainees in     
police custody1 and remind police and   
prosecutors of the protected role of    
lawyers under ,article #ad of the       
,international ,covenant on ,civil and  
,political ,rights1 ,articles #e and #f 
of the ,european ,court of ,human       

,rights1 and the ,united ,nations ,basic
 ,principles on the ,role of ,lawyers2  
and  7,d7 end the practice of           
prosecuting lawyers based on whom they  
have represented as clients2  7#b7 the  
,department of ,state should support and
 pressure the ,government of ,turkey in 
the abolition of extended pretrial      
detention1 consistent with ,turkey's    
,judicial ,reform ,strategy1 and in the 
reversal of the ,april #bjag amendment  
to ,article #aei of the ,constitution1  
which allows for political control over 
the nomination procedures to the        
,council of ,judges and ,prosecutors2   
7#c7 the ,department of ,state should   
support and pressure the ,government of 
,turkey in ensuring the independence of 
judges and of the judiciary system1 with
 particular focus on the ,ministry of   
,justice2 and  7#d7 the independence of 
any country's judicial system suffers   
when lawyers are subject to intimidation
 and harassment in their work and when  
lawyers are identified with the causes  

of their clients4