Penalty on Workplaces Employing ‘Deserter’ Submitted to Jurisdiction

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The Ministry of National Defense (MSB) sending a notice for the workplaces that employ draft evaders and those who don’t want to do mandatory military service to sack these people has been brought to jurisdiction.

Timuçin Kızılay, a Conscientious Objector Association member, has become the first person file a lawsuit against this practice.

Declaring his conscientious objection in 2000, Kızılay contacted association’s attorneys following the Ministry sending a notice to the company he works for.

Filling in bianet as to the process, attorney Gökhan Soysal noted that the MSB sending a notice to the workplaces of people who haven’t done their military service is an administrative call, said that they filed the lawsuit to administrative court demanding suspension of execution.

Precedent only for conscientious objectors

So, if the court rules the suspension of execution, will this affect other people for whom the notice was sent?

Attorney Soysal underlines that Kızılay is a conscientious objector and states that a revoke decision will only be precedent for the conscientious objectors.

“At this stage, there is no administrative mechanism for a conscientious objection application. The MSB is sending such notice of sacking to everybody but they cannot implement a discriminatory practice against conscientious objectors. They cannot be sacked for not doing military service. This contravenes the freedom to work. In case our application is approved, this will be a precedent for all conscientious objectors but not for the others”.

Stating that they receive three or four applications every day, Soysal said, “There are hundreds of thousands of people in Turkey who don’t go into the army for various reasons even though they are obliged to do that”. (EKN/TK)